Personal Accounts
Accounts recording transactions relating to individuals or firms or company are known as personal accounts. Personal accounts may further be classified as :
(1) Natural person's personal accounts: The accounts recording transactions relating to individual human beings e.g., Anand's A/c, Remesh's A/c, Pankaj's A/c are classified as natural person's personal accounts.
(2) Artificial person's personal account: The accounts recording transactions relating to limited companies. bank, firm, institution, club. etc. e.g. Delhi Cloth Mill; Hans Raj College; Gymkhana Club are classified as artificial persons' personal accounts.
(3) Representative personal accounts: The accounts recording transactions relating to the expenses and incomes are classified as nominal accounts. But in certain cases due to the matching concept of accounting the amount, on a particular date, is payable to the individuals or recoverable from individuals.
Such amount (a) relates to the particular head of expenditure or income and (b) represents persons to whom itis payable or from whom it is recoverable. Such accounts are classified as representative personal accounts e.g. "Wages Outstanding Account", Pre-paid Insurance Account. etc.
Real Accounts
The accounts recording transactions relating to tangible things (which can be touched, purchased and sold) such as goods, cash, building. machinery etc., are classified as tangible real accounts.
Whereas the accounts recording transactions relating to. intangible things (which do not have physical shape) such as goodwill, patents and copy rights. trade marks etc., are classified as intangible real accounts.
Nominal Accounts
The accounts recording transactions relating to the losses, gains. expenses and incomes e.g., Rent, salaries, wages, commission, interest, bad debts etc. are classified as nominal accounts. As already discussed, wherever a nominal account represents the amount payable to or receivable from certain persons it is known as representative personal account.
Rules of Debit and Credit (classification based)
1. Personal Accounts: Debit the receiver, Credit the giver (supplier)
2. Real Accounts: Debit what comes in, Credit what goes out
3. Nominal Accounts: Debit expenses and losses, Credit incomes and gains.,
Hints for Journalizing
The following discussion will help in diagnosing the transaction with a view to find out which accounts are relevant for passing the journal entry.
1. Treatment of cash/credit transaction.
Read carefully the following transactions:
(i) Purchased goods for Rs. 1,200 cash. .
(ii) Purchased goods for Rs. 1,200.
(iii) Purchased goods for Rs. 1,200 from Arun.
(iv) Purchased goods for Rs. 1,200 from Arun on cash.
Transaction (i) and (iv) are clear as it has been specifically stated that purchases have been made on cash. Thus the entry is :
Purchases account Dr. 1,200 To Cash account 1,200
Transaction (ii) and (iii) are not specific as to whether the purchases are for cash or on credit. However transaction (ii) does not mention any name of the supplier; therefore it implies that the purchases are for cash. Similarly transaction (iii) mentions the name of the supplier but is silent regarding cash-it implies that purchases are on credit: Thus the entry for transaction (iii) is
Purchases account Dr. 1,200 To Amex 1200.
2. Treatment of payment on personal/expenses account.
When payment is made to a person against amount due to him as per his ledger account-the personal account of the creditor should be debited. However if the payment is being made to a person representing business expenditure then the particular expenditure (nominal) account should be debited.
3. Treatment of receipt on personal/ income account.
When amount is received from a person against amount recoverable from him as per ledger account-the personal account of the debtor should be credited. However if the amount received represents business income, then the particular income (nominal) account should be credited.