The purchase day book is one of the day books mentioned. It is where we first enter up all our purchases on credit. The book itself is not part of ‘the accounts’: it is just one of the sources from which the accounts will be written up later on.

How to write up the purchase day book

What you need:

• the purchase day book
• the invoices for the period (day, week, etc).

First, sort the invoices into date order. Next, write or stamp a purchase invoice number on each one. (This is not the invoice number printed on the document when the firm receives it; that is the sales invoice number of the firm which sent it.) The idea is to help the book-keeper find an invoice easily if he has to look up details of an old transaction.

Many firms keep a list of consecutive numbers for this purpose. Others use a two-part number made up of the month number and a number from a consecutive list for that month.

Step by step

• 1.Write the year of entry once, at the head of entries to be made for that year. There is no need then to keep writing the year against each individual entry. This helps to keep the page neat and uncluttered. Do the same for the month, and then the day, as in the example on the opposite page: Apr 1
         3
        15
        21
        30
• 2.Enter the supplier’s name, e.g. Morgan and Baldwyn.
• 3.Enter your own purchase invoice number e.g. 4/1.
• 4.Enter net invoice total, e.g. £80.00. (Net means after deduction of any trade discounts and not including VAT; we will come to these later.)
• 5.Enter the VAT, e.g. £14.00.
• 6.If analysis columns are in use, also enter the net amount of each invoice under the correct heading, e.g. ‘stationery’.
• 7.When required (e.g. monthly) total each column. You will then be able to post (transfer) the totals to the ledger.