PROCESSING BOOKKEEPING

TRANSACTIONS

Qualifications and Credit Framework

AQ2013 Level 2 Certificate in Accounting

 PROCESSING BOOKKEEPING TRANSACTIONS

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Published by
Kaplan Publishing UK
Unit 2, The Business Centre
Molly Millars Lane
Wokingham
Berkshire
RG41 2QZ

ISBN: 978-1-78415-387-8
The text in this material and any others made available by any Kaplan Group company does not
amount to advice on a particular matter and should not be taken as such. No reliance should be
placed on the content as the basis for any investment or other decision or in connection with any
advice given to third parties. Please consult your appropriate professional adviser as necessary.
Kaplan Publishing Limited and all other Kaplan group companies expressly disclaim all liability to
any person in respect of any losses or other claims, whether direct, indirect, incidental,
consequential or otherwise arising in relation to the use of such materials.
© Kaplan Financial Limited, 2015

Printed and bound in Great Britain.

We are grateful to the Association of Accounting Technicians for permission to reproduce past
assessment materials and example tasks based on the new syllabus. The solutions to past
assessments and similar activities in the style of the new syllabus have been prepared by Kaplan
Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of Kaplan Publishing.

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CONTENTS
Introduction v

Unit guide vii

The assessment xi

Study skills xiii

STUDY TEXT AND WORKBOOK

Study Workbook
Chapter text Activities
Answers

1 Business documents 1 261

2 Books of prime entry 31 262

3 Double-entry bookkeeping – introduction 49 263

4 Ledger accounting 69 272

5 Accounting for credit sales, 109 280

VAT and discounts

6 Accounting for credit purchases, 121 281

VAT and discounts

7 Control accounts and subsidiary ledgers 131 283

8 Payments and receipts 177 285

Mock Assessment Questions 297

Mock Assessment Answers 315

Index I.1

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INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THESE MATERIALS

These Kaplan Publishing learning materials have been carefully

designed to make your learning experience as easy as possible and to
give you the best chance of success in your AAT assessments.
They contain a number of features to help you in the study process.
The sections on the Unit Guide, the Assessment and Study Skills
should be read before you commence your studies.
They are designed to familiarise you with the nature and content of the
assessment and to give you tips on how best to approach your studies.

STUDY TEXT
This study text has been specially prepared for the revised AAT
qualification introduced in September 2013.
It is written in a practical and interactive style:
• key terms and concepts are clearly defined
• all topics are illustrated with practical examples with clearly worked
solutions based on sample tasks provided by the AAT in the new
assessment style
• frequent activities throughout the chapters ensure that what you
have learnt is regularly reinforced
• ‘pitfalls’ and ‘examination tips’ help you avoid commonly made
mistakes and help you focus on what is required to perform well in
your assessment
• practice workbook activities can be completed at the end of each
chapter.

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WORKBOOK

The workbook comprises:

Practice activities at the end of each chapter with solutions at the end of
the text, to reinforce the work covered in each chapter.
The questions are divided into their relevant chapters and students may
either attempt these questions as they work through the textbook, or
leave some or all of these until they have completed the textbook as a
final revision of what they have studied.

ICONS

The study chapters include the following icons throughout.

They are designed to assist you in your studies by identifying key
definitions and the points at which you can test yourself on the
knowledge gained.

Definition
These sections explain important areas of Knowledge which must be
understood and reproduced in an assessment

Example
The illustrative examples can be used to help develop an understanding
of topics before attempting the activity exercises

Activity
These are exercises which give the opportunity to assess your
understanding of all the assessment areas.

Quality and accuracy are of the utmost importance to us so if you spot an

error in any of our products, please send an email to
mykaplanreporting@kaplan.com with full details, or follow the link to the
feedback form in MyKaplan.
Our Quality Co-ordinator will work with our technical team to verify the
error and take action to ensure it is corrected in future editions.

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UNIT GUIDE
Processing Bookkeeping Transactions is the first of two financial
accounting assessments at level 2.

Purpose of the units

The AAT has stated that this unit will enable the student to develop an
understanding of a manual double entry bookkeeping system to the initial
trial balance stage.
Students will develop the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with
documents that are sent to and from organisations. They will need to know
how to make entries in sales, purchases and returns day books using
account codes, and to transfer those totals to the sales, purchases and
general ledgers. The cash-book and petty cash-book are also dealt with in
this unit, making entries into both and transferring totals to the ledgers.
Students will learn how to make appropriate checks on supplier invoices
and credit notes, reconcile supplier statements with the purchases ledger
account and calculate payments due to suppliers. They will also learn how
to prepare sales invoices and credit notes and check receipts from
customers.

Learning objectives

On completion of these units the learner will be able to:

• Understand the principles of processing financial transactions.

• Understand the double entry bookkeeping system.
• Understand discounts.
• Prepare and process the financial documentation for customers.
• Process supplier invoices and credit notes and calculate
payments.
• Maintain the cash-book.
• Maintain petty cash records.
• Process ledger transactions and extract a trial balance.

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Learning Outcomes and Assessment criteria

The unit consists of eight learning outcomes. These are set out in the
following table with Learning Outcomes in bold type and Assessment
criteria listed underneath each Learning Outcome. Reference is also made
to the relevant chapter within the text.

Knowledge

To perform this unit effectively you will need to know and understand the
following:
Chapter
1 Understand the principles of processing financial
transactions
1.1 Outline the purpose and content of these business 1, 8
documents
• petty cash voucher
• invoice
• credit note
• remittance advice
• statement of account
1.2 Explain the purpose and content of the books of prime 2
entry
1.3 List the ways in which customers may pay an 8
organisation and an organisation may pay its suppliers
2 Understand the double entry bookkeeping system
2.1 Explain the accounting equation and how it relates to a 3
double entry bookkeeping system
2.2 Outline how the books of prime entry integrate with the 2
double entry bookkeeping system
2.3 Describe the function of a coding system within a 1
double entry bookkeeping system

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Chapter
2.4 Describe the processing of financial transactions from 7
the books of prime entry into the double entry
bookkeeping system
2.5 Define capital income and capital expenditure 3
2.6 Define revenue income and revenue expenditure 3
3 Understand discounts
3.1 Explain the difference between settlement, trade and 1, 5
bulk discount
3.2 Describe the effect that a settlement discount has on 5, 6
the sales tax (e.g. VAT) charged

Skills

To perform this unit effectively you will need to be able to do the following.
Chapter
4 Prepare and process financial documentation for
customers
4.1 Use source documents to prepare invoices or credit 1, 5
notes
4.2 Calculate invoice or credit note amounts reflecting any: 5, 6
• Trade discount
• Bulk discount
• Settlement discount
• Sales tax (VAT)
4.3 Enter sales invoices and credit notes into books of 2
prime entry using suitable codes
4.4 Check the accuracy of receipts from customers 8
against relevant supporting documentation
4.5 Produce statements of account to send to credit 8
customers

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Chapter
5 Process supplier invoices and credit notes and
calculate payments
5.1 Check accuracy of supplier invoices and credit notes 1
against these source documents:
• Purchase orders
• Goods received notes
• Delivery notes
5.2 Enter supplier invoices and credit notes into books of 2
prime entry using suitable codes
5.3 Reconcile supplier statements to purchase ledger 8
accounts
5.4 Calculate payments due to suppliers 8
6 Maintain the cash book
6.1 Enter receipts and payment details from relevant 8
primary records into a three column analysed
cashbook
6.2 Total and balance the cashbook 8
7 Maintain petty cash records
7.1 Enter petty cash transactions into an analysed petty 8
cash book, accounting for tax where appropriate
7.2 Total and balance the petty cash book 8
7.3 Reconcile the petty cash book with the cash in hand 8
7.4 Enter the reimbursement of the petty cash expenditure 8
in the petty cash book using the imprest system
8 Processing ledger transactions and extracting a
trial balance
8.1 Transfer data from the books of prime entry to the 7
ledgers
8.2 Total and balance ledger accounts, clearly showing 4
balances carried down and brought down
8.3 Extract an initial trial balance 4

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THE ASSESSMENT
The format of the assessment

The assessment contains ten tasks in one section.

Students will normally be assessed by computer-based assessment and
will be required to respond to CBT tasks in a variety of ways, for example
using multiple choice, true/false, drag and drop, drop-down lists, text
select, linking boxes, gap fill tools and AAT purpose built question types to
reflect real workplace activities.
Task Maximum marks Title for topics within task range
1 15 Make entries in an analysed day book
2 15 Transfer data from day books to ledgers
3 20 Make entries in a three column cash book
4 15 Transfer data from a three column cash
book
5 20 Make entries in and transfers from an
analysed petty cash book
6 20 Prepare an initial trial balance
7 15 Check supplier invoices/credit notes
8 15 Prepare sales invoice or credit note
Check the accuracy of receipts from
customers
9 15 Prepare a statement of account from an
account in the sales ledger
10 15 Understand the double entry bookkeeping
system

Note regarding the assessment

From 1 April 2015 changes to UK legislation will affect the way all
businesses account for VAT when offering a prompt payment (settlement)
discount. Suppliers will no longer be able to account for VAT on the
discounted price but must account for VAT on the consideration actually
received. However, as there are a number of valid accounting treatments
for the new situation and none has so far emerged as standard practice,
this change in legislation will not be reflected in this unit until September
2016 at the earliest.

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Time allowed

The time allowed for this assessment is two hours.

Terminology

Students should be familiar with IFRS terminology. Other terms are used
in this document to match titles provided by the QCF.

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STUDY SKILLS
Preparing to study

Devise a study plan

Determine which times of the week you will study.
Split these times into sessions of at least one hour for study of new
material. Any shorter periods could be used for revision or practice.
Put the times you plan to study onto a study plan for the weeks from now
until the assessment and set yourself targets for each period of study – in
your sessions make sure you cover the whole course, activities and the
associated questions with answers at the back of the Study Text.
If you are studying more than one unit at a time, try to vary your subjects
as this can help to keep you interested and see subjects as part of wider
knowledge.
When working through your course, compare your progress with your plan
and, if necessary, re-plan your work (perhaps including extra sessions) or,
if you are ahead, do some extra revision/practice questions.

Effective studying

Active reading
You are not expected to learn the text by rote, rather, you must
understand what you are reading and be able to use it to pass the
assessment and develop good practice.
A good technique is to use SQ3Rs – Survey, Question, Read, Recall,
Review:
1 Survey the chapter
Look at the headings and read the introduction, knowledge, skills and
content, so as to get an overview of what the chapter deals with.
2 Question
Whilst undertaking the survey ask yourself the questions you hope
the chapter will answer for you.

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3 Read
Read through the chapter thoroughly working through the activities
and, at the end, making sure that you can meet the learning
objectives shown within the summary.
4 Recall
At the end of each section and at the end of the chapter, try to recall
the main ideas of the section/chapter without referring to the text.
This is best done after short break of a couple of minutes after the
reading stage.
5 Review
Check that your recall notes are correct.
You may also find it helpful to re-read the chapter to try and see the
topic(s) it deals with as a whole.
Note taking
Taking notes is a useful way of learning, but do not simply copy out the
text.
The notes must:
• be in your own words
• be concise
• cover the key points
• be well organised
• be modified as you study further chapters in this text or in related
ones.
Trying to summarise a chapter without referring to the text can be a useful
way of determining which areas you know and which you don’t.
Three ways of taking notes
1 Summarise the key points of a chapter
2 Make linear notes
A list of headings, subdivided with sub-headings listing the key
points.
If you use linear notes, you can use different colours to highlight key
points and keep topic areas together.
Use plenty of space to make your notes easy to use.

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3 Try a diagrammatic form

The most common of which is a mind map.
To make a mind map, put the main heading in the centre of the
paper and put a circle around it.
Draw lines radiating from this to the main sub-headings which again
have circles around them.
Continue the process from the sub-headings to sub-sub-headings.
Highlighting and underlining
You may find it useful to underline or highlight key points in your study text
– but do be selective.
You may also wish to make notes in the margins.

Revision phase

Kaplan has produced material specifically designed for your final

assessment preparation for this unit.
These include pocket revision notes and a bank of revision questions
specifically in the style of the new syllabus.
Further guidance on how to approach the final stage of your studies is
given in these materials.

Further reading

In addition to this text, you should also read the ‘Student section’ of the
‘Accounting Technician’ magazine every month to keep abreast of any
guidance from the examiners.

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Business documents

Introduction
The purpose of accounting is to record and classify business transactions.
There are many transactions that a business may undertake; credit sales,
credit purchases, cash sales, cash purchases, other expenses either paid
from the bank or by cash, paying cash into the bank, withdrawing cash
from the bank and owner’s drawings.
Various documents may be used when dealing with business transactions.
This chapter reviews the flow of a transaction including the documents
involved.
The name of a transaction or document will depend on whether we are
looking at it from the point of view of the seller or the purchaser. Thus an
invoice may be called a ‘sales invoice’ for the seller but a ‘purchase
invoice’ for the purchaser, it is the same invoice. Similarly, the seller
makes a ‘sale’ and the purchaser makes a ‘purchase’, it is the same
transaction.

KNOWLEDGE CONTENTS

Outline the purpose and content of a 1 Cash vs credit

range of business documents to 2 Summary of the flow of
include (1.1) documents
– Invoice 3 Quotation
4 Purchase order
– Credit note 5 Sales order
Describe the function of a coding 6 Delivery note
system within a double entry 7 Invoice
bookkeeping system (2.3) 8 Operation of VAT
9 Discounts
Explain the difference between 10 Preparing an invoice
settlement, trade and bulk discount 11 Credit note
(3.1) 12 Coding

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SKILLS

Use source documents to prepare

invoices or credit notes (4.1)
Check accuracy of supplier invoices
and credit notes against these source
documents (5.1)
– Purchase orders
– Goods received notes
– Delivery notes

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1 Cash vs credit

1.1 Introduction
Cash sales and purchases are relatively straightforward but credit sales
and purchases are more involved. Dependent on whether we are the
seller or the buyer dictates whether we view the transaction as a sale or
purchase. The details of all of the aspects covered here will be dealt with
in greater depth in later chapters.

1.2 Cash sales and purchases

A cash sale or purchase will normally be made in a retail environment. A
customer will enter the shop, choose the goods they wish to buy then
come to the till in order to pay for them. The seller will tell the customer the
price of the goods and the customer then offers payment for them, in the
form of notes and coins. Alternatively, the customer may offer to pay for
the goods by debit card, cheque or credit card.
Finally, once the customer has paid for the goods, a receipt of some sort
will be given to the customer. This may be printed automatically by the till
or may be a handwritten receipt in some businesses. The transaction is
now complete.

1.3 Credit sales and purchases

The procedure for a sale or purchase on credit can be rather more
involved. The sale or purchase process will normally be initiated by a
seller receiving an order from a customer. This order may be in writing, by
fax, over the telephone or by email. When your business receives the
order, the first decision that must be made is whether or not to allow the
customer credit for this sale i.e. a period of time they can take before
paying the invoice.

1.4 Offering credit

Selling goods on credit always involves an element of risk. The goods are
being taken away or delivered to the customer now with the promise of
payment in the future. Therefore your business must be confident that the
payment will be received. The decision process as to whether or not to
make the sale on credit will be different depending upon whether this is a
sale to an existing credit customer or a new customer.

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1.5 Existing customers

If an existing credit customer wishes to make a further purchase on credit,
it would be normal practice to carry out some basic checks. When the
customer was originally taken on as a credit customer, a credit limit will
have been set which should not be exceeded. Checks should be made to
ensure that the new sale, when added to the amount currently owing, do
not take the customer over their credit limit.
It would also be sensible to check that there have been no problems
recently with receiving payment from this customer. If the checks are
satisfactory then the credit sale can go ahead.

1.6 New customer

If a new customer asks for credit from your business then it would be
normal practice to ask the customer to supply some trade references –
names of other businesses that they trade with on credit who can vouch
for their creditworthiness. Your business may also wish to check the
customer’s creditworthiness through an agency, or by asking for
references from the customer’s bank.
If the references and checks are satisfactory then a credit limit will be set
for this customer and the sale can go ahead.

2 Summary of the flow of documents

The main document flows for a credit transaction are illustrated below. The
various documents are described in the paragraphs that follow.

Price Quotation C
Purchase
S Order U
Sales Order
E S

L T
Delivery Note + Goods
L O

E Sales Invoice M

R E
Credit Note
R
Cheque

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3 Quotation

3.1 Price enquiry

The first stage of the process of a credit sale may be the receipt of a price
enquiry from a customer.
The price enquiry may be a formal written document, an email enquiry or
more likely a telephone call. When responding to a price enquiry it is
important that you make sure that the price you quote is the correct one as
if it is incorrect you may find that you are contracted to sell the goods at
that price under contract law.

3.2 Price quotation

In some organisations it is common practice to quote prices to customers
over the telephone particularly if there is a catalogue or price list from
which there are no deviations in price. However, some businesses will be
prepared to offer certain customers goods at different prices. Therefore it
is often the case that a price quotation is sent out to a customer showing
the price at which the goods that they want can be bought.
There may also be discounts offered and/or given to customers which we
will consider later.
A typical price quotation is shown on the next page.

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City Woods Suppliers

192 Old Kent Road Name and address of
London business quoting price
SE1 8QT

Tel: 020 7248 7009 – Fax: 020 728 7890

QUOTATION
TO: Alpha Limited Name and address of
Date: 14 Sept 20X3
Mountjoy Street customer
London W12 6RS Today’s date

Thank you for your telephone enquiry of 10 September. We are pleased to

quote the following price:

Chipboard sheeting 6’ × 4’ Code CB0351 £23.00 per unit, excluding VAT

Details of
goods
Authorisation Price being
J Kramer signature quoted
Sales Manager

The price quotation is an important document as this is the price that your
organisation is now contracted to sell the goods at. Therefore it is
important that it is authorised by the appropriate person in the
organisation.

4 Purchase order

4.1 The purchase order

If the customer is happy with the price quotation that they have received
from your business then they will place a firm order with you. The order
may be by telephone or it may be in writing. Whatever method is used for
the purchase order, it is important to check all of the details carefully.
• Does the price agree to what was quoted to the customer?
• Are the delivery terms acceptable?
• Are any discounts applicable?

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ALPHA LTD
Mountjoy Street
Shepherd’s Bush
LONDON W12 6RS
Tel: 0208 741 2962
Fax: 0208 741 2963
Date: 17 September 20X3
Purchase order no: P01562
VAT Reg no: 413 2790 04
PURCHASE ORDER
Name and address of business
placing the order
Order date
Sequential order
number
Name and address of
business the order is
VAT registration being placed with
number of business
placing the order

To: City Woods Suppliers Delivery address

192 Old Kent Road (if different from above)
London 26 New Road
SE1 8QT Milton Keynes
MK25 2BA

Product Ref Quantity Price per unit Total

(ex VAT) (ex VAT)
£ £
Chipboard sheeting 6’ × 4’ CB0351 10 23.00 230

Signed: J Rowlands
Purchasing Manager

5 Sales order

5.1 Confirming sales orders

To avoid misunderstandings, a supplier will normally confirm a customer’s
order by completing a sales order, even if the customer has already sent
a written purchase order.
A sales order is a document confirming:
• quantity/type of goods or service
• date of supply
• location of supply
• price and terms.

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City Woods Suppliers

192 Old Kent Road Name and address
London of business making Delivery address
the sale and date
SE1 8QT

Tel: 020 7248 7009 – Fax: 020 7248 7890

SALES ORDER
To: Delivery: Delivery date:
Alpha Limited 26 New Road 25 September 20X3
Mountjoy St Name and Milton Keynes Sales order
London W12 6RS address of MK25 2BA number
customer
Date: 20 September 20X3 Sales order number: 41161

We confirm the following order to be delivered as above.

Please note our credit terms are strictly 30 days net.
Unit price
Code Quantity Description Discount
(excl VAT)
CB0351 10 Chipboard sheeting 6’ × 4’ £23.00 NIL

Details of goods Price of goods

Authorised
signature
Authorised: P. Anders Date: 20 September 20X3

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6 Delivery note

6.1 Introduction
Once all of the negotiations over the price and terms of the credit sale
have been completed, then the goods themselves must be delivered.

6.2 Delivery notes

Delivery note – a document accompanying goods despatched to a
customer.
Delivery notes should have sequential numbers that are either pre-
printed for a manual system or computer generated in a computer system,
and should be used in order. Spoiled delivery notes should be cancelled
and kept.
There will normally be three parts to a delivery note:
Part one – This is kept by the customer in order to compare to the
purchase order and then to the sales invoice
Part two – This is signed and returned to the supplier of the goods as
evidence that they have been received by the customer in
good condition.
Part three – This is signed and kept by the delivery organisation as
evidence that they have delivered the goods and that the
customer has received them.

City Woods Suppliers

192 Old Kent Road
London
SE1 8QT
Tel: 020 7248 7009 – Fax: 020 7248 7890 DN 005673
DELIVERY NOTE
To: Delivery: Delivery date:
Alpha Limited 26 New Road 25 September 20X3
Mountjoy St Milton Keynes
London W12 6RS MK25 2BA
Date: 25 September 20X3 Sales order number: 41161

We confirm the following order to be delivered as above.

Product Code Quantity

Chipboard 6’ × 4’ CB0351 10
Received in good condition: A Patel

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