Single Entry Bookkeeping

Accounting system that does not use balancing debits and credits. Transactions are recorded in just one account.

Simple bookkeeping system in which transactions are recorded in a single record. An example is a checkbook showing expenditures. For example, an accounts payable listing may represent purchases on account; no journal entries are made or ledgers kept. It is an incomplete form of Double Entry Bookkeeping because it does not rely on equal debits and credits. Although financial statements cannot readily be prepared in a single entry system, they are usually derived from inspection or count and comparison of beginning and ending totals. Plugging is usually necessary to derive owner's equity for the balance sheet.