What is Petty Cash? How to Manage it? - QuickBooks Singapore (2024)

How To Manage Petty Cash

While petty cash funds only take care of small expenses, these funds still need to be managed correctly. Keeping track of these petty cash expenses helps you to capture all your tax-deductible expenses.

Maintain the Initial Amount

The amount in your petty cash box should always remain constant. Once you begin creating the petty cash float, your petty cash account book entry will show a debit of the amount deducted to your petty cash fund. At the same time, it will show a credit of that same amount to your bank account.

For this reason, your custodian will fill out a receipt when disbursing money to ensure that the total money will add up to the initial amount of your petty cash fund.

Exchange the Receipt For a New Check

Sometimes, the balance in your petty cash fund becomes too low to purchase small expenses. In these cases, the custodian should tally and summarise the receipts. These receipts can be exchanged for a new check made to cash the total amount equal to the receipt. Once the check is cashed, this amount will be added to the petty cash fund to restore the funds to its original level.

Increase or Decrease the Float Accordingly

If you need to replenish the funds every few days, it probably means your fund is too small. In this case, you need to increase the float.

But if you find that most of your petty cash is not being used, the fund amount might be too large. You should deposit the surplus petty cash into the company bank account.

What is Petty Cash? How to Manage it? - QuickBooks Singapore (2024)

FAQs

What is Petty Cash? How to Manage it? - QuickBooks Singapore? ›

Petty cash allows businesses to make minor purchases without providing a receipt through an expense reporting system, which can reduce the time spent bookkeeping for small items. It also gives businesses a readily available source of funds.

What is petty cash in QuickBooks? ›

Petty cash is a convenient supply of cash you can use to pay small expenses. Here's a few tips on how to manage petty cash, and how to track it in QuickBooks Online.

What is petty cash and how do you manage it? ›

A petty cash fund is a small amount of company cash, often kept on hand (e.g., in a locked drawer or box), to pay for minor or incidental expenses, such as office supplies or employee reimbursem*nts. A petty cash fund will undergo periodic reconciliations, with transactions also recorded on the financial statements.

Is petty cash an asset or expense? ›

Petty cash is a current asset. Current assets are assets that provide economic benefit within one year. Since petty cash funds can resolve scenarios with readily available cash, this can be considered as providing economic benefits.

What type of account is petty cash? ›

Petty cash falls under the head of current assets in the balance sheet. This is on the grounds the assets that are yet to be determined on the sheet are arranged in their order of liquidity. Petty cash being exceptionally liquid, it shows up close to the highest point of the balance sheet.

What expense category is petty cash? ›

Petty cash is a small amount of money a company keeps for small, incidental expenses. These minor payments include office supplies, stationery, meals, client lunch, stamps, etc. The number of petty cash funds could change depending on the organization's size.

What are the rules for petty cash? ›

All Petty Cash Funds must be stored in a secured device such as a safe or cash box in a locked cabinet. Only the Petty Cash Fund custodian should have keys to the box and cabinet. Funds should never be left unattended and unsecured. Funds within a box need to be locked and behind locked doors when not attended.

Is petty cash a debit or credit? ›

Petty cash is a current asset and should be listed as a debit on the balance sheet. When first funding a petty cash account, the accountant should write a check made out to "Petty Cash" for the desired amount of petty cash and then cash the check at the company's bank.

How do you organize petty cash? ›

To begin, have a secure place to store your petty cash funds, such as a lockbox or locked drawer.
  1. Set account limits. ...
  2. Determine who will manage petty cash. ...
  3. Create a log. ...
  4. Reconcile and record petty cash expenses. ...
  5. Reassess the petty cash fund periodically.

How to reconcile petty cash? ›

How to reconcile petty cash
  1. Ascertain the float. ...
  2. Count the cash. ...
  3. Add up the recorded transactions (via vouchers and the log). ...
  4. Categorize disbursem*nts. ...
  5. Identify and investigate the differences between vouchers and the expected balance. ...
  6. Record transactions in your general ledger. ...
  7. Replenish the float for next month.
Jan 11, 2024

How to monitor petty cash? ›

How to Keep Track of Petty Cash
  1. Step #1 - Purchase a Lock Box. ...
  2. Step #2 - Assign Responsibility. ...
  3. Step #3 - Store the Petty Cash Box and Set a Limit. ...
  4. Step #3 - Deposit Cash into the Petty Fund. ...
  5. Step #5 - Create a Transaction Log. ...
  6. Step #6 - Track the Petty Cash Fund on the Accounting Records of Your Business.

Do you include petty cash in balance sheet? ›

Petty cash is a current asset listed as a debit on the balance sheet. An accountant will typically write a cheque to "Petty Cash" to fund the petty cash account and cash this cheque at the company's bank.

How to categorize petty cash in QuickBooks? ›

To set this up in QBO, click the gear icon in the upper right of the screen and then Chart of Accounts. Click New in the upper right corner. Select “Bank” for Account Type, “Cash on Hand” for Detail Type, and click Save and Close.

How do you record petty cash? ›

When your petty cash cashier puts money into the petty cash fund, they must create a journal entry in your books. The entry must show an increase in your Petty Cash account and a decrease in your Cash account. To show this, debit your Petty Cash account and credit your Cash account.

What is the purpose of a petty cash record? ›

Petty cash is a small amount of money that businesses keep on their premises and used to describe small company transactions. It's essential so that you don't need to make expenses from your own pockets and also so there isn't a mismatch in balance sheets.

Is petty cash a write off? ›

The small expenses that your business makes with petty cash might not seem like a big deal, tax-wise. But they can add up. If you average $100 petty cash expenses per month, that's $1,200 you could potentially write off your tax bill next year!

Is petty cash book an expense? ›

Petty Cash Book is used for recording payment of petty expenses, which are of smaller denominations like postage, stationery, conveyance, refreshment, etc. Person who maintains petty cash book is known as petty cashier and these small expenses are termed as petty expenses.

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