Source Documents and Books of Original Entry

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Business Studies | Form 4 | Topic 23 Books of Original Entry

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• Identify the source documents and state what each records.
• Name the books of original entry and the document each uses.
• Post entries from the journals to the ledger.
• Prepare a petty cash book using the imprest system.

Summary

A source document is the written evidence that a transaction occurred. Each type of transaction has its own document and its own book of original entry, and the entries are then posted to the ledger. The chain is fixed: document → journal → ledger → trial balance → final accounts, and every stage exists because the one before it would otherwise be unmanageable.