Accounting · Accounts from Incomplete Records

Cash and Bank Summary and Missing Figures in Incomplete Records

Updated 1 October 2026 · Fact-checked

A cash and bank summary is a receipts and payments account built from the records you have. List every known receipt on the debit side and every known payment on the credit side, with opening balances. The one unknown item, such as drawings, cash sales or closing cash, is the balancing figure.

Understand Cash and Bank Summary and Missing Figures

In incomplete records (single entry), the trader often keeps only a rough cash record. Many items are not written down. Drawings may be taken from the till without a note. Cash sales may never be recorded. The closing cash balance may not be counted. You still need these figures for the final accounts.

The trick is that cash always follows one rule: what comes in, minus what goes out, equals what is left. So if you know every figure except one, that one can be found. You build a cash account (or a summary of cash and bank) in the form of a ledger account. Receipts go on the debit side. Payments go on the credit side.

Put opening cash on the debit side and closing cash on the credit side. Then add up the side that has more known items. The gap needed to make both sides equal is the missing figure. It is called the balancing figure because it is not given. You work it out.

If the business has a bank account, prepare a separate bank summary the same way. Cash deposited into the bank is a payment in the cash account and a receipt in the bank account. This is a contra item. Count it once on each side.

The missing figure then feeds other work. Drawings go to the capital account. Cash sales add to total sales. Closing cash goes into the statement of affairs.

Key rules to remember

Cash account balancing rule: Opening cash + Cash receipts = Cash payments + Closing cash; Rearrange to find whichever one item is unknown. Both sides of the account must total the same.
Missing payment (e.g. drawings): Drawings = (Opening cash + Known receipts) − (Known payments + Closing cash); Use this when the question gives all receipts and other payments but not the amount taken by the owner.
Missing receipt (e.g. cash sales): Cash sales = (Known payments + Closing cash) − (Opening cash + Other known receipts); Credit sales are not cash sales. Only the cash actually received from customers on the spot is cash sales.
Missing closing balance: Closing cash = Opening cash + Total receipts − Total payments; For the bank account, a favourable closing balance is written on the credit side as 'By balance c/d'. If payments exceed receipts, the closing balance is an overdraft, written on the debit side as 'To balance c/d'.
Cash deposited into bank (contra): Cash account: credit side. Bank account: debit side.; The same amount appears once in each summary. It is not income or expense.
Bank overdraft: Opening overdraft goes on the credit side of the bank account. Closing overdraft goes on the debit side.; A bank balance is a debit balance, so a favourable closing balance is shown on the credit side as the balancing figure. An overdraft is the reverse.

How to solve Cash and Bank Summary and Missing Figures questions

Use this method for any cash or bank summary question. It keeps your layout clean and earns step marks even if one figure goes wrong.

1Read the question and underline the item you must find: drawings, cash sales, closing cash, an expense or a deposit.
2Draw the cash account in T-form. Write the opening cash balance on the debit side. If the opening balance is not given, check if it can be found from the statement of affairs.
3List every cash receipt on the debit side: collections from debtors, cash sales, sale of assets, capital introduced, loans received, and any other cash inflow.
4List every cash payment on the credit side: payments to creditors, expenses, salaries, purchase of assets, cash deposited into bank, and any drawings given.
5Enter the closing cash balance on the credit side if it is given. Leave a blank line for the unknown item.
6Total the side that has all its items. Subtract the known items on the other side. The difference is the missing figure. Write it in and total both sides.
7If a bank is involved, repeat the steps for a bank account. Show cash deposited and cheques received as receipts (debit) and cheques issued as payments (credit). Use the bank balance as the balancing figure if it is missing.
8Carry the answer forward. Show drawings in the capital account, cash sales in total sales, and closing cash in the statement of affairs.

Quickest way: Total-the-heavy-side shortcut

When to use it: Use when only one figure is missing and the question asks only for that figure, not for the full account.

Add all known items on one side, including the opening or closing balance if it is on that side.
Add all known items on the other side, leaving out the unknown.
Subtract the smaller total from the larger total. That difference is the missing figure.
Check the logic. If the missing item is a payment, the receipts side must be the larger total. If it is a receipt, the payments side must be larger.
Still draw a short account in the answer sheet. The marks are usually for the account format and the working, not just the final number.

Common mistakes in Cash and Bank Summary and Missing Figures

Putting the missing figure on the wrong side.
Students rush and do not think about whether the item is a receipt or a payment.
Fix: Ask: did money come in or go out? Drawings, expenses and deposits are payments (credit). Cash sales and collections are receipts (debit).
Treating credit sales or total sales as cash sales.
The question shows total sales, and students enter it directly in the cash account.
Fix: Only cash actually received goes in. Collections from debtors are shown separately. Credit sales go to the debtors account instead.
Forgetting the opening cash or bank balance.
The balance is hidden in a statement of affairs or a separate line in the question.
Fix: Start every account by writing the opening balance. Then read the question once more for any opening figure.
Counting cash deposited into bank as an expense or as a receipt in the cash account.
Students see 'bank' and think it is a business receipt or cost.
Fix: Deposit is a credit in the cash account and a debit in the bank account. It is a transfer. It never enters the profit calculation.
Treating a bank overdraft as a favourable balance.
The sign of the balance is overlooked.
Fix: An opening overdraft goes on the credit side of the bank account. A closing overdraft appears on the debit side (To balance c/d), and a closing favourable bank balance appears on the credit side (By balance c/d).
Mixing personal payments with business payments.
The question lists items such as the owner's household expenses paid from the till.
Fix: Personal items paid from business cash are drawings. Show them as drawings, not as business expenses.

Worked examples

Example 1

Ravi keeps incomplete records. On 1 April his cash in hand was ₹8,000. During the year he received ₹1,80,000 from debtors and made cash sales of ₹60,000. He paid ₹1,20,000 to creditors, ₹40,000 as expenses and ₹30,000 as salaries, and bought furniture for ₹10,000 in cash. His cash in hand on 31 March was ₹14,000. He took no other cash out except his personal drawings. Find his drawings.

Show the solution

Draw the cash account. Debit side: opening balance ₹8,000, debtors ₹1,80,000, cash sales ₹60,000.
Total of known receipts = 8,000 + 1,80,000 + 60,000 = ₹2,48,000.
Credit side known payments: creditors ₹1,20,000, expenses ₹40,000, salaries ₹30,000, furniture ₹10,000. Total = ₹2,00,000.
Closing cash is ₹14,000 on the credit side. So known credit items = 2,00,000 + 14,000 = ₹2,14,000.
Drawings = balancing figure = 2,48,000 − 2,14,000 = ₹34,000.
Check: credit side = 2,00,000 + 34,000 + 14,000 = ₹2,48,000, which equals the debit side.

Answer: Drawings are ₹34,000. Both sides of the cash account total ₹2,48,000.

Example 2

A trader has these figures. Opening cash ₹5,000. Opening bank balance ₹20,000 (debit). Cash received from debtors ₹70,000. Cheques received from debtors and deposited ₹90,000. Cash deposited into bank ₹50,000. Cash expenses ₹25,000. Drawings in cash ₹12,000. Closing cash ₹3,000. Payments by cheque: creditors ₹80,000 and rent ₹18,000. Find (a) cash sales and (b) the closing bank balance.

Show the solution

Cash account, credit side known items: bank deposit ₹50,000, expenses ₹25,000, drawings ₹12,000, closing cash ₹3,000. Total = ₹90,000.
Cash account, debit side known items: opening ₹5,000 and debtors ₹70,000. Total = ₹75,000.
Cash sales = 90,000 − 75,000 = ₹15,000. The cash account now totals ₹90,000 on each side.
Bank account, debit side: opening ₹20,000, cash deposited ₹50,000, cheques from debtors ₹90,000. Total = ₹1,60,000.
Bank account, credit side known payments: creditors ₹80,000 and rent ₹18,000. Total = ₹98,000.
Closing bank balance = 1,60,000 − 98,000 = ₹62,000. Receipts exceed payments, so this is a favourable balance. Write it on the credit side as 'By balance c/d' to balance the account.
Check: credit side = 98,000 + 62,000 = ₹1,60,000, which equals the debit side.

Answer: Cash sales are ₹15,000. The closing bank balance is ₹62,000, a favourable balance at bank, shown on the credit side as 'By balance c/d'.

Exam tips

Always draw the account even if only one number is asked. The format earns marks and shows your working.
Read the full question twice. Opening balances and small items such as sale of old assets are often tucked into a later line.
Write the label next to every figure, such as 'Cash from debtors'. This helps the examiner give step marks if a number is wrong.
Use the missing figure in the next step. Drawings go to the capital account, cash sales to total sales, and closing cash to the statement of affairs. Write the link clearly.
Check that both sides total the same before moving on. If they do not, you have a missing item or a wrong side.

Practice questions from Accounts from Incomplete Records

Cash and Bank Summary and Missing Figures: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a cash summary and a cash account in incomplete records?

They work the same way. A summary lists receipts and payments in a simple statement, while a cash account uses debit and credit sides. In CA Foundation, the T-form account is safer because it shows the balancing figure clearly.

How do I find drawings from the cash account?

Enter all known receipts and the opening balance on the debit side. Enter all known payments and the closing balance on the credit side. The amount needed to make the two sides equal is the drawings, if drawings is the only unknown.

How do I find cash sales in single entry?

Add up all payments and the closing cash on the credit side. Subtract opening cash and other known receipts from that total. The remainder is cash sales.

Is cash deposited into the bank a receipt or a payment?

It is both, depending on which account you are looking at. In the cash account, it is a payment on the credit side. In the bank account, it is a receipt on the debit side. It is not an income or an expense.