A contra revenue account is a revenue account that is expected to have a debit balance (instead of the usual credit balance). In other words, its expected balance is contrary to—or opposite of—the usual credit balance in a revenue account. https://www.astrprok.ru/n_2315_.html Regardless of that, allowance for receivables accounts will exist for all companies that have account receivable balances. This account helps companies present a more accurate accounts receivable balance on the financial statements.
Recording Contra Assets
It will debit Accounts Receivable for $100,000 and will credit Sales for $100,000. If a customer returns $500 of this merchandise, Company K will debit Sales Returns and Allowances for $500 and will credit Accounts Receivable for $500. Company K’s income statement will report the gross Sales of $100,000 minus the sales returns and allowances of $500 and the resulting net sales of $99,500. Allowance for doubtful accounts is netted from the accounts receivable balance.
What Is the Benefit of Using a Contra Account?
Often when a company extends goods on credit, management expects some of those customers not to pay and so anticipates writing off bad debt. A contra asset is a negative account used in double-entry accounting to reduce the balance of a paired asset http://www.advlab.ru/articles/article52.htm account in the general ledger. A less common example of a contra asset account is Discount on Notes Receivable. The credit balance in this account is amortized or allocated to Interest Income or Interest Revenue over the life of a note receivable.
Contra Account Example: Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
In other words, contra accounts are used to reduce normal accounts on the balance sheet. A contra account is a general ledger account with a balance that is opposite of the normal balance for that account classification. The use of a contra account allows a company to report the original amount and also report a reduction so that the net amount will also be reported. The net amount is often referred to as the carrying amount or perhaps the net realizable amount. Contra asset accounts can be used in a variety of areas, but there are three contra asset examples that you should pay close attention to. At the end of year 20, the car and the accumulated depreciation accounts will be written off from the balance sheet, as the car will be a fully depreciated asset.
The allowance for doubtful accounts – often called a “bad debt reserve” – would be considered a contra asset since it causes the accounts receivable (A/R) balance to decline. For example, if the balance of accumulated depreciation increases from $20,000 to $50,000, this means that the depreciation expense amounts to $30,000, which will be listed in the income statement. The main advantage of using a contra asset account is to separate this reduction from the asset account with which it is paired. By doing so, you can more clearly see the total amount of the related asset account, which would otherwise have been obscured by the offsetting amount of the reserve.
- Contra asset accounts also provide a clear picture of the companies’ accumulation of assets.
- By reporting contra accounts on the balance sheet, users can learn even more information about the company than if the equipment was just reported at its net amount.
- Over time, these assets lose value due to wear and tear, and the accumulated depreciation account records this decline in value.
- A contra asset account is an asset account where the account balance is a credit balance.
- The equity section of the balance sheet is where the shareholder’s claims to assets are reported.
Companies that issue bonds are likely to use contra liability accounts. If the bond is sold at a discount, the company will record the cash received from the bond sale as “cash”, and will offset the discount in the contra liability account. Every contra asset account on a company’s accounting records will http://fido7.ru/katalog/setevoe-oborudovanie/d-link-dgs-1210-20-me-19981.html also have a pairing account. For example, accumulated depreciation will go along with related assets. In business bookkeeping, contra asset accounts play a crucial role in managing financial data and guiding strategic decisions by providing a clear picture of the true value of assets and net revenue.
- In other words, accumulated depreciation will be $10,000 each year until the car depreciates to $0 twenty years later.
- If a $100,000 note is issued at a 2% discount, the Discount on Notes Payable would be $2,000, effectively reducing the liability over the note’s life until it reaches its face value at maturity.
- A contra asset is a negative asset account that offsets the asset account with which it is paired.
- Contra liability, equity, and revenue accounts have natural debit balances.
What Is A Contra Asset Account?
For example, if a piece of heavy machinery is purchased for $10,000, that $10,000 figure is maintained on the general ledger even as the asset’s depreciation is recorded separately. This will allow more people to qualify for SSI and in some cases, receive a higher SSI payment. In footnote 3, the company reports, “Net property and equipment includes accumulated depreciation and amortization of $25.3 billion as of August 1, 2021 and $24.1 billion as of January 31, 2021.” Contra-assets provide stakeholders with a more nuanced understanding of the company’s true financial health by reflecting the deterioration or reduction in value of assets. We can see how the $10,000 allowance for doubtful accounts offsets the $100,000 A/R account from our illustrative example above (i.e. the account decreases the carrying value of A/R). A contra account enables a company to report the original amount while also reporting the appropriate downward adjustment.
