Content Standard 4.3

Special Journals

Jurnal Khas

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Explanation

A Special Journal (Jurnal Khas) is a book of prime entry designed to record frequent transactions of the same type in a business, namely credit purchases and credit sales of goods together with their returns. The main purposes of using Special Journals are to separate transactions by type so that the General Journal is not clogged with repetitive entries, to allow the division of accounting work among several clerks, to speed up reference when information is needed, and to reduce the number of ledger entries because only the grand total is posted to the nominal account. Remember that Special Journals record only credit transactions involving goods (inventory bought for resale); cash purchases and cash sales are recorded in the Cash Book, while credit purchases or sales of non-current assets are recorded in the General Journal.

There are four Special Journals you need to know: the Purchases Journal (Jurnal Belian) records credit purchases of goods, the Purchases Returns Journal (Jurnal Pulangan Belian) records goods returned to suppliers, the Sales Journal (Jurnal Jualan) records credit sales of goods, and the Sales Returns Journal (Jurnal Pulangan Jualan) records goods returned by customers. Each journal is linked to a specific source document: the Purchases Journal is based on the invoice received, the Sales Journal on the copy of the invoice issued, the Purchases Returns Journal on the credit note received, and the Sales Returns Journal on the copy of the credit note issued.

The basic format of a Special Journal contains columns for Date (Tarikh), Particulars (Butir, the name of the creditor for purchase journals or the debtor for sales journals), Invoice or Credit Note Number, Folio (ledger reference), and an Amount column in RM. Each transaction is recorded on one line in date order, and at the end of the month the Amount column is totalled to obtain the grand total that will be posted to the relevant nominal account. Unlike the General Journal, a Special Journal does not have separate debit and credit columns because the debit and credit are already fixed by the type of journal itself.

The double entry for each journal is fixed. For the Purchases Journal, the Purchases account is debited and the Creditor account is credited. For the Purchases Returns Journal, the Creditor account is debited and the Purchases Returns account is credited. For the Sales Journal, the Debtor account is debited and the Sales account is credited. For the Sales Returns Journal, the Sales Returns account is debited and the Debtor account is credited. Note that the personal account (Debtor or Creditor) changes according to the individual, while the nominal account (Purchases, Sales, Purchases Returns, Sales Returns) receives the grand total.

The recording and posting process involves two stages. First, the individual amount of each transaction is posted to the personal account of the respective debtor or creditor in the Sales Ledger or Purchases Ledger, usually on a daily basis. Second, the grand total of the journal at the end of the period (usually a month) is posted as one figure to the relevant nominal account in the General Ledger. This method saves time because the nominal account receives a single total entry rather than one entry for every transaction. Folio numbers are written in the journal and ledger to cross-reference and to confirm that every entry has been correctly posted.

Worked examples

Purchases Journal and Purchases Returns Journal (Maju Jaya Enterprise)

On 3 May, Maju Jaya Enterprise bought goods on credit from Seri Supplies for RM1,200 (Invoice No. B101), and on 7 May from Amanah Wholesale for RM800 (Invoice No. B102). Both are recorded in the Purchases Journal, giving a month-end total of RM2,000.

Double entry: Debit Purchases account RM2,000 (total); Credit Seri Supplies account RM1,200 and Credit Amanah Wholesale account RM800 (individual).

On 12 May, Maju Jaya returned damaged goods worth RM150 to Seri Supplies (Credit Note No. K20), recorded in the Purchases Returns Journal. Double entry: Debit Seri Supplies account RM150; Credit Purchases Returns account RM150.

Sales Journal and Sales Returns Journal (Maju Jaya Enterprise)

On 5 May, Maju Jaya sold goods on credit to Mdm Halimah for RM900 (Invoice No. J55), and on 9 May to Mr Tan for RM600 (Invoice No. J56). Both are recorded in the Sales Journal with a total of RM1,500.

Double entry: Debit Mdm Halimah account RM900 and Debit Mr Tan account RM600 (individual); Credit Sales account RM1,500 (total).

On 15 May, Mdm Halimah returned goods worth RM100 that did not match her order (Credit Note No. NK08). This is recorded in the Sales Returns Journal. Double entry: Debit Sales Returns account RM100; Credit Mdm Halimah account RM100.

Posting to the ledger

Individual amounts are posted daily to the personal accounts in the Purchases Ledger and Sales Ledger, while the grand total is posted once at month-end to the nominal accounts in the General Ledger.

For example, the Purchases account in the General Ledger receives just one entry: Purchases, Dr RM2,000 (Purchases Journal). The Sales account receives Cr RM1,500, the Purchases Returns account receives Cr RM150, and the Sales Returns account receives Dr RM100. Each entry carries a folio number to cross-reference the journal and the ledger.

Practice

State the four Special Journals and the source document for each.

Answer: 1) Purchases Journal: source document is the invoice received from the supplier. 2) Sales Journal: source document is the copy of the invoice issued to the customer. 3) Purchases Returns Journal: source document is the credit note received from the supplier. 4) Sales Returns Journal: source document is the copy of the credit note issued to the customer. All four journals record only credit transactions of goods.

On 8 June, Impian Store bought goods on credit from Restu Supplier for RM3,500 (Invoice No. 210). Record this transaction and state the double entry and how it is posted.

Answer: It is recorded in the Purchases Journal on the line dated 8 June (Particulars: Restu Supplier; Invoice No. 210; Amount RM3,500). Double entry: Credit Restu Supplier account RM3,500 (posted to the personal account in the Purchases Ledger that day). This amount also contributes to the Purchases Journal grand total which, at month-end, is posted to the debit side of the Purchases account in the General Ledger.

Explain the difference in posting individual amounts versus the grand total in the Sales Journal.

Answer: The individual amount of each sale is posted to the respective debtor's personal account in the Sales Ledger, usually daily, by debiting that debtor's account. The grand total of the Sales Journal is posted only once at month-end to the credit side of the Sales account in the General Ledger. In this way the Sales account receives a single total entry rather than one entry per sale, saving time and reducing ledger entries.

Mr Rahim returns goods worth RM250 to your business because they are damaged. In which journal is this recorded and what is the double entry?

Answer: Because the customer is returning goods, it is recorded in the Sales Returns Journal based on the copy of the credit note issued. Double entry: Debit Sales Returns account RM250 (grand total posted to the General Ledger at month-end); Credit Mr Rahim account RM250 (posted to the debtor's personal account in the Sales Ledger).

Exam tips

Memorise the fixed double entry for each journal: Purchases (Dr Purchases, Cr Creditor), Purchases Returns (Dr Creditor, Cr Purchases Returns), Sales (Dr Debtor, Cr Sales), Sales Returns (Dr Sales Returns, Cr Debtor).
Ensure only CREDIT transactions of goods enter the Special Journals; cash transactions go to the Cash Book and credit purchases of assets go to the General Journal. Putting a transaction in the wrong book is a common way to lose marks.
Match the source document to the correct journal: invoice for purchases/sales, credit note for returns. Questions often test whether you can identify the journal from the document.
When posting, remember personal accounts (debtors/creditors) are posted individually, but nominal accounts (Purchases, Sales, Returns) receive only the grand total at month-end.

Key terms

Special Journal (Jurnal Khas): A book of prime entry for recording frequent credit transactions in goods of the same type.
Purchases Journal (Jurnal Belian): The special journal that records credit purchases of goods based on invoices received.
Sales Returns Journal (Jurnal Pulangan Jualan): The special journal that records goods returned by customers based on copies of credit notes issued.
Folio: A cross-reference number linking an entry in the journal to an account in the ledger.

Source: DSKP KSSM Prinsip Perakaunan Tingkatan 4

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