The Books of Prime Entry are also known as Books of Original Entry / Day Books / Journals. These books are used to record transactions for the first time, before posting them to their respective accounts. SeperateSeparate books should be kept for different kindkinds of transactions. For example, sales will enterbe entered in one book, while purchases will be in another book. In these books the following columns are used to enter this information:
• Date,
• Details,
• Amount.

The following documents are used in order to complete the books of prime entry:
1. Sales Journal – sale invoices,
2. Purchases Journal – purchase invoices,
3. Returns Inwards (Sales Returns) Journal – credit notes sent out,
4. Returns Outwards (Purchases Returns) Journal – credit notes received,
5. Cash Book – bank cheques, bank statements, and vouchers,
6. General Journal – invoices and other documentation.

The Ledger is the main file of the business, in which all the different accounts are kept in a double entry system. In order to cope with an expanding book-keeping system, the ledger is divided into separate sections. This is called the division of the ledger.

The ledger is divided into three main sections and these are:

• The Sales Ledger, containing the accounts of trade receivables;
• The Purchases Ledger, containing the accounts of trade payables;
• The General Ledger, containing the nominal accounts and the real accounts.

Example: Goods bought on credit from Mr. R. Briffa.

a) First it is listed in the purchases journal (since it is a purchase on credit);
b) The first part of the double entry, Debit, will be entered in the Purchases Account, which is found in the book called the General Ledger;
c) The second part of the double entry, Credit, will be posted in the personal account of Mr. R. Briffa found in the book called the Purchases Ledger.