1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Accounts List. 
2. Click the Asset tab. 
3. Click New.
4. Select Bank in Account Type drop-down menu. In BusinessBasics, select the Detail Account (Postable) option.
5. Give the account a unique number that suits your account list.
6. Name the account Petty Cash
7. Click OK.

The window below shows the setup of an example Petty Cash account

If you are setting up a new company file and you are currently using a physical 'petty cash tin', enter the opening balance as follows:

1. Go to the Setup menu and choose Balances.
2. Click Account Opening Balances.
3. Locate the Petty Cash account and enter its Opening Balance.

Note: For detailed information on entering cheque account Opening Balances, please refer to our page on your first bank reconciliation.

If you're using an existing company file, petty cash is usually started with money withdrawn from the cheque account. To reflect this in your company file, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Spend Money. In BusinessBasics, go to the Command Centres menu and choose Banking then choose Spend Money.
2. Click the Pay From Account option and select your cheque account in the adjacent field.
3. Enter details such as Date, Amount, Cheque No and Memo.
4. In the Acct# field in the lower portion of the window, select your Petty Cash account.
5. Make sure you select N-T in the Tax column.
6. Click Record. See our example below.
    

 Purchases made from Petty Cash are entered in the same way as a cheque payment.

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Spend Money. In BusinessBasics, go to the Command Centres menu and choose Banking then choose Spend Money.
2. Click the Pay From Account option and select the Petty Cash account in the adjacent field.
3. Enter the Cheque No, Date, Amount and Memo.
4. Click the Acct# field and enter the expense account. Move your cursor to the Amount field and if necessary enter the amount.
5. Apply the relevant Tax Code then click Record. The window below shows a sample Petty Cash purchase. 

Reconciling the Petty Cash account will ensure it balances with your cash receipts. It will also provide you with the reimbursement amount.

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Reconcile Accounts.
2. Select the Petty Cash account in the Account field then enter the current date in the Bank Statement Date field.
3. Match the payments in the Reconcile Accounts window with your cash receipts, marking the corresponding transactions off as Cleared. You will also need to reconcile the reimbursement deposit which you can check against your banking records.
4. Enter the physical cash balance of your 'petty cash tin' in the New Statement Balance field (the Closing Statement Balance field in AccountRight 2011 and later). If this equals the Calculated Statement Balance, the Out of Balance field will display zero.
5. Providing the account balances, click Reconcile. Print the Reconciliation Report then click Reconcile again to finally reconcile the account. The window below shows the Petty Cash account being reconciled.

The Total of the Reconciled Cheques shown in the Reconciliation Report is the amount needed to reimburse the Petty Cash account. This Total should equal the balance of the cash receipts in your physical 'petty cash tin',

The following window shows an excerpt from the Reconciliation Report. It can be seen that $71.53 is needed to reimburse the Petty Cash account

Now that the reimbursement amount has been determined:

1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Spend Money. In BusinessBasics, go to the Command Centres menu and choose Banking then Choose Spend Money.
2. Click the Pay From Account field and select your cheque account in the adjacent field.
3. Enter the Cheque No, Date, Amount and Memo.
4. In the Acct# field in the lower portion of the window, select your Petty Cash account.
5. Make sure you select N-T in the Tax column.
6. Click Record.

The following window shows a sample of the reimbursement transaction. After entering this transaction, the Petty Cash account balance should equal its original opening balance of $100.00. This should be confirmed by using the Balance Sheet report.

Click Reimburse to see a list of all the job purchases and expenses you have assigned a job number to, that can now be reimbursed on the sale.

You should enter the credit limit you've assigned in each customer's card. If you want to stop sales from being recorded for customers who have exceeded their credit limit, you can place them on hold.