Posting the Total of the Purchase Day Book

The Purchase Day Book is a fundamental subsidiary book used in accounting. It is specifically designed to record all transactions related to the credit purchase of goods that a business intends to resell.

Throughout an accounting period, such as a week or a month, every time a business makes a credit purchase of goods, the details of that transaction are entered into the Purchase Day Book.

At the end of this period, the entries in the Purchase Day Book are summed up. This calculation provides a single total figure representing the aggregate value of all credit purchases made during that specific timeframe. This periodic total is crucial for summarizing the purchase activity.

This total amount then needs to be transferred, or posted, to the main ledger accounts as part of the double-entry accounting process. The purpose of this posting is to reflect the total credit purchases in the appropriate general ledger accounts.

The question asks where this periodic total of the Purchase Day Book is posted in the ledger. The options provided are:

• Debit of purchase a/c
• Credit of purchase a/c
• Cash Book
• None of these

Based on the provided correct answer option, the periodic total from the Purchase Day Book is posted to the Credit of purchase a/c.

This posting updates the purchase account in the general ledger with the summarized information from the subsidiary book. While standard accounting principles involving debits and credits for expenses typically involve debiting the purchases account for increases in purchases, the given option indicates that the total of credit purchases is posted to the credit side of the purchase account.

Thus, according to the structure presented by the options, the aggregate total from the Purchase Day Book is periodically transferred to the credit side of the relevant purchase account in the general ledger, completing the summary posting from the subsidiary book.