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Chapter 6.4® - Accounting for Merchandise Sales, Sales Discounts, Sales Returns & Allowances & Shrink – Perpetual Inventory System

i) Accounting for Merchandise Sales

Merchandising companies also have to account for the sales side of things, including sales, sales discounts, sales returns and allowances, and cost of goods sold. Accounting for the sale of merchandise needs 2 critical pieces of information:

1) Revenue received from the sale of the merchandise to the customer

2) Recognition of the cost of merchandise that was sold to the customer

As an example, consider Binti Kiziwi Corp. records a purchase of $1,500 Sony camera on credit on September 14th, 2009 and also sells this camera for $2,200 on September 27th, 2009 on credit. Here is the journal entry to record the sale:

September 27th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Accounts Receivable  

$2,200


Cr. Sales   $2,200
Entry to record sale of Sony Camera on credit.

With this journal entry, there is an increase on the Current assets side (Debit to AR) as well as an increase to revenue (credit to sales). The expense or cost of the merchandise sold is accounted for via the journal entry below:

September 27th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Cost of Goods Sold  

$1,500


Cr. Merchandise Inventory   $1,500
To record the cost of Sept 27th, 2009 sale of Sony camera and to reduce inventory.

This journal entry records the cost of the camera sold and credits Merchandise inventory as we are reducing it, and debits an expense (Cost of Goods sold) that is reported on the income statement.

ii) Accounting for Sales Discounts

Companies giving cash discounts to their customers recognize these discounts as ‘Sales discounts’ on their books. Why do they do this? Well to increase the number of customer walk-ins, to increase their sales during times when consumers are not buying (recession) or during periods of holiday sales when the decreases in their prices are offset with a large number of customers buying (customer walk-ins). Another advantage to offering cash discounts on sales is for prompt payment, which reduces the time needed to pay suppliers for merchandise, as well as take advantage of any supplier discounts on merchandise.

A seller does not know whether a customer will pay within the discount period and take advantage of any cash discounts, thus a sales discount is not recorded until it is taken by the customer. As an example, consider Binti Kiziwi Corp. records a purchase of $1,500 Sony camera on credit on September 14th, 2009 and also sells this camera for $2,200 on September 27th, 2009 on credit on 2/10 n60 days terms. Here is the journal entry to record the sale:

September 27th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Accounts Receivable  

$2,200


Cr. Sales   $2,200
Entry to record sale of Sony Camera on credit.

With this journal entry, there is an increase on the Current assets side (Debit to AR) as well as an increase to revenue (credit to sales). The expense or cost of the merchandise sold is accounted for via the journal entry below:

September 27th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Cost of Goods Sold  

$1,500


Cr. Merchandise Inventory   $1,500
Entry to record Cost of Goods Sold expense for sale of merchandise and to lower the merchandise inventory account (credit).

The customer has 2 options, one is to take the 2% discount and pay within the 60 day period, and the second is to pay after 60 days and forfeit the discount. In scenario i) when the customer pays within 60 days, here is the journal entry recorded:

October 25th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Cash  

$1,470


Dr. Sales Discounts   $30  
Cr. Accounts Receivable   $1,500
To record payment of camera purchased on credit and take advantage of 2% discount – 2% x $1,500 = $30

In scenario ii), the customer can wait 60 days and pay after the discount period ends. In this case, the journal entry is simple enough:

November 25th, 2009

Account Name

Debit
Credit
Dr. Cash  

$1,500


Cr. Accounts Receivable   $1,500
Entry to record receipt of cash for camera purchased on credit by customer.

Sales discount is a contra-revenue account and the set up is because management can monitor sales discounts to assess their effectiveness and costs. The sales discount is deducted from total sales to arrive at a company’s net sales in a given period. Usually the company reports the Net Sales number on their income statement as the sales discount information although useful, is not that important enough to be reported on the income statement; it is more for effective management.

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