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FINANCIAL LITERACY •  23 JULY 2021 • 4 MIN READ

The difference between accrual and cash accounting

The difference between accrual and cash accounting

You may have heard about financial statements being prepared on either an accrual basis or on a cash basis and wondered about the difference between the two. Well, wonder no more!​

Cash basis

When prepared on a cash basis, financial statements include only transactions which went through the business bank account. If you paid some business costs personally, we include those as well.​

Income is recognised only when money is received and costs are only recorded when physically paid.​

The most common users of financial statements on a cash basis are not-for-profit organisations. They are often not subject to income tax (and don’t need to file a tax return) and are more focused on money coming in and going out.​

Accrual basis

An accrual set of financial statements is different. It is based on transactions that took place during the year – whether they were in cash or not. Most accounting systems default to the accrual method of preparing financial statements.​

Almost all of the financial statements we prepare use the accruals basis. This is not only to meet ATO tax requirements, but it’s a better reflection of business operations – all income and expense transactions during the period are accounted for. You can’t make your business look better (using a cash basis) by just not paying your bills!​

Below are some examples of non-cash transactions.​

Accounts receivable

If you made a sale on 30 June 2022 and sent out an invoice, it’s unlikely you’ll receive the money before year-end (30 June 2022). As the sale itself took place in the 2022 tax year, we need to account for this income. We therefore record the sale as taxable income and the outstanding amount is shown as an accounts receivable asset (also called debtors) in the balance sheet.​

Accounts payable

Invoices you receive from suppliers before 30 June 2022, but haven’t yet paid, are another example of a transaction taking place in the 2022 year. Financial statements prepared on a cash basis won’t include that as a cost until the invoice has been paid. Accrual accounting however, does include that cost, whether as an asset purchased or a business expense. As the invoice hadn’t been paid by 30 June 2022, the business has a liability on its balance sheet.​

Depreciation

Most assets depreciate (lose value) each year. Think of a motor vehicle – as soon as you drive it off the lot, you’re unlikely to sell it for more than it was purchased. The decrease in value doesn’t involve cash, but needs to be accounted for in financial statements on an accrual basis. You may like to read our article “What is Depreciation?”.​

Accrual accounting factors in the depreciation concept and each year, we can claim depreciation as an expense. Financial statements prepared on a cash basis will not show this decrease in value. The asset will continue to be shown at its original cost.​

When preparing financial statements for tax purposes, we claim depreciation using the maximum rates permitted by the ATO. ​

Gains or losses when selling an asset

As mentioned above, depreciation rates are set by the ATO. Those rates may not reflect the exact reduction in asset value each year.​

When you sell the asset you’ll receive cash. This isn’t income. Instead, we sell the asset from the asset register.  If you have received less than the asset’s book value*, the business will have a loss. If you receive more than the asset’s book value, you will record a gain.​

Cash accounting will only show the sale price (money coming in).​

* The book value is the original cost less all depreciation claimed from the time the asset was purchased​

Profit and loss account on a cash basis

Accounting systems will often have the option of running the profit and loss account on a cash or accrual basis.​

If you use Xero, we’ve included the relevant steps below needed to generate your profit and loss account on a cash basis. These steps come from Xero’s instructions on how to prepare a profit and loss account.​

  • In the Accounting menu, select Reports.
  • Under Financial, click Profit and Loss (New).
  • Set Date Range.
  • Click the settings icon for additional options, including…
    • Select an Accounting basis, either Accrual or Cash
  • Click Update.

Just note that the report will always default back to Accrual. You’ll need to select Cash next time you’d like to see the report.​

You can also take a look at Xero’s Cash Summary report. It shows a summary of all cash transactions, not just those affecting profit.​

Kate, Australian problem solver

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When preparing financial statements used to complete tax returns, we’ll always use the accrual form of accounting. Why?​

Accrual basis accounting creates a more accurate view of a company's financial status by recording revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred—effectively matching revenue with expense. International Accounting standards also require companies to prepare financial statements on the accruals basis.​

Who are Beany? 

We’re an online accounting firm that is always right here for you, your accounting pain relief. The most advanced technology lets us work way more closely with you than a normal accountant world. ​​

We have a dedicated team of certified accountants and a support team to take care of your business no matter where you are, so you can focus on growing your business. We take out the ‘fluff’, break down the barriers and get things done. Looking out for you is what we are all about. Get started for free today.​

Kim Jenkins

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