Post the eight transactions and check a trial balance
See this course’s project requirements
A fictional bookkeeping close packet with source documents, journal entries, ledgers, bank reconciliation, financial summaries and a short cash forecast. Assemble and revise the six lesson outputs into one clearly labeled fictional practice packet.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- Register all eight source documents with linked payments and unpaid balances.
- Provide the chart of accounts, journal, ledgers and initial trial balance.
- Reconcile bank and book cash with supported adjusting entries.
- Separate simplified profit from cash and build the two-week forecast.
- Assemble a balanced final position summary and a clear limitations note.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Accuracy: amounts, classifications and decisions agree with the supplied evidence and stated assumptions.
- Reasoning: each important choice names the rule, observation or comparison that supports it.
- Responsible scope: the packet protects information, respects authority limits and routes unresolved concerns appropriately.
- Usability: a new reader can follow the ordered lesson outputs, identify ownership and see what is complete or still uncertain.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
The journal preserves transaction order; account ledgers group all increases and decreases for one account. A trial balance then compares the totals of debit and credit balances. It can reveal some mistakes, but a balanced trial balance can still contain wrong accounts or omitted transactions. Use the document register to test completeness as well as mathematical equality.
Journal each event once, then summarize its effects by account.
One step at a time.
Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.
- 1
Use the chart of accounts to journal all eight source documents with ID, account, debit, credit and a short explanation. Confirm that each event’s total debits equal its total credits.
- 2
Copy each entry into the record for its account, called a ledger. A paper T-account works too. Keep the document ID beside the entry so you can trace each amount back to what happened.
- 3
Calculate the ending balance of each account and assemble the trial balance. Recalculate Cash independently from cash receipts and cash payments to check the ledger result.
- 4
Compare the posted document IDs with the source register for omissions or duplicates. If totals disagree, investigate the entries and arithmetic; never insert an unexplained balancing amount to make the columns match.
See how it works.
Fictional practice: after posting D1–D8, Oak has Cash $1,000, Accounts Receivable $100, Supplies $80, Equipment $200 and Rent Expense $100 as debit balances. Accounts Payable $30, Owner Capital $1,000 and Service Revenue $450 are credit balances. Debits total $1,480 and credits total $1,480. D3 debits Receivable and credits Revenue $300; D6 debits Cash and credits Receivable $200. D7 debits Supplies and credits Payable $80; D8 debits Payable and credits Cash $50. D4 debits Cash and credits Revenue $150, while D5 debits Rent Expense and credits Cash $100.
Did you cover these?
- Cash is $1,000, receivables $100 and payables $30.
- Debit and credit trial-balance totals are each $1,480.
- Every source document is linked to exactly one journal event.
What to finish
An eight-entry journal, account ledgers and a $1,480-per-side trial balance.
Watch for this
Assuming equal trial-balance totals prove every transaction is complete and correctly classified.
How can I tell I understand it?
You can demonstrate all three checks and explain the evidence behind your choices without consulting the worked example.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
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Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.
Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
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Sources and further reading
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Opened supporting-document and record-system guidance. Used only for business evidence and transaction records. Course gives no tax classifications, filing instructions or universal retention periods.
Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.
Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Opened and read journal structure, balanced entries, assets, liabilities, earned revenue and postings. All amounts, organizations and transaction sequences in this course are newly authored.
Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.
Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.
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