_Debit the person_ When he receives anything of value;
_Credit the person_ When you receive anything of value;
=5. Posting.= There is no difference between posting to a single entry ledger and one kept by the double entry method. However, the only accounts posted are personal accounts, and the ledger shows merely how much money the business owes to persons and how much money persons owe the business. A single entry ledger does not show the amount of our notes outstanding, or the amount of other persons' notes held by us. This information can be found only in the bill book. The ledger does not show the value of merchandise purchased or sold, expenses of the business, nor the amount of our investments in land, buildings, or other forms of property.
=6. Proprietor's Account.= A proprietor's investment or capital account is kept in single entry just as it is in double entry. This may or may not include withdrawals. They may be recorded in a personal or private account, in which case the proprietor's account will exhibit the net investment in the business.
=7. Proving the Work.= Since but one side of each journal entry is posted, the two sides of the ledger will not agree as in double entry. Hence a trial balance is, strictly speaking, impossible. The only absolutely sure method of checking the accuracy of a single account in the ledger is to carefully check all postings; this is also true of double entry. But it is possible to prove that the correct totals have been posted in single entry, as it is in double entry. Since the ledger is never in balance as in double entry, the proof is not found by comparing the two sides of the ledger, but by comparing the difference between the two sides of the ledger, with the difference between debits and credits in the columns of books of original entry from which postings have been made. If the difference between debits and credits in the ledger agrees with the difference between debits and credits in the books of original entry, the work may be assumed to be correct.
To prove the work, first find the balances of all ledger accounts and enter the amounts in the debit and credit columns on journal paper—as for a trial balance. Foot and find the difference between the two columns. Next foot the order book, day book, cash book, or any other books from which posting is done, and list the totals which should be posted to debit and credit of ledger accounts. Foot and find the difference.