1. First establish the opening balance sheet and the proprietor’s interest

1. Open up the normal four accounts:

• A  trade receivables account
• A trade payables account
• A cash book, with two columns if cash sales are numerous and there are payments in cash out of till
• Trading account leaving space for entering the rest of the income and expenses account later

1.  Enter the opening balances of the aforesaid accounts

1. Line by line, work through the information given in the incomplete records questions; and each item be entered into the appropriate account as mentioned in step 2.

1. Sometimes, the need to compute the amount of withdrawals on account and an amount for depreciation for non-current assets

1. Finally, look for the BALANCING FIGURES in the accounts like

(a)     value for credit sales,

(b)    cash sales,

(c)    purchases,

(d)    cost of goods sold,

(e)    cost of goods stolen or destroyed ,

(f)     closing bank balances,etc.

Calculate these missing figures and make any necessary double entry

For example:

(a)    to the trading account from trade accounts payables for purchases,

(b)   to the trading account from the cash book for cash sales, and

(c)    to the trading account from trade accounts receivable for credit sales