In: Accounting
What is the difference between selling on account versus cash?
The only difference between cash and credit transactions is the
timing of the payment. A cash transaction is a transaction where
payment is settled immediately. On the other hand, payment for a
credit transaction is settled at a later date.
Try not to think about cash and credit transactions in terms of how
they were paid, but rather, when they were paid.
For example, if someone buys groceries from our local shop and
pay us in cash there and then, that’s a cash transaction. However,
if we receive payment by card rather than cash ,That can also be
classified as a cash transaction because we received payment
immediately.
On the other hand, credit transactions are paid at a later date
than when the exchange of goods or services took place and almost
all of time an invoice for the transaction is issued. The time
period before payment can vary depending on the types of businesses
or even the industry in which the transaction is taking place. Once
again, when payment is finally settled for the invoice, it may be
done with cash or card, or any other payment method but it is still
a credit transaction.
Businesses will have a mixture of cash and credit transactions make
up their accounting records. Some businesses may have the majority
of their transactions be either one or the other and some will have
a more even split.