Special Journals in Accounting: The 5 Journals and Subsidiary Ledgers Explained

Last updated: October 23, 2026

Special journals in accounting are books of original entry, the first place a transaction is written down, that each record one type of repetitive transaction, such as credit sales or cash receipts. Instead of writing every transaction in the general journal, the bookkeeper groups similar transactions and posts column totals to the general ledger.

The five journals covered here are the sales journal, cash receipts journal, purchases journal, cash disbursements journal (also called the cash payments journal), and the general journal. The first four are the special journals. The general journal catches everything else. In this lesson, Professor Farhat walks through each one, shows the journal entries behind them, and explains how subsidiary ledgers tie back to their general ledger control accounts. Special journals are a foundational skill in any Financial Accounting course. They are not a stand-alone topic on the CPA FAR blueprint, but they sit underneath the receivables, payables, and accounting cycle questions in FAR and the internal control questions in AUD.

Key Takeaways

• A special journal records one type of repetitive transaction, so column totals, not individual entries, are posted to the general ledger.
• The four special journals are the sales journal (credit sales), the cash receipts journal (all cash in), the purchases journal (credit purchases), and the cash disbursements journal (all cash out). The general journal records everything else.
• Every entry in the cash receipts journal debits Cash. Every entry in the cash disbursements journal credits Cash.
• Individual customer and supplier amounts post to the subsidiary ledgers daily. Column totals post to the general ledger control accounts at month end. The Other Accounts column is the exception: its items post individually and its total is never posted.
• The total of a subsidiary ledger must equal its control account balance. A difference means there is a posting error to find.

Watch: Special Journals in Accounting

Video Timeline

Select a timestamp to watch that part of the lesson on YouTube (opens in a new tab).

• 0:39 — Sales journal: credit sales, receivables, and COGS
• 7:49 — Cash receipts journal: all cash inflows
• 13:02 — Purchases journal: purchases on account
• 15:32 — Cash disbursements journal: cash payments
• 18:55 — General journal: transactions not in special journals

What Are Special Journals in Accounting?

A special journal records transactions of a single kind so that repetitive entries can be batched and posted efficiently. Instead of writing a separate general-journal entry for every credit sale, a business lists each sale on one line of the sales journal and posts only the column totals to the general ledger at period end. Using special journals in accounting reduces posting effort, lowers the risk of error, and allows work to be divided among staff. As transaction volume grows, this efficiency becomes essential.

You may see different names for the same journals. The cash disbursements journal is often called the cash payments journal. In UK and Indian textbooks, special journals are called subsidiary books or day books, as in the sales day book and the purchases day book. The mechanics are the same whatever the name.

The Five Journals at a Glance

Journal	Records	Typical Posting
Sales Journal	Sales on account (credit sales) only	Dr Accounts Receivable / Cr Sales Revenue (and Dr Cost of Goods Sold / Cr Inventory under a perpetual inventory system)
Cash Receipts Journal	All transactions that bring in cash	Always a debit to Cash
Purchases Journal	Purchases on account (credit purchases)	Dr Purchases/Inventory / Cr Accounts Payable
Cash Disbursements Journal	All transactions that pay out cash	Always a credit to Cash
General Journal	Transactions that fit no special journal	Adjusting entries, returns, depreciation, etc.

What Goes in the Sales Journal?

The sales journal records credit sales only. Cash sales go in the cash receipts journal. Each line captures the date, customer name, invoice number, and amount. Under a perpetual inventory system, where the Inventory account is updated after every sale, each credit sale also records the cost side: Cost of Goods Sold goes up and Inventory goes down. Under a periodic system, cost of goods sold is calculated at the end of the period instead, so the sales journal has only the revenue columns.

In the entries below, Dr means debit and Cr means credit.

Worked example. A company sells merchandise on account for $1,000; the merchandise cost $600.

Dr  Accounts Receivable ....... 1,000
      Cr  Sales Revenue .............. 1,000

Dr  Cost of Goods Sold ........   600
      Cr  Inventory ..................   600

At period end, the total of the Accounts Receivable column is posted to the Accounts Receivable control account, and each individual customer amount is posted to that customer’s account in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger.

What a sales journal looks like

Here is the same $1,000 sale alongside a second sale, laid out the way a sales journal is actually kept.

Date	Account Debited (Customer)	Invoice No.	Post. Ref.	Accounts Receivable Dr / Sales Revenue Cr	Cost of Goods Sold Dr / Inventory Cr
Mar 3	Customer A	101	✓	1,000	600
Mar 9	Customer B	102	✓	750	450
Mar 31	Totals			1,750	1,050

The check marks in the posting reference column show that each customer’s amount was posted to that customer’s account in the subsidiary ledger, usually the same day. At month end, the $1,750 total is posted once as a debit to Accounts Receivable and once as a credit to Sales Revenue, and the $1,050 total is posted once as a debit to Cost of Goods Sold and once as a credit to Inventory. Four postings to the general ledger replace the eight you would need if each sale were journalized separately.

What Goes in the Cash Receipts Journal?

The cash receipts journal records every transaction that brings cash in, so every entry includes a debit to Cash. Common sources include collections from credit customers, cash sales, and other inflows such as interest or the sale of assets. A collection from a customer who also takes a sales discount is recorded as follows:

Dr  Cash ...................   980
Dr  Sales Discounts .......    20
      Cr  Accounts Receivable ...  1,000

The example above reflects credit terms of 2/10, n/30 (a 2% discount if paid within 10 days) applied to a $1,000 balance.

What Goes in the Purchases Journal?

The purchases journal records purchases on account. Under a perpetual system the debit is to Inventory; under a periodic system the debit is to Purchases. The credit is always to Accounts Payable.

Dr  Inventory (or Purchases) ... 2,000
      Cr  Accounts Payable ........... 2,000

The Accounts Payable column total posts to the payable control account, while individual amounts post to each supplier’s account in the accounts payable subsidiary ledger.

What Goes in the Cash Disbursements Journal?

The cash disbursements journal records every transaction that pays cash out, so every entry includes a credit to Cash. Paying a supplier and taking a purchase discount looks like this:

Dr  Accounts Payable ....... 2,000
      Cr  Cash ...................  1,960
      Cr  Inventory (or Purchase Discounts) ...  40

When Do You Use the General Journal?

The general journal handles anything that does not fit a special journal: sales returns and allowances, purchase returns, adjusting entries, depreciation, and correcting entries. The general journal complements special journals in accounting by recording entries that fall outside their categories.

How Are Special Journals Posted to the Ledgers?

Posting follows a simple rhythm. Individual amounts in the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable columns are posted daily to the customer or supplier accounts in the subsidiary ledger. A check mark in the posting reference column shows that the amount reached the subsidiary ledger. At month end, each column total is posted once to its general ledger account, and the account number is written under the total to show it was posted.

One column breaks the pattern. Most cash receipts and cash disbursements journals have an Other Accounts column for one-off items such as a bank loan received or equipment bought for cash. Each amount in that column is posted individually to its own general ledger account, and the column total is never posted. Bookkeepers write an (X) under that total as a reminder. This is a favorite exam trap: if a question asks which column total is not posted, the answer is the Other Accounts column.

Subsidiary Ledgers and Control Accounts

A subsidiary ledger holds an individual account for each customer or supplier. The two most common are the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger and the accounts payable subsidiary ledger. The key control rule is:

The sum of all individual balances in a subsidiary ledger must equal the balance of its related general ledger control account.

If the total of every customer account in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger does not reconcile with the Accounts Receivable control account, there is a posting error to investigate. This reconciliation is a fundamental internal control. On the CPA exam you are more likely to meet it in AUD, where agreeing the subsidiary ledger to the control account is a classic control test, than as a stand-alone FAR question. Understanding it still helps with the receivables and payables questions in FAR. The control account itself lives in the general ledger, which is covered step by step in the Financial Accounting course.

Special journal, general journal, general ledger, or subsidiary ledger?

Students often mix these up. This table keeps them straight.

Record	What it is	What it holds	Example
Special journal	Book of original entry	One type of repetitive transaction	Credit sales in the sales journal
General journal	Book of original entry	Transactions that fit no special journal	A depreciation adjusting entry
General ledger	Book of final entry	Every account, including the control accounts	The Accounts Receivable control account
Subsidiary ledger	Supporting detail for one control account	One account per customer or supplier	Customer A’s receivable balance

Transactions always flow from a journal into a ledger, never the other way around.

How Do You Choose the Right Journal for a Transaction?

To choose among special journals in accounting, begin with the transaction itself. Ask whether cash changes hands now, whether the business is selling or buying on credit, and whether the entry fits an established journal. This sequence helps you distinguish the original transaction from a later collection or payment.

Start with cash. A customer who pays immediately creates a cash receipt. A payment to a supplier creates a cash disbursement. The account on the other side of the entry explains why cash moved, but the direction of the cash flow determines which of these two journals applies.

Next, check credit transactions. A merchandise sale on account belongs in the sales journal. A merchandise purchase on account belongs in the purchases journal. Read the journal headings carefully: some businesses design a purchases journal for merchandise alone, while others include columns for additional credit purchases.

Use the general journal when needed. An adjusting entry for depreciation is not a cash receipt, a cash payment, a credit sale, or a credit purchase of merchandise, so it goes in the general journal. The same rule covers any transaction that does not fit one of the four special journals. When in doubt, it goes in the general journal.

Remember that the five journal types in this lesson include four special journals plus the general journal. For another explanation of this classification, see OpenStax on journalizing transactions using special journals.

Common Mistakes Students Make With Special Journals

These are the errors I see most often in homework and on practice exams.

1. Putting a cash sale in the sales journal. The sales journal is for credit sales only. A cash sale brings cash in, so it belongs in the cash receipts journal.
2. Recording a customer’s payment as a new sale. When Customer A pays an invoice, the entry is a debit to Cash and a credit to Accounts Receivable in the cash receipts journal. The revenue was already recorded when the credit sale was made.
3. Putting a sales return in the sales journal. Returns and allowances go in the general journal, unless the company keeps a separate sales returns journal.
4. Posting the Other Accounts column total. Each amount in that column is posted on its own to its own account. The total is marked (X) and is not posted.
5. Forgetting the cost side under perpetual inventory. Every credit sale in the sales journal also needs a debit to Cost of Goods Sold and a credit to Inventory.
6. Recording an equipment purchase on account in a single-column purchases journal. That journal is for merchandise bought on account. Equipment bought on account goes in the general journal unless the purchases journal has an Other Accounts column.

Special Journals Practice: Match Transactions to Journals

Need a refresher? Review the five journals at a glance. Then apply what you learned in the credit-sale and subsidiary-ledger worked example below.

Want more practice like this? The Financial Accounting course includes video lessons and practice questions on every step of the accounting cycle, from journals to financial statements.

Practice: Follow a Credit Sale Through the Ledgers

This original practice example connects special journals in accounting with the customer records behind a control account. Assume a company begins the month with no accounts receivable. It sells $1,500 of merchandise on account to Customer A and $900 on account to Customer B. Ignore sales taxes, discounts, returns, and inventory cost entries for this receivables-only exercise.

Step 1: Record the sales. Enter both credit sales in the sales journal. The Accounts Receivable column totals $2,400, and the Sales Revenue column totals the same amount. In the customer subsidiary ledger, Customer A owes $1,500 and Customer B owes $900. These individual balances explain the total receivable.

Step 2: Record a collection. Customer A later pays $1,000. Record the collection in the cash receipts journal as a debit to Cash and a credit to Accounts Receivable. Reduce Customer A’s subsidiary balance to $500. Customer B still owes $900. Do not record another sale when the cash arrives: the revenue was already recorded at the time of the credit sale.

Step 3: Reconcile the balances. After the relevant journal totals have been posted, the Accounts Receivable control account shows $2,400 of sales less $1,000 of collections, or $1,400. The customer ledger also totals $1,400: $500 for Customer A plus $900 for Customer B. The two totals agree.

Step 4: Investigate a mismatch. If the control account shows $1,400 but the customer ledger totals $2,400, check whether the $1,000 collection reached Customer A’s account. Use the source document and posting references to trace the entry before correcting it. A difference identifies a need for investigation; it does not, by itself, prove which record is wrong.

When practicing special journals in accounting, explain both where the transaction is first recorded and which customer or supplier balance changes. Then check the combined balances against the control account. For further practice with this relationship, review OpenStax on preparing a subsidiary ledger.

Do Companies Still Use Special Journals?

In a manual bookkeeping system, yes. In accounting software, the idea lives on even though you never see a page called the sales journal. Programs such as QuickBooks and Xero, and enterprise systems such as SAP and Oracle, are built as modules, and each module does the job of a special journal. The invoicing or sales module is the sales journal. The bills or accounts payable module is the purchases journal. The bank and cash modules handle cash receipts and cash disbursements. When you save an invoice, the software records the sale, updates the customer’s subsidiary account, and posts to the control account in one step.

That is why the topic still matters. If you understand special journals, you understand why accounting software is organized the way it is, where to look when a customer balance does not agree with the general ledger, and how auditors trace a sale from the invoice to the financial statements. One more point worth knowing: generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), as organized in the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, set the rules for what gets reported. They do not say which journals a company must keep. Special journals are a bookkeeping method, not a reporting standard.

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Journals

What is a special journal?

A special journal records transactions of a single type, such as credit sales or cash receipts, so similar entries can be batched and posted efficiently instead of being recorded individually in the general journal.

What are the five accounting journals?

The five journals are the sales journal, cash receipts journal, purchases journal, cash disbursements journal, and the general journal for transactions that do not fit a special journal.

What is a subsidiary ledger?

A subsidiary ledger holds individual accounts for each customer or supplier. The total of all subledger balances must reconcile with the related general ledger control account.

What goes in the cash receipts journal?

The cash receipts journal records every transaction that brings in cash, including collections from credit customers, cash sales, and other inflows, always with a debit to cash.

Why do companies use special journals?

Special journals in accounting improve efficiency by grouping similar transactions and posting column totals, which speeds up processing as transaction volume grows.

What is the difference between a special journal and the general journal?

A special journal records one type of repetitive transaction, such as credit sales, and posts column totals to the general ledger. The general journal records everything that does not fit a special journal, such as adjusting entries, returns, and corrections, and each of its entries is posted individually.

Are cash sales recorded in the sales journal?

No. The sales journal records credit sales only. A cash sale brings cash in, so it is recorded in the cash receipts journal.

What is the difference between a special journal and a subsidiary ledger?

A special journal is where a transaction is first written down. A subsidiary ledger holds the detail behind one control account, with a separate account for each customer or supplier. Transactions flow from the journal into the ledger, never the other way.

Is the cash payments journal the same as the cash disbursements journal?

Yes. Both names describe the journal that records every cash payment, and every entry in it includes a credit to Cash.

Do companies still use special journals?

In manual bookkeeping, yes. In accounting software the same idea runs as modules: the invoicing module acts as the sales journal, the bills module as the purchases journal, and the bank module as the cash receipts and cash disbursements journals. The software posts to the ledgers automatically.

Which column total in a special journal is never posted?

The Other Accounts column total. Each amount in that column is posted individually to its own general ledger account, so the total is marked with an (X) and is not posted.

Are special journals tested on the CPA exam?

Special journals are not a named topic on the FAR blueprint. The skills behind them, such as recording credit sales, collections, and purchases, and agreeing a subsidiary ledger to its control account, support FAR questions on receivables and payables and AUD questions on internal control.

Keep Learning

Want the full lesson with practice questions? Special journals are covered in the Financial Accounting course, which walks through the entire accounting cycle step by step. Studying for the CPA exam? Try the free sample course to see how Professor Farhat teaches, then build speed with the FAR test bank. New to the fundamentals? Start with What Is Accounting? An Introduction to Accounting. To see how Financial Accounting topics are tested, review the official AICPA Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints.

About the Author

Mansour Farhat, CPA, CIA, DBA, is the accounting professor behind Farhat Lectures. He teaches financial accounting, intermediate accounting, auditing, cost accounting, and CPA and CMA exam review through video lessons, practice questions, and test banks used by accounting students and exam candidates. Learn more on the About Me page or connect on LinkedIn.