What is a Purchase Return Book?

Various records detailing financial transactions of a similar sort are also called special purpose books, special purpose subsidiary books, and subsidiary books of accounts. They are the journal’s sub-divisions. During the course of a business’s lifespan, the volume of transactions may increase to the point where a single journal is no longer sufficient to keep the books. For more effective bookkeeping, special purpose books or subsidiary books may be required. 

Different Subsidiary Books

Cash Book

A cash book is a book of prime entry that records all cash and bank instrument transactions conducted by a company. 

Purchase Book

Purchase book is one of the special purpose books in which a company records all of its credit purchases. 

Sales Book

A sales book is one of the subsidiary books in which a company records all of its credit sales. 

Purchase Returns Book

Purchase returns book, sometimes known as a returns outward book, is used to track products returned by a company to its suppliers. 

Sales Return Book

A sales return book, sometimes known as a returns inward book, is used to track products returned to a business by customers. 

Journal Proper

A journal proper is a book that contains all incidental transactions that are not recorded in any other subsidiary book. 

Bills Receivable Books

It is a book that keeps track of all bills owed to a company; the sum of the bills receivable book is posted to the B/R account’s debit side. 

Bills Payable Book

The sum of the bills payable book is posted on the credit side of the B/P account. It is one of the subsidiary books that records all bills payable by a business. 

Purchase Returns Book

The goods returned to suppliers are recorded in the Purchases Returns Book. It’s also known as a purchases returns day book or a returns outward book. Goods may be returned if they are the wrong kind, are not up to standard, or are damaged, among other reasons. This book’s decision is identical to that of the purchases day book. The book is kept in the same way as the purchasing daybook, and entries are made in the same way. 

Posting

The total of the purchases returns or returns outwards book is credited to the purchases return account or the returns outwards account (being the goods sent out). Individual suppliers are debited when products are returned (because they receive the goods). 

Posting to personal accounts of creditors

Every day, by writing the words ‘To Purchases Returns account,’ each entry in the purchases returns book is posted to the debit side of the respective personal account of the creditor. 

Posting to purchases returns account

The total of the purchase returns is calculated at the end of the month. It is the total purchases returns for the month, which is debited from the ‘Sundry creditors account’ and posted to the credit side of the purchases returns account. 

Debit Note

When the items are returned to the suppliers, they receive notification in the form of a debit note. These debit notes act as receipts for these transactions. A debit note is a statement provided by a businessperson to another person that shows the amount debited from the latter’s account. Debit notes are often serially numbered and created in the same manner as invoices. 

Conclusion

In a periodic inventory system, buy returns and allowances is associated with and offsets the purchases account. Deductions from purchases for items returned to suppliers, as well as deductions allowed by suppliers for goods not returned, are recorded in this account. All purchases of products on credit are documented in a single location. These entries are simple to reference and browse. The journal records important information about these transactions (such as the number of products sold or the rate of purchase, for example). Explanatory narrations and account titles are not required. It allows for the division of labour among the personnel of the company.