Non-corporate nominal ledger

Partnerships and
sole-traders

Introduction

If you are a partner or a sole-trader, then you may find the list of trial balance analysis codes (accounts) below very useful.

The list is intended to help you choose the account coding you should use to analyse the various transactions you will have to deal with in your business over the course of a year.

It is a long list, and it may appear at first to be overly complicated. Be assured, however, that you will probably end up using less than 75 separate codes, most of which will be in the expenditure sections.

In the detailed sections we have highlighted those codes we think you are most likely to use in red.

The rest of the accounts just covers all of the possibilities we may need to use in producing your annual financial statements at a later stage.

The overall layout of the balance sheet and profit and loss account follows the Inland Revenue's prescribed format for the standard Self Assessment Tax Return. All partners and sole-traders will have to complete this form at some stage. So it of course makes sense to make the extraction of the required figures as easy as possible.

How to use the Listing

We have provided a section by section summary of the balance sheet and the profit and loss account in the two tables below.

Take your time and just skip through the listing to familiarise yourself with the general layout, and what codes are actually contained therein.

We have started with the breakdown of the balance sheet into the sections the Inland Revenue require to be disclosed. The second table deals with the profit and loss account.

Click on any title, and you will gain access to the detailed listing of the individual accounts that make up that section.

In this section you will see we have started with the account name, followed by a suggested code number. Then specified a range you may use for future expansion. It is sensible to keep accounts of a similar nature together.

We have also added a double entry column. This indicates whether the account's carried forward balance is normally expected to be either a debit or credit balance.

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet	Type	From	-	To	Tax form	Double entry
Plant, machinery and motor vehicles	Asset	1000	-	1599	3.99	Cr
Other fixed assets	Asset	1000	-	1599	3.100	Dr
Stock and work in progress	Asset	1600	-	1629	3.101	Dr
Debtors/prepayments/other current assets	Asset	1630	-	1689	3.102	Dr
Bank/building society balances	Asset	1750	-	1849	3.103	Dr
Cash in hand	Asset	1850	-	1899	3.106	Dr
Trade creditors/accruals	Liability	2310	-	2499	3.107	Cr

Balance at start of period	Capital	2510	-	2514	3.111	Cr
Net profit/(loss)	Capital	4000	-	9999	3.112	Cr
Capital introduced	Capital	2515	-	2519	3.113	Cr
Drawings	Capital	2530	-	2539	3.114	Dr

Profit and Loss Account

Profit and Loss Account	Type	From	-	To	Tax form	Double entry
Sales/business income (turnover)	Income	3000	-	3899	3.29	Cr
Cost of sales	Expense	4000	-	4799	3.46	Dr
Construction industry subcontractor costs	Expense	4800	-	4949	3.47	Dr
Other direct costs	Expense	4950	-	4999	3.48	Dr
Other income/profits	Income	3900	-	3999	3.50	Cr
Employee costs	Expense	5000	-	5099	3.51	Dr
Premises costs	Expense	5100	-	5399	3.52	Dr
Repairs	Expense	5400	-	5499	3.53	Dr
General administrative costs	Expense	5500	-	6599	3.54	Dr
Motor costs	Expense	6600	-	6699	3.55	Dr
Travel and subsistence	Expense	6700	-	6799	3.56	Dr
Advertising, promotion and entertainment	Expense	6800	-	6919	3.57	Dr
Legal and professional	Expense	6920	-	6979	3.58	Dr
Bad debt	Expense	6980	-	6999	3.59	Dr
Depreciation and profit/(loss) on sale	Expense	7000	-	7049	3.62	Dr
Interest	Expense	7360	-	7409	3.60	Dr
Other finance charges	Expense	7410	-	7499	3.61	Dr
Other expenses	Expense	7500	-	7839	3.63	Dr

Please note that certain ranges have been reserved for future expansion.

It is also common to find some duplication in where you might wish to post some costs and income transactions. So long as you are consistent in your choice of coding, we can sort out any adjustments later.