Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income PDF

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Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income...

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Adjusting Entry for Unearned Income Unearned revenue (also known as deferred revenue or deferred income) represents revenue already collected but not yet earned. Hence, they are also called "advances from customers". Following the accrual concept of accounting, unearned revenues are considered as are liabilities. It is to be noted that under the accrual concept, income is recognized when earned regardless of when collected. And so, unearned revenue should not be included as income yet; rather, it is recorded as a liability. This liability represents an obligation of the company to render services or deliver goods in the future. It will be recognized as income only when the goods or services have been delivered or rendered. At the end of the period, unearned revenues must be checked and adjusted if necessary. The adjusting entry for unearned revenue depends upon the journal entry made when it was initially recorded. There are two ways of recording unearned revenue: (1) The liability method, and (2) The income method. Liability Method of Recording Unearned Revenue Under the liability method, a liability account is recorded when the amount is collected. The common accounts used are: Unearned Revenue, Deferred Income, Advances from Customers, etc. For this illustration, let us use Unearned Revenue.

Suppose on January 10, 2016, ABC Company made $30,000 advanced collections from its customers. If the liability method is used, the entry would be: Jan 10 Cash 30,000.00 Unearned Revenue 30,000.00 Take note that the amount has not yet been earned, thus it is proper to record it as a liability. Now, what if at the end of the month, 20% of the unearned revenue has been rendered? This will require an adjusting entry. The adjusting entry will include: (1) recognition of $6,000 income, i.e. 20% of $30,000, and (2) decrease in liability (unearned revenue) since some of it has already been rendered. The adjusting entry would be: Jan 31 Unearned Revenue 6,000.00 Service Income 6,000.00

We are simply separating the earned part from the unearned portion. Of the $30,000 unearned revenue, $6,000 is recognized as income. In the entry above, we removed $6,000 from the $30,000 liability. The balance of unearned revenue is now at $24,000. Income Method of Recording Unearned Revenue Under the income method, the accountant records the entire collection under an income account. Using the same transaction above, the initial entry for the collection would be:

Ja n

10

Cash Service Income

30,000.00 30,000.00

If at the end of the year the company earned 20% of the entire $30,000, then the adjusting entry would be: Jan 31 Service Income 24,000.00 Unearned Income 24,000.00 By debiting Service Income for $24,000, we are decreasing the income initially recorded. The balance of Service Income is now $6,000 ($30,000 - 24,000), which is actually the 20% portion already earned. By crediting Unearned Income, we are recording a liability for $24,000. Notice that the resulting balances of the accounts under the two methods are the same (Cash: $30,000; Service Income: $6,000; and Unearned Income: $24,000). Another Example On December 1, 2016, DRG Company collected from TRM Corp. a total of $60,000 as rental fee for three months starting December 1. Under the liability method, the initial entry would be: Dec 1 Cash 60,000.00 Unearned Rent Income 60,000.00 On December 31, 2016, the end of the accounting period, 1/3 of the rent received has already been earned (prorated over 3 months).

Dec 31

Unearned Rent income Rent Income

20,000.00 20,000.00

In effect, we are transferring $20,000, one-third of $60,000, from the Unearned Rent Income (a liability) to Rent Income (an income account) since that portion has already been earned. If the company made use of the income method, the initial entry would be: Cash 60,000.00 De 1 c Rent Income 60,000.00 In this case, we must decrease Rent Income by $40,000 because that part has not yet been earned. The income account shall have a balance of $20,000. The amount removed from income shall be transferred to liability (Unearned Rent Income). The adjusting entry would be: 40,000.00 De 31 Rent Income c Unearned Rent Income 40,000.00 Conclusion If you have noticed, what we are actually doing here is making sure that the earned part is included in income and the unearned part into liability. The adjusting entry will always depend upon the method used when the initial entry was made. If you are having a hard time understanding this topic, I suggest you go over and study the lesson again. Sometimes, it really

takes a while to get the concept. Preparing adjusting entries is one of the most challenging (but important) topics for beginners....