What is primary documentation in accounting? Definition, types, features and requirements for filling

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Accounting of any enterprise deals with primary reporting. The list of primary documentation in accounting includes several mandatory papers. Each of them is related to the stages of the business process. If the employees of the organization do not maintain primary documentation in "1C: Accounting", the company will face tangible sanctions.

What is this?

Accounting for primary documentation in accounting is a top priority. All activities carried out in this direction are regulated by the Federal Law "On Accounting". So, in the first paragraph of the ninth chapter it is said that any paper correctly executed and certified by the management, reflecting various episodes of the company's business activities, can be referred to as primary documentation. By the way, these episodes are called:

• receiving money for goods or services providedenterprise;
• transfer of funds for received goods and materials.

Thus, in addition to the mandatory list of primary documentation in accounting, there is an additional one. It is usually compiled at the request of the company's management. And they enter forms into it that have information about offsets that do not have a financial basis.

Features of working with primary documentation in accounting

The first thing you should pay attention to is that all "primary" forms must be associated with the transfer of funds. Therefore, you should not include a power of attorney to receive documents in this list.

Storage of this type of papers is carried out for at least five years from the date of signing. During tax audits, the inspector requires primary documentation for a period of one to three years. Thus, papers with a longer period can be sent to the archive for storage. After five years, they can be completely disposed of. The destruction of the "primary" is carried out in accordance with the internal charter of the company and the legislation of the country. This procedure is quite complex and time consuming. Therefore, many enterprises keep the "primary" as long as there is a place in the accounting department. The period of storage of papers in the archive in Russia is not limited in any way.

List

To understand what primary documentation in accounting is, you need to know what types of documents it includes. It should be remembered that speechis about papers related to the movement of funds. Here is a list of what is included in the primary documentation in accounting:

1. Contract.
2. Invoice for payment.
3. Cash and sales receipts.
4. Strict reporting forms.
5. Acts.
6. Invoices.

More information about each of these primary documents is provided in the following paragraphs.

Agreement

This item causes a lot of controversy among employees of the accounting department. The fact is that the primary documentation in the accounting department should be stored in any case, but contracts sometimes end up with lawyers or even in the personnel department. But there is another side of the coin. After all, it is the contract that is the basis for the transaction related to the movement of cash flows.

Invoice

This form refers to the primary documentation in the accounting department. What is an account, every participant in the business process knows. In fact, this document is the basis for the transfer of funds for the goods or services received. If one of the parties accepts the account, it means that she tacitly agrees to the transaction. It may also contain information regarding an earlier agreement. The invoice contains not only these data, but also the procedure for the return of funds in the event of this need.

Consignment note

This paper is one of the brightest representatives of primary documentation in accounting. The point is that init indicates a complete list of goods shipped to the buyer. In this case, we are talking about both finished products and raw materials. A consignment note is drawn up in an unlimited number of copies. This moment does not have a clear regulation and in fact is based only on how many parties need this kind of document. That is, how many participants in the transaction, so many copies should be provided. It is worth remembering that only those forms on which the signature of the responsible person is signed are valid. Seal or stamp is not required in this situation.

Act of acceptance-transfer

Ordinary employees of this department are engaged in the processing of primary documentation in the accounting department. Most often, they receive certificates of work (services) performed as a supporting document. This paper, as its name implies, is drawn up after the provision of services or the performance of work. The act of acceptance and transfer, signed bilaterally, is considered valid. There are times when one of the counterparties refuses to approve the document. In this situation, the form can be certified by only one party, but on condition that observers are present when it is signed. In addition to the basic information, the act of acceptance and transfer may include data of a clarifying or clarifying nature. As a rule, they are entered into a specially formed table. With regard to stamp approval, it is always welcome, but if there is no print, this does not invalidate the paper. It is worth noting that when maintaining primary documentation in accounting, an act reflecting the movement of fixed assetsenterprises should also be included in the list of primary documents.

Payroll

This type of primary documentation reflects the movement of funds between the enterprise and its employees. In addition to the basic amount of wages, it includes all bonuses and compensation. In this situation, the chief accountant together with the head of the enterprise acts as the witness of the statement. In order for the document to be valid and enter into force, it must be stamped. If this is not done, the form can be considered invalid. It is worth noting that this seal is optional in the two documents above.

Cash documents

This list includes the following forms:

• receipt order,
• disbursement order,
• cash book.

This primary documentation contains the most complete information regarding the movement of funds. Cash warrants are divided into several types. So, most often in the work of accounting, KO-1, KO-2 and KO-4 are used. They reflect all the facts of the economic life of the organization. Thus, during a tax audit, inspectors are most picky about them. In addition to these types, there are forms KO-3 and KO-5. The third is a register of cash orders, and the fifth takes into account the movement of cash in the enterprise. As a rule, inspectors pay much less attention to these types of primary documentation. As for their storage and registration, these processescarried out in accordance with the general procedure.

Separation depending on the stage of the transaction

Any transaction is divided into three stages. And each of them has specific documentation.

First, the parties always agree on the terms of the transaction. At this point, they conclude an agreement and issue invoices for payment. After that, one of the parties makes a contribution on demand. And in support of this, the payer is obliged to provide supporting papers. If the funds were sent from the current account, then an extract must be presented. If the payment is made using cash, confirmation is carried out by providing cashier's checks, strict reporting forms or receipts. The final stage of any transaction is the provision of paid goods or services. This moment must be confirmed by an act of work performed (services) or a consignment note, if we are talking about various kinds of products.

Fill out requirements

For proper workflow, it is not enough just to know what primary documentation in accounting is. It is important to consider the basic requirements for filling it out. First of all, each form must have its own name. Also, the compiler of the document is obliged to indicate the date of formation of these reports and the name of the enterprise. An enterprise refers to a supplier, contractor or buyer. Bank details,the initials of officials and the name of the operation are also displayed in separate columns of the primary documentation in the accounting department. Everyone knows what the name of the operation is, just remember that this value must be expressed in quantitative form. The final moment in the preparation of this type of paper is the signature and seal of responsible persons.

Editing

When dealing with a large number of documents, employees often make mistakes. They must be corrected in accordance with the rules established by law. There are two types of edits:

1. For strict accountability. If a minor correction needs to be made in the form, then the responsible person is obliged to cross out the incorrect line with a thin line and indicate the correct entry on top of it. To confirm the accuracy of the changes made on paper, it is necessary to write "Corrected believe" and certify the form with the signature and seal of an official. If the document cannot be corrected pointwise, then the responsible person is obliged to cross out the incorrectly drawn up form from corner to corner with a thin red line. It must also be marked "Cancelled". After creating the correct instance, the erroneous one must not be destroyed.
2. For non-strict documentation. In this case, the damaged form is destroyed and a paper with the correct information is created.

It's worth knowing that strikethroughs should only be done with a very thin line. If an employeecrosses out text in such a way that it becomes unreadable, this is a very gross mistake.