Cash book format: a daily cash register with opening and closing balance
This cash book keeps a dated list of every receipt and payment and a running balance, so you always know the closing cash in hand. Enter the opening balance, add each day’s entries, and the ledger sorts itself by date and shows the opening balance, every entry and the closing balance. It is a ready-made cash book format for a shop, a small business, a society or a class 11 accountancy exercise.
Pick the format you need. Single column has one cash column on each side. Double column adds a bank column and contra entries for cash deposited in the bank or drawn from it. Petty cash follows the imprest system: a fixed float, the amount spent and the sum needed to top it back up. Entries are saved in your browser, and you can print the book or download a CSV for Excel and Google Sheets.
How to use the Cash Book / Daily Cash Register
- Choose single column, double column or petty cash, and the currency.
- Enter the opening cash balance (and the opening bank balance or the petty cash float if they apply).
- Under Add an entry pick the date, type a short description, choose receipt or payment and enter the amount, then press Add entry.
- Repeat for each transaction. The ledger re-sorts by date and the balance runs down the page.
- Print the book, download the CSV, or copy the summary. Delete a wrong entry with its × button.
Cash Book / Daily Cash Register features
Three formats
Single-column, double-column (cash and bank with contra entries) and petty cash with float and top-up.
Running balance
The balance after each entry, plus opening and closing rows, so the book always agrees with the drawer.
Saved in your browser
Entries and settings are kept on this device without any account; nothing is uploaded.
Print and CSV
A clean printed ledger or a CSV file with the same columns for a spreadsheet.
Warnings
A note appears if the cash balance would go below zero, which usually means a missing receipt or a wrong amount.
How a cash book works
A cash book is both a journal and a ledger for cash. Receipts go on the debit (left) side and payments on the credit (right) side. The balance is the opening balance plus receipts minus payments: opening ₹1,000 + receipts ₹550.50 − payments ₹200 = closing ₹1,350.50. The closing balance of one period is the opening balance of the next.
In a double-column cash book each side has a cash column and a bank column. A contra entry is a transaction that affects both on the same book: depositing ₹400 of cash in the bank reduces cash and increases the bank balance by the same amount, so the total of cash plus bank does not change. In the imprest system for petty cash, the cashier holds a fixed float, for example ₹2,000. After spending ₹649.50 the box is topped up by exactly ₹649.50 to restore the float.
| Example entry | Cash | Bank |
|---|---|---|
| Cash sales ₹500 | +₹500 | |
| Cheque received ₹1,000 | +₹1,000 | |
| Cash deposited in bank ₹400 (contra) | −₹400 | +₹400 |
| Cash drawn from bank ₹100 (contra) | +₹100 | −₹100 |
Tips and limits
- Enter transactions on the day they happen and describe them well; “Cash sales” and “Rent for October” are easier to audit than “misc”.
- Compare the closing balance with a real count of the cash, using the cash denomination calculator, and note any difference.
- Credit sales and customer balances belong in the udhar book; a daily sales summary can use the daily sales report.
- Entries live in this browser. Download the CSV regularly: clearing site data, a different browser or a different device starts an empty book.
- It does not post to ledger accounts, apply GST or produce a trial balance; it is a cash record, not accounting software.
Cash Book / Daily Cash Register FAQ
What is a cash book?
A book that records every cash receipt and payment in date order, with a balance, so you can see the cash in hand at any time.
What is the difference between a single-column and a double-column cash book?
A single-column book has one money column on each side; a double-column book has a cash column and a bank column on each side.
What is a contra entry?
An entry that affects both the cash and the bank column, such as cash deposited in the bank or cash withdrawn from it. It is recorded once but changes both balances.
How does a petty cash book work?
You keep a fixed float, record each small payment, and top the box up by the amount spent so it returns to the float. The tool shows the amount to restore.
Is there a cash book format in Excel?
This page works like one and downloads a CSV with the same columns, which opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Where is my data stored?
Only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is uploaded. Download the CSV to keep a copy.
Can I delete a wrong entry?
Yes, use the × button at the end of its row. “Clear all entries” asks you to click twice.