How are product sales and event registrations recorded in accounting?

Recording product sales and event registrations in accounting describes the book entries automatically generated when a registrant pays for a product sale or event registration. All modules in the platform are connected: every transaction recorded in Events immediately creates the corresponding entries in your accounting. This article is for administrators who want to understand these entries and find them in the Journal.

• What example illustrates the entries for an event registration?
• What book entries are generated automatically?

What example illustrates the entries for an event registration?

The following example runs throughout this article: Perrine pays a $50 registration fee for an event, with a first payment of $20 in cash and a second payment of $30 by check.

What book entries are generated automatically?

Perrine's payment generates 4 successive entries:

1. Initial sale entry: records the revenue from the registration (Services revenue account) and the corresponding receivable in the intermediate account.
2. Intermediate account entry (Other debtors or creditors account): acts as a bridge between recognizing the sale and actually collecting the payment.
3. 2 payment entries: one entry per payment method received. In this example, the Petty cash account for the $20 in cash, then the Checks to deposit account and finally the Bank account for the $30 by check, once the check has been deposited.
4. Receivable settlement entry: the receivable (Other debtors or creditors account, or Account receivable) is cleared once the full payment has been collected.

The first entry is tied to the registration: it credits account 706 (services revenue). In my example, account 706 is credited $50.

There are then two scenarios: either a person is linked to the purchase, or no one is. In the first case, the user account (Other debtors or creditors) is debited; in the second, the account receivable is debited. In this example, the user account is the one impacted.

Here is what this sale entry looks like in the Journal.

Until the payment is collected in full, Perrine's registration will appear in your receivables list.

Each time a payment is recorded, a new entry is created. The intermediate account is credited for the amount paid. In my example, account 467 is credited $20.

The account debited depends on the payment method used:

• Cash payment: account 531 (petty cash)
• Payments hitting the bank account (card, wire transfer, direct debit, etc.): account 512 (bank)
• Check payment: account 511200 (checks pending deposit)
• Online payment: account 517 (e-wallet)

In my example, account 531 is therefore debited $20.

Here is what the payment line looks like in the Journal.

Since the payment hasn't been made in full, the sale still appears in receivables — but the amount already paid is shown.

Recording the second and final payment follows the same logic. The intermediate account is still the one credited, for the amount paid. In this example, the user account is credited $30.

The account debited still depends on the payment method used. In my example, Perrine paid by check, so account 511200 is debited $30.

Here is what the sale and both payments look like in the Journal.

Since the sale has been paid in full, it no longer appears in receivables.