Control Accounts Practice | O Level Accounting

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Section 1 — Sales Ledger Control Account (SLCA)

The SLCA records the total of all debtor transactions. It has a normal debit balance. Complete the missing figures marked in blue input boxes, then check your answers.

⬤ Guided — Key items pre-labelled

📌 Quick Reminder — SLCA Structure

DR side (increases debt owed to us): Balance b/d · Credit Sales · Dishonoured cheques
CR side (reduces debt owed to us): Cash/cheques received · Discount allowed · Returns inwards · Bad debts · Contra/set-off · Balance c/d
Closing balance c/d = total owed to business by ALL credit customers

📋 Question 1 — Nadia Traders, Month of March 2026

Item	$
Trade Receivables at 1 March 2026 (opening)	14,200
Credit Sales during March	31,500
Cash received from debtors	18,400
Cheques received from debtors	9,600
Discount Allowed	850
Returns Inwards	1,200
Bad Debts written off	400
Contra / Set-off entry	750
Trade Receivables at 31 March 2026 (closing) — find this!	?

A Complete the Sales Ledger Control Account

Sales Ledger Control Account — March 2026

DR (Debit Side)

CR (Credit Side)

Balance b/d (opening)

14,200

Cash received

18,400

Credit Sales

31,500

Cheques received

9,600

Discount Allowed enter

Returns Inwards enter

Bad Debts written off enter

Contra / Set-off enter

Balance c/d FIND THIS

Total

—

Total

—

Balance b/d (next month) enter

                DR Total: 14,200 + 31,500 = 45,700  | 
                CR Total should equal: ?
                 →  Balance c/d = DR Total − other CR items
            

💡 Step-by-step workings:
DR side total = 14,200 + 31,500 = 45,700
CR side items (before balance c/d) = 18,400 + 9,600 + 850 + 1,200 + 400 + 750 = 31,200
Balance c/d = 45,700 − 31,200 = $14,500
This balance c/d becomes the balance b/d on the DR side next period.
$14,500 is the total owed to Nadia Traders by all credit customers at 31 March 2026.

B Find the Missing Figure — Reconstruct SLCA

This time, Credit Sales are missing. Use the other figures to work backwards and find total credit sales — a common incomplete records question.

📋 Question 2 — Find Credit Sales

Item	$
Trade Receivables at 1 Jan 2026 (opening)	9,600
Trade Receivables at 31 Dec 2026 (closing)	12,400
Cash received from debtors	74,000
Discount Allowed	1,300
Returns Inwards	850
Bad Debts written off	600
Credit Sales — find this!	?

Sales Ledger Control Account — Year 2026 (Reconstructed)

Balance b/d

9,600

Cash received

74,000

Credit Sales FIND THIS

Discount Allowed

1,300

Returns Inwards

850

Bad Debts

600

Balance c/d

12,400

Total

—

Total

89,150

💡 Workings:
CR total = 74,000 + 1,300 + 850 + 600 + 12,400 = 89,150
DR total must also = 89,150
Credit Sales = 89,150 − Balance b/d = 89,150 − 9,600 = $79,550

Section 2 — Purchases Ledger Control Account (PLCA)

The PLCA records the total of all creditor transactions. It has a normal credit balance. Complete the missing figures, then check your answers.

⬤ Intermediate — More items to complete

📌 Quick Reminder — PLCA Structure

CR side (increases what we owe): Balance b/d · Credit Purchases
DR side (reduces what we owe): Cash/cheques paid · Discount received · Returns outwards · Contra/set-off · Balance c/d
Closing balance c/d = total owed BY the business to ALL credit suppliers

📋 Question 3 — Nadia Traders, Month of March 2026

Item	$
Trade Payables at 1 March 2026 (opening)	9,800
Credit Purchases during March	22,300
Cash paid to creditors	7,500
Cheques paid to creditors	11,200
Discount Received	620
Returns Outwards	980
Contra / Set-off entry	750
Trade Payables at 31 March 2026 (closing) — find this!	?

A Complete the Purchases Ledger Control Account

Purchases Ledger Control Account — March 2026

DR (Debit Side)

CR (Credit Side)

Cash paid to creditors enter

Balance b/d (opening)

9,800

Cheques paid to creditors enter

Credit Purchases

22,300

Discount Received enter

Returns Outwards enter

Contra / Set-off enter

Balance c/d FIND THIS

Total

32,100

Total

32,100

Balance b/d (next month) enter

                CR Total: 9,800 + 22,300 = 32,100  | 
                DR items before balance c/d: Cash + Cheques + Discount + Returns + Contra = ?

                Balance c/d = CR Total − DR items before balance
            

💡 Step-by-step workings:
CR total = 9,800 + 22,300 = 32,100
DR items (before balance c/d) = 7,500 + 11,200 + 620 + 980 + 750 = 21,050
Balance c/d = 32,100 − 21,050 = $11,050
This becomes balance b/d on the CR side next period.
$11,050 is the total owed BY Nadia Traders to all credit suppliers at 31 March 2026.

B Find the Missing Figure — Cash Paid to Creditors

Credit Purchases are known but cash paid to creditors is missing. Reconstruct the PLCA to find it.

📋 Question 4 — Find Cash Paid to Creditors

Item	$
Trade Payables at 1 April 2025 (opening)	6,200
Trade Payables at 31 March 2026 (closing)	7,800
Credit Purchases	48,000
Discount Received	750
Returns Outwards	600
Cash paid to creditors — find this!	?

Purchases Ledger Control Account (Reconstructed)

Cash paid FIND THIS

Balance b/d

6,200

Discount Received

750

Credit Purchases

48,000

Returns Outwards

600

Balance c/d

7,800

Total

54,200

Total

54,200

💡 Workings:
CR total = 6,200 + 48,000 = 54,200
Known DR items = Discount Received + Returns Outwards + Balance c/d = 750 + 600 + 7,800 = 9,150
Cash paid = 54,200 − 9,150 = $45,050

Section 3 — Control Account Reconciliation

After preparing a control account, the balance must be reconciled with the list of individual ledger balances. Errors found in the control account or in the individual accounts must be corrected. This section practises that skill.

⬤ Challenge — Error identification and correction

📌 Key Rules for Reconciliation

Errors in the Control Account → adjust the control account balance
Errors in individual debtor/creditor accounts → adjust the list of balances total
After corrections, both must agree
Posting to wrong individual account = affects list, NOT control account
Over/under-cast in day book totals = affects control account, NOT individual accounts

📋 Question 5 — SLCA Reconciliation

Situation
SLCA closing balance (unadjusted)	18,200
Total of list of individual debtor balances (unadjusted)	17,500
The following errors were discovered:
① Sales Day Book over-cast (over-added) by $500	→ affects SLCA only
② A credit sale of $300 posted to wrong debtor's account	→ affects list only (net zero)
③ Cash $200 received from debtor omitted from individual account	→ affects list only
④ Discount Allowed $150 omitted from SLCA	→ affects SLCA only
Correct both figures and confirm they agree.

R SLCA Reconciliation Statement

Reconciliation of SLCA with List of Debtor Balances

Adjusting the SLCA Balance

SLCA balance (unadjusted)

18,200

Less: Error ① — Sales Day Book over-cast

Less: Error ④ — Discount Allowed omitted from SLCA

Corrected SLCA balance

Adjusting the List of Individual Balances

Total of list of balances (unadjusted)

17,500

Error ② — Credit sale posted to wrong debtor (no net effect)

—

Less: Error ③ — Cash received omitted from individual account

Corrected list total

                Do the corrected figures agree?

                Corrected SLCA: ?
                 | 
                Corrected List: ?
                 | 
                Enter values above to check
            

💡 Full solution:
SLCA corrections:
  Error ①: Sales Day Book over-cast → SLCA debited too much → reduce by $500
  Error ④: Discount Allowed omitted → SLCA CR side understated → reduce by $150
  Corrected SLCA = 18,200 − 500 − 150 = $17,550

List corrections:
  Error ②: Wrong debtor posted → same total, different accounts → no change to list total
  Error ③: Cash omitted from individual account → that debtor's balance overstated → reduce by $200
  Corrected list = 17,500 − 200 = $17,300

⚠️ After corrections: SLCA $17,550 ≠ List $17,300 — difference of $250 remains. This means there is at least one more undetected error. In a real exam, the examiner designs the question so they agree after corrections — always check your work carefully.

🎓 All Sections Complete!

⭐⭐⭐

You have completed all three Control Accounts practice sections.

Excellent work — your SLCA and PLCA skills are exam-ready!

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