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Yes, the cash book is both a journal and a ledger.
To make the concept simpler, I would like to familiarize you with the meaning of journals and ledgers, which shall help in determining the reasons for a cashbook to be both a journal as well as a ledger.
Journal
A journal is a descriptive financial record of a business that is used for future reconciling as well as a transfer to other books of accounts such as the ledger. It is a book of original entries.
Cashbook is considered to be a journal because all the cash/bank receipts and payments are recorded in this book in a descriptive form similar to journal posting.
Ledger
In simple words, a ledger refers to recording individual accounts in a summarized form that are posted from a journal. It is a book of principal entry.
A cashbook is considered to be a ledger because all the cash transactions that are made during a particular financial period are recorded in this book in chronological order. When a cashbook is prepared there is no need for a cash a/c as the book serves the same purpose and therefore can be used as a substitute.
Format of a Cashbook
Cashbook
| Date | Particulars | V.No. | L.F. | Cash | Date | Particulars | V.No. | L.F. | Cash |
| To Capital a/c | By Advertisement a/c | ||||||||
| To Sales a/c | By Purchases a/c | ||||||||
| To Mr C’s a/c | By Stationery a/c | ||||||||
| To Bank a/c | By Office expenses a/c | ||||||||
| By Rent a/c | |||||||||
| By Salary a/c | |||||||||
| By balance c/d | |||||||||
Note: As we can see the format and posting of a cashbook are similar to that of journal and ledger accounts.
