Journal is a detailed account that records all the financial transactions of the business, to be used to

future reconciling of and transfer to other official account in records.

Journal is really important to any businesses because it can maintain the chronological approach of
recording all the transactions. Therefore, it becomes easier to retrieve data regarding a particular
transaction on a specified date and it can have very low chances that you will exclude a transaction that
matters to the business. Then, it will explain the whole financial event and ensures mathematical
accuracy in accounting process. Lastly, it is really helpful to keep the ledger concise and tidy.

In terms of any inconsistencies or mistakes in the ledger of trial balance, then the journal can also act as
a reference to the financial statement.

It is difficult to find out effect and information relating to the transaction if all the transactions are
recorded in a single journal and also recording of all transaction in one general journal is a time
consuming, laborious, and troublesome task. That is why the use of many journals instead of one journal
has been introduced, these are the purchase journal, sales journal, cash receipts journal, cash
disbursement journal, purchase return journal, sales return journal and general journal.Definition and
uses of different types of Journal in Accounting

1. Purchase journal - special journal used for recording credit purchase of merchandise but the purchase
of assets and other thing on credit should not be recorded in purchase journal rather it is more
acceptable in general journal.

2. Sales journal - used for recording the credit sales of merchandise only. Cash sale of merchandise is
recorded in the cash receipt journal and a credit of asset is recorded in general journal.

3. Cash receipt journal - special journal used for recording all types of cash receipt.

The introduction of cash receipt journal is in the practice of medium and large size business
organizations. Then main source of cash receipts are cash from sale and cash from accounts receivables.

4. Cash disbursement journal - special journal used for recording various transactions relating to cash
payments. The usual concerns of business is to pay debts by cheques. For acceptability for cash payment,
business organization pay bills by cheques and cheques are treated as cash payment.

5. Purchase return journal - special journal, where the purchase returns of credit purchase is recorded.
6. Sales return journal - special journal, where the credit sales return are recorded. It is prepared from
debit notes sent by the buyers with returned goods.

7. General journal - used to record transaction other than the transaction recorded in cash receipts
journal, cash payment, purchase journal, sales journal etc. The journal, wherein the transactions which
cannot be directly recorded in a particular journal. In these journal the transaction is recorded through
the following:

* opening entry

* closing entry

* adjustment entry

* restification entry

* transfer entry

* credit purchase and sale of assets

* other entries

All of these type of journals can help for convenient keeping of Accounts. Then, everything in
recording will be easy in the business process especially in finding out the effects and information of
different transaction.