Journal Entry for Drawings

---

Previous lesson: Journal Entry for Asset Purchase 
Next lesson: Journal Entry for Income (Cash Example)

---

In this lesson we're going to go through our earlier drawings example using our sample business, George's Catering, and use it to work out the full journal entry for drawings.

Before we dive into this lesson and our example, a quick reminder of some terms:

Capital vs Drawings

Just as the owner can invest assets in the business from his personal possessions – so too can he remove assets from the business for personal use.

Remember that the investment of assets in a business by the owner is called capital. 

When the owner removes assets from his business, we call this by another name. We call this drawings.

This is because the owner withdraws assets.

Drawings are the exact opposite of capital.

Drawings Example

Okay, so let's look at our original drawings example:

d) George Burnham is running short of cash at home. He needs some money to buy his daughter a bicycle for her birthday (i.e. for personal use). He decides to withdraw $500 from the business bank account.

As usual, we're first going to look at how this transaction affects the basic accounting equation and which accounts are affected, and only then will we work out the double entry.

This is how the transaction would affect the accounting equation:

So, what has happened here?

First of all, bank has decreased by $500.

Remember, assets increase on the debit side (left) and decrease on the credit side (right).

So when an asset account decreases, that account is credited.

The owner‘s stake in the assets (owner's equity) has also decreased.

The owner’s equity increases on the credit side (right). And it decreases on the debit side (left).

So what do we do with the owner’s equity? We debit it.

Journal Entry for Drawings

So the journal entry for drawings is: 

Please note that the owner's equity account we use in the above entry is "drawings."

Theoretically we could have debited the "capital" account, which would show that it is decreasing. 

However, we don't ever debit the "capital" account when assets are withdrawn from the business by the owner. We always debit the "drawings" account.

We keep the capital account as one account for investments in the business by the owner, and drawings as a separate account to show only divestments or withdrawals by the owner.

The double entry above is actually the exact opposite of our earlier owner's equity journal entry (capital), where Mr. Burnham put assets into the business, except that we are now using "drawings" instead of "capital."

In summary, it should be quite apparent again that:

For every transaction there are two entries.
For every transaction there is a debit.
For every transaction there is a credit.
There are no exceptions.

It should also be quite apparent that the debits and credits are based wholly on the above accounting equation.

Test Yourself!

Before you start, I would recommend to time yourself to make sure that you not only get the questions right but are completing them at the right speed.

Difficulty Rating:
Beginner

Quiz length: 
4 questions

Time limit:
5 minutes

Important: The solution sheet on the following page only shows the solutions and not whether you got each of the questions right or wrong. So before you start, get yourself a piece of paper and a pen to write down your answers. Once you're done with the quiz and writing down your answers, click the Check Your Answers button at the bottom and you'll be taken to our page of solutions.

Good luck!

This Form cannot be submitted until the missing fields (labelled below in red) have been filled in
Drawings Journal Entry Mini Quiz:
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
1. Which of the following statements are true? *
a) The investment of assets in a business by the owner is called investments. b) When the owner removes assets from his business for personal use, we call this drawings. c) Drawings and capital are the same thing. d) None of the above.
2. Which element/s of the accounting equation decrease when the owner withdraws cash from the business for personal use? *
a) No overall change to any element. b) Assets only. c) Owner's Equity only. d) Assets and owner's equity. e) Assets and liabilities.
3. When the owner withdraws cash from the business for personal use, we debit the __________ account. *
a) Bank/Cash b) Loan c) Capital d) Drawings e) None of the above.
4. When the owner withdraws cash from the business for personal use, we credit the __________ account. *
a) Bank/Cash b) Loan c) Capital d) Drawings e) None of the above.
First Name
E-Mail Address
Country
CountryUnited StatesCanada----------------AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntiguaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribadiNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoFederated States of MicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMontenegroMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaS. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls.Saint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamUS Virgin IslandsWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenYugoslavia (former)ZaireZambiaZimbabwe
	Subscribe to Newsletter
Please enter the word that you see below.

If you feel good about the drawings example above, then go ahead and move on to the next lesson where you'll learn the journal entry for income received in cash.

Return from Journal Entry for Drawings to Double Entry Accounting 

Return from Journal Entry for Drawings to the Home Page 

Stay up to date with ABfS!
Follow us on Facebook:

---

Previous lesson: Journal Entry for Asset Purchase 
Next lesson: Journal Entry for Income (Cash Example)

---

---

---

© Copyright 2009-2023 Michael Celender. All Rights Reserved. 
Click here for Privacy Policy.

Search this site:

Stay up to date with ABfS!
Follow us on Facebook:

All the lessons on this site and much, much more...

Available Now On