Balance C/F & Balance B/F Stand For...?

by Hassaan Sayeed
(Karachi, Pakistan)

Question:

Q: Please explain... What do Balance c/f & Balance b/f stand for?

Answer:

This is such a great question. So many accounting students see these words over and over again, they think they know what they mean but a lot of the time they actually don't know what they stand for.

Here's the explanation:

Balance c/f = Balance carried forward

Balance b/f = Balance brought forward

Both Balance b/f and Balance c/f specifically appear in T-accounts .

But what's the difference between the two (if any)?

To explain the difference, here's some typical T-accounts showing where these items appear:

Balance B/F

As you can see, Balance b/f can appear in two places in a T-account.

1. It is the term showing the opening balance of the account on a certain date. It is the balance that has been brought forward to the current period from the previous period.
2. It is also used to show the closing balance of the account, meaning the balance we will bring forward to the next period.

Sometimes Balance b/f is written as Balance b/d instead, which stands for “brought down."

Balance C/F

Balance c/f is used to calculate the closing balance of the account - which will be carried forward to the next period.

It is actually just a balancing line item within the T-account itself. This balancing line item is always the same amount as the Balance b/f, just inside the T-account on the opposite side.

Some Additional Useful Info About Balance B/F vs Balance C/F:

• Balance b/f is more important than Balance c/f in T-accounts.


• Balance c/f is always on the opposite side of the account's closing balance. So for example, if it's an asset account, the Balance c/f will be on the credit side (right).


• Balance b/f is always on the true or real side of the account. So for example, if it's an asset account, Balance b/f will be on the debit side (left).

I hope this sheds a bit more light on this and helps you progress further with T-accounts and the rest of your accounting studies.

Add your comments and questions on this topic further below.

And for more info and practice with putting together a T-account including Balance b/f and Balance c/f, check out our main tutorial: Balancing T-Accounts .

Best,
Michael Celender
Founder of Accounting-Basics-for-Students.com


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