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 forwardBoth 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:![Cash on Hand T-account Cash on hand T-account bank](//www.accounting-basics-for-students.com//images/xCash_on_hand_T-account_600.jpg.pagespeed.ic.m0ZT-6Psr0.jpg)
![Debtors Control T-account (Accounts Receivable) Debtors control accounts receivable T-account](//www.accounting-basics-for-students.com//images/xT-account_Debtors_Control_Bad_Debts_Provision_600.jpg.pagespeed.ic.4Sh2DJEM2K.jpg)
Balance B/F
As you can see,
Balance b/f can appear in two places in a T-account.
- 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.
- 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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