What is a current account (s/c), what is it for, how to open and close it, what are the differences from other types of accounts

What do they reflect?

By virtue of the Chart of Accounts for accounting financial and economic activities and the Instructions for its application (approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n), account 51 is used to account for funds in the current account. It is called “Current Accounts”.

Thus, an accounting account - a current account - serves to summarize information about the availability and movement of funds in Russian currency on the organization's current accounts opened with credit institutions. This is the essence of synthetic accounting on a current account.

Also see “The number of current accounts that an organization can open in banks.”

FAQ

Registered LLC. How long does it take to open a current account?

According to Russian legislation, the founder of an LLC decides when to open a current account; no deadlines have been established. It is logical to do this simultaneously with the start of operating activities. If you receive cash from customers, you need to collect it to avoid problems with the tax office. By the time your counterparties transfer funds by bank transfer, you must have a current account number.

Can a bank refuse to open a current account?

Article 846 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not give the bank the right to refuse to conclude an agreement to open an account with a client, except in cases where this cannot be done for internal reasons (for example, a credit institution is in bankruptcy or does not work with individual entrepreneurs, and this is enshrined in the relevant documents). If this requirement is violated, take a letter from the bank explaining why you were denied (Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 4760-U dated March 30, 2018). With this document, you should contact the online reception on the Bank of Russia website (cbr.ru) or submit an application by mail, attaching the documents that you previously sent to the bank. Your application must be reviewed within 20 days. If a decision is made in your favor, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation will force the bank to enter into an agreement with you (previously it was necessary to go to court, starting in 2021, the procedure for handling complaints has been simplified). Just think first: do you need a bank that doesn’t want to see you as a client?

How many current accounts can one organization have? Is it allowed to have accounts in different banks?

According to Article 30 of Federal Law No. 395-1 of December 2, 1990 “On Banks and Banking Activities,” clients have the right to open the number of current accounts they need in any currency in any banks of the Russian Federation (with the exception of restrictions established for state and some other organizations).

Some company mistakenly transferred money to our bank account. Doesn't require back. What to do in this case?

According to the general rules established by banks for current accounts, if an erroneous crediting of funds is detected, it is necessary to notify the bank about this no later than 10 days later. You cannot misappropriate other people's money - this can be considered theft with all the ensuing consequences.

Are the current account and the beneficiary's account the same thing?

The payee's account is the same as a current account if we are talking about individual entrepreneurs working using a bank card issued to an individual entrepreneur. This account (formally it is ordinary, 20-digit) can be used both for settlements and for storing funds. Legal entities open such accounts to receive payment for services provided to a wide range of people.

How does a current account differ from a correspondent account?

If a current account is opened by a legal entity and an individual entrepreneur, then a correspondent account is opened by one bank for another. Interaction between banks is carried out on the basis of a correspondent agreement. Commercial banks, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and clearing companies can act as parties. If you, as an individual entrepreneur or LLC, instruct your bank to transfer money from your current account to a counterparty to an account in another bank, it is for a reason that you are required to provide details in which, along with the addressee’s current account, a correspondent account is also indicated. The transfer is sent specifically to a correspondent account in another bank, and from there it goes to the counterparty’s current account. This method allows you to keep track of and control the movement of funds between credit institutions, and also allows banks to use the settlement system of the Central Bank or larger commercial banks.

There are several types of correspondent accounts, depending on the purpose:

• the bank opens correspondent accounts with other banks to carry out debit transactions of clients to pay for services;
• the bank opens its correspondent accounts in other banks;
• A Russian bank opens a correspondent account for a foreign bank.

The first two types of correspondent accounts are often used, the third - rarely.

What is the difference between a personal account and a current account?

It all depends on the context in which the concept of a personal account is mentioned. Their main task is to identify a particular client in the bank. For convenience, it is customary to call a current account a bank account opened for an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity, and a personal account is a bank account opened for an individual.

The screenshot below shows the bank details of an individual who has issued a regular debit card at Sberbank to receive child benefits.

As we can see, a 20-digit account is no different from the account assigned to an entrepreneur or some kind of LLC. In addition to the account, the BIC, correspondent account and other details are indicated.

An individual can perform all the same operations as a legal entity: transfer money to another person or organization, pay for goods and services, withdraw cash from your account, etc.

But if the concept of a personal account is mentioned in connection with any organization, then the context will be different. For example, when we enter into an Agreement for the provision of mobile communication services, a personal account is opened in our name with the mobile operator, into which all our funds will be transferred to pay for the services used.

The essence is the same as in banks - identification of a specific client, so that the operator’s accounting department understands in whose name the received funds should be credited.

The procedure for recording transactions on a current account

According to the rules, the debit of the current account shows the receipt of funds to the current accounts of the enterprise, and the credit of the current account shows their debit from the account.

Thus, the accounting of funds in the current account is active in nature, since the increase is by debit.

Amounts erroneously included in the Ct or Dt of the current account and discovered when checking bank statements are reflected in settlements with various debtors and creditors (account 76, subaccount “Settlements for claims”).

Please note that the accounting of funds in the organization's current accounts is reflected in accounting based on:

1. Statement of the credit institution on the current account.

2. Cash settlement documents attached to them.

As for the analytical accounting of the current account, it is maintained for each current account separately.

How to close a current account

To close a current account, you will need to collect certain documents:

• a passport that proves your identity;
• checkbook;
• agreement to open a current account;
• seal.

After collecting the necessary documents, go to the bank where the account was opened. The bank will give you a form and sample application to close the account.

Check the account balance and use a payment order or check to transfer or receive them. In the application, in addition to information about the agreement and the current account, you will also need to indicate the reason for closure.

Having given the bank employee an application for closing the account, a checkbook and, if necessary, receiving the balance of money in your hands, you can consider that the account has been closed.

Posting examples

In fact, accounting of funds in current accounts is limited to q types of transactions - the receipt and withdrawal of money from the account.

If money is received, the transactions are as follows:

In case of outflow of money, the postings are as follows:

Also see “Personal and current account: differences and differences.”

Read also

10.06.2019

Accounting for funds in a current account

Watch the lecture on: INTUIT | youtube.com

If you have problems with the video, please click above youtube link

The presentation for this lecture can be downloaded here.

Purpose of the lesson:

become familiar with the features of accounting for current account transactions.

General provisions

Each organization must have at least one current account opened with a bank. There may be more accounts. Organizations are required to keep all temporarily available funds in a current account, with the exception of those funds located in the cash register.

An organization's current account is used for a variety of purposes - for settlements with suppliers of products, for repaying loans and borrowings, for tax payments, for paying wages, and so on. Cash circulation has significant limitations when it comes to settlements between legal entities, therefore the current account of an organization plays a vital role in its economic life.

A current account is a regular bank account. If we talk about its use in ordinary words, we can say that organizations receive payment for goods and services sold to their current account and pay for purchases from the current account, as well as make other payments using it.

An organization, in order to open a bank account, must enter into an agreement with the bank, providing the bank with the following documents (Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated September 14, 2006 No. 28-I “On opening and closing bank accounts for deposits”, as amended on August 28, 2012 g.) (Instruction 28-I lost force due to the entry into force of Bank of Russia Instruction No. 153-I on May 30, 2014):

• Application for opening an account;
• Certificate of state registration of a legal entity;
• Constituent documents of a legal entity - copies of the charter, constituent agreement, certified by a notary;
• Licenses for the right to carry out activities subject to licensing;
• A card with sample signatures of the manager and his deputy (persons with the right of the first signature) and the chief accountant (the right of the second signature) and with a sample of the seal imprint;
• Documents confirming the powers of the persons indicated on the card;
• Documents confirming the powers of the sole executive body of a legal entity;
• A certificate from the tax service confirming that the organization is registered as a taxpayer;

When opening an account, the bank may request from a legal entity other documents necessary for it; here are only the main documents that are usually needed to open an account.

In addition to the current account, which is opened in rubles, an organization can open some other types of accounts:

• Currency account - it is intended for making payments in foreign currency, and a separate account is opened for each type of currency; there are some special types of foreign currency accounts.
• Special account - used to store money for a specific purpose. For example, to deposit funds when receiving a checkbook or opening a letter of credit.
• A current account can be opened for those organizations that cannot have a current account (for example, branches of the parent organization);
• Deposit account - can be opened to place temporarily free funds for a certain period and at a certain percentage.

Once the account is opened, the organization begins to use it.

The organization and the bank enter into an agreement on cash settlement services, which sets out the rights and obligations of the parties. In particular, the bank takes a fee for its services and undertakes to service the organization’s current account and perform other functions.

In general, funds are written off from a current account if there is a corresponding order from the organization that owns the account. This is the so-called acceptance form of payment, when the organization explicitly acknowledges the fact of payment from its current account. In some cases, a direct form of payment is used - funds are debited from the account without the direct consent of the organization, for example, by a court decision.

Forms of non-cash payments

Art. 862 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines the following forms of non-cash payments: payments by payment orders, letters of credit, checks, collection payments. Details about the various methods of non-cash payments and the forms of payment documents can be found in Bank of Russia Regulation No. 383-P dated June 19, 2012 “On the rules for transferring funds” (as amended on July 15, 2013).

Payment documents must contain a fairly large set of details defined in the Regulations, and the forms of documents with the location of the details are also given there.

The specifics of settlements on payment orders are regulated by Chapter 5 of the Regulations. So, in accordance with clause 5.1 of Ch. 5:

When making payments by payment orders, the payer's bank undertakes to transfer funds through the payer's bank account or without opening a bank account of the payer - an individual to the recipient of the funds specified in the payer's order.

Using payment orders you can perform various types of calculations:

• transfer of funds for goods supplied, work performed, services rendered;
• transfers of funds to budgets of all levels and to extra-budgetary funds;
• transfer of funds for the purpose of returning or placing loans, borrowings, deposits and paying interest on them;
• transfer of funds for other purposes provided for by law or agreement.

Payment orders can be used for advance payment of goods, works, services or for making periodic payments.

The payment order is drawn up on form 0401060.

The bank will accept a payment order even if there are not enough funds in the payer's current account. Moreover, if there is less money in the account than requested in the received payment orders, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 855), the following order of fulfillment of payment requests is established:

• First of all, amounts are written off under writs of execution to compensate for harm caused to life or health, as well as alimony payments;
• Secondly, write-offs according to executive documents providing for the payment of severance pay and wages;
• Thirdly, write-offs of funds for wages and transfers to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, Social Insurance Fund, and Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund;
• Fourthly - payments to budgetary and extra-budgetary funds;
• Fifthly, other executive documents;
• In the sixth place - write-offs for other payment documents in calendar order.

Debiting funds from the account for claims related to one queue is carried out in the calendar order of receipt of documents.

We reviewed the procedure for debiting funds from a current account using payment orders for non-cash payments.

Let us now consider the procedure for crediting cash to a current account and the procedure for withdrawing money from a current account.

What is an account number

Any organization or enterprise registered as a legal entity, regardless of its form of ownership, is obliged to carry out monetary transactions non-cash

. To do this, a current account (CA) must be opened. This requirement does not apply only to individual entrepreneurs operating without forming a legal entity. However, in the process of their work they are faced with such a need. RS are opened in credit institutions in accordance with established Accounting Rules.

Each account is assigned a unique number

, thanks to which the bank can uniquely identify its owner. The number is formed in a strict sequence of combinations of numbers that carry information about the client’s status, in what currency it is opened, and even in which branch of the credit institution.

The current account number consists of 20 digits, which in combination carry the following information

(in order):

• The first 5 digits indicate the balance account number of the first and second order;
• The sixth, seventh and eighth digits indicate the currency in which the account is opened;
• The ninth digit is a control digit;
• The eleventh to the fourteenth contain information about the bank division code;
• The last seven digits contain the serial number of the bank account.

The procedure for creating accounts for individuals

similar, only they are called current or facial.

Balance account: what do the first 5 digits mean?

These are numbers of balance sheet accounts of the first and second order, indicating who is the owner of the company and for what purposes it was created.

Balance sheet accounts of the first order determine the form of ownership

organizations, for example:

Balance sheet accounts of the second order contain clarifying information

, for example, 01 – financial organizations, 02 – commercial organizations, 03 – non-profit organizations.

The totality of combinations of balance sheet accounts of the first and second order determines the legal status of the account owner. For example, for federally owned institutions:

Examples of formation:

The formation of other types of accounts (deposit, loan, savings, etc.) is carried out according to a similar principle, but instead of a second-order balance sheet account, the period of its validity can be encoded

(if the account is opened for a certain period). For example, 42302 – deposits and other attracted funds from individuals for a period of up to 30 days.

Account currency

The next 3 digits indicate the currency in which the account is opened. The most popular are 810 - rubles and 840 - dollars, 978 - euros.

Check digit

This is one sign in the number

. It is formed when opening a PC using a special algorithm. According to the Directives of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 515 dated 09/08/1997. The calculation is based on a combination of two details: the bank’s BIC and the personal account number.

Calculation of the check digit is necessary to verify the correct formation of the RS number. Since the assignment of an organization’s account number is carried out using automatic banking systems and generation errors are practically eliminated, the number is present in the number nominally.

Bank division code

This is the internal number of the branch of the credit institution

. It consists of 4 digits. If the credit institution does not have branches, the account number will contain four zeros (0000).

The code is not related to the BIC of the credit institution; it is impossible to determine the bank that opened the account using it.

Account number

The last block, consisting of 7 digits, contains information about the serial number of the personal account in the credit institution

. The numbering order is established by internal rules of banks. This may be a serial number in a specific structural unit or the numbering starts from the head office.

Purpose of payment when replenishing an individual entrepreneur's current account

To prevent the tax authorities from considering the transfer as income, the purpose of the payment must explain that this is the entrepreneur’s personal money. You can indicate the purpose in free form. For example, “depositing your own funds” or “replenishing with personal money.”

If you don't do this, the tax office will think that you are evading taxes. The inspector will see that you received the transfer, but did not indicate it in the declaration. Even if you have paid regularly for several years before, the inspector is obliged to issue a fine. After the transfer, it is difficult to prove that it was personal money.

The money must be transferred on behalf of the owner of the current account - that is, the entrepreneur. The tax authorities will regard a transfer from a relative as income from business activities - you will have to pay tax on it.