How would you classify an expense such as rent paid in cash in the accounts?

• A. Dr Rent Expense; Cr Cash/Bank.
• B. Dr Cash/Bank; Cr Rent Expense.
• C. Dr Revenue; Cr Rent Expense.
• D. Dr Prepaid Rent; Cr Cash.

Answer: (A)

When cash is paid for rent, you are recording an expense and reducing an asset. In double-entry bookkeeping, expenses are debited and cash (an asset) is credited. So the correct journal entry is to debit Rent Expense to recognize the cost, and credit Cash/Bank to show the outflow of cash. This aligns with the rule that every debit has a corresponding credit and that expenses increase on the debit side while cash decreases on the credit side. The other options would misstate the accounts: increasing cash or treating rent as revenue would be incorrect, and using Prepaid Rent would apply only if the rent had been paid in advance rather than recorded as an expense at the time of payment.