What is personal,Real and nominal account?
**Personal Account**
A personal account is a type of account in accounting that records transactions related to individuals, organizations, or entities. It is used to track the activities of specific persons or entities and is classified into three categories: natural, artificial, and representative personal accounts.
1. **Natural Personal Accounts**: These accounts are related to individuals such as customers, suppliers, owners, etc. For example, the account of a customer who owes money to a company for goods purchased on credit.
2. **Artificial Personal Accounts**: These accounts are created for non-human entities such as corporations, partnerships, or organizations. For instance, the account of a company that owes money to a supplier for goods purchased.
3. **Representative Personal Accounts**: These accounts represent a group of individuals or entities. They are used to record transactions on behalf of multiple individuals or entities. For example, the account of a salesperson who collects sales from various customers.
**Real Account**
A real account, also known as a permanent account or balance sheet account, is a type of account that records the assets, liabilities, and equity of a company. It reflects the financial position of an organization and is not closed at the end of an accounting period. Real accounts are further categorized into tangible and intangible accounts.
1. **Tangible Real Accounts**: These accounts represent physical assets that can be touched or seen, such as land, buildings, machinery, cash, inventory, etc. Transactions related to these assets are recorded in tangible real accounts.
2. **Intangible Real Accounts**: These accounts represent non-physical assets that cannot be seen or touched, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, goodwill, etc. Transactions related to these assets are recorded in intangible real accounts.
**Nominal Account**
A nominal account, also known as a temporary account or income statement account, is a type of account that records revenues, expenses, gains, and losses. It is used to determine the net profit or loss of a company during a specific accounting period. Nominal accounts are closed at the end of each accounting period and their balances are transferred to the retained earnings or capital account.
1. **Revenue Accounts**: These accounts record the income earned by a company through its primary operations, such as sales revenue, rental income, interest received, etc.
2. **Expense Accounts**: These accounts record the costs incurred by a company to generate revenue, such as salaries, rent, utilities, advertising expenses, etc.
3. **Gain Accounts**: These accounts record the income generated from non-primary operations of a company, such as the sale of assets, investments, or foreign exchange gains.
4. **Loss Accounts**: These accounts record the expenses incurred from non-primary operations of a company, such as the loss on the sale of assets, investments, or foreign exchange losses.
In summary, personal accounts track the activities of individuals or entities, real accounts record assets, liabilities, and equity, and nominal accounts record revenues, expenses, gains, and losses. Understanding these account types is essential for accurate financial reporting and analysis.