Types of account

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Guest

Guest (Querist)

02 November 2011 Is purchase and sales account is a part of real account or nominal acccount?some books say it is a part of real and some say nominal?Can anybody help me out

CMA Ramesh Krishnan

CMA Ramesh Krishnan (Expert)
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02 November 2011 It is nominal account only. only stock is real a/c

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Guest

Guest (Querist)

03 November 2011 Thank you..need to ask purchase is an asset so why it's not a real account?

Aashok Kumar Sharma

Aashok Kumar Sharma

(Expert)
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02 August 2025 Great question! Here’s a clear explanation:

* **Purchase Account** and **Sales Account** are **Nominal Accounts** — because they represent expenses and income respectively, and deal with profits and losses.

* **Real Accounts** relate to assets and liabilities — things you own or owe, like **Stock**, **Cash**, **Machinery**, etc.

Now, why is **Purchase** not a real account if it involves an asset?

* Actually, **Purchase** account records the **expense** or cost of buying goods, not the goods themselves. When you buy stock, the **Stock Account** (a real account) increases, but **Purchase Account** just records the **cost incurred** during the period.

So:

* **Stock** = Real Account (Asset)
* **Purchase** = Nominal Account (Expense)
* **Sales** = Nominal Account (Income)

Hope this clears the confusion! Want me to explain the basic rules of accounting for real, personal, and nominal accounts?

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