| Course | ACC 315 Accounting Software Systems (ACC/315) |
|---|---|
| Week | 3 |
| Paper type | Sales and receivables recording paper |
| Length | about 1,033 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Accounting |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 315 Week 3
From Estimate to Deposit: Recording Seasonal Contracts, Invoices, Sales Receipts, Customer Payments and Credit Memos for a Composite Lawn Care and Snow Removal Company
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
ACC/315: Accounting Software Systems
Week 3 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The company, its customers and all figures are composites written for a model paper; accounting rules come from the sources listed.
A composite lawn care company serves about 180 residential and 25 commercial customers. In summer it mows, trims and treats lawns; in winter it plows parking lots and driveways. Commercial customers are billed monthly on terms of net 30, some homeowners pay the crew when a job is done and many buy a prepaid snow contract in the fall. With three kinds of customer and two seasons, the business produces nearly every customer transaction the software offers. This paper records one month, November, when both seasons overlap, and explains the entry behind each step.
Setting Up Customers and Items
Each customer record holds a billing address, service address, payment terms, sales tax status and an email address for sending invoices. Commercial customers are set to net 30; residential customers are set to due on receipt. Service items are linked to income accounts: fall cleanup and leaf removal to lawn service income, plowing to snow removal income and the prepaid snow contract to unearned revenue.
Estimate to Invoice
On November 3, a medical office building asked for a price on fall cleanup and gutter clearing. The estimate for $2,400 is recorded but makes no entry; it is a proposal, not a sale. When the office accepted and the crew finished the work on November 10, the estimate was converted to an invoice. The software then records a debit to accounts receivable of $2,400 and a credit to lawn service income of $2,400. Converting the estimate, rather than typing a new invoice, keeps the price the customer approved and links the two documents for anyone who checks later.
Sales Receipts for Payment at the Time of Sale
Homeowners who pay the crew by check or card when leaves are cleared are recorded on sales receipts. On November 12, four such jobs totaled $1,140. Each sales receipt debits undeposited funds and credits lawn service income. No receivable is created because nothing is owed.
Receiving Payments on Open Invoices
On November 18, a property management company paid $5,850 by check for its October invoice. The payment is recorded with the receive payment form and applied to that invoice, which debits undeposited funds and credits accounts receivable. The invoice now shows as paid. If the payment were entered as a new sales receipt instead, income would be counted twice and the October invoice would stay open.
Grouping Receipts Into a Deposit
Undeposited funds holds payments until they reach the bank. On November 19, the office manager took five checks totaling $7,480 to the bank. The deposit form selects those five payments and moves them together, debiting the operating bank account and crediting undeposited funds for $7,480. The bank statement will show one deposit of $7,480, and the reconciliation will match on the first try. Card payments are deposited separately because the processor sends them in daily batches after deducting its fees, which are recorded as a direct cost.
Prepaid Snow Contracts
In October and November, 62 homeowners bought a seasonal driveway plowing contract for $450 each, a total of $27,900. The work has not happened yet, so the cash is not income. The revenue standard ties income to performance: a company records revenue as it satisfies each obligation it owes the customer (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2014). Each contract is recorded as a debit to undeposited funds and a credit to unearned revenue. At the end of each winter month, the company moves a share to snow removal income based on the months of service covered. The contracts run December through March, so $6,975 moves to income at the end of each of those four months. If a mild winter brings little snow, the revenue is still earned, because the company promised to stand ready to plow for the whole season rather than to plow a set number of times. A contract that instead priced each visit would be recognized storm by storm.
Credit Memo for a Missed Visit
A snowstorm on November 26 closed roads, and the crew missed one commercial lot that had been billed a flat monthly fee. The company agreed to a $150 credit. A credit memo debits snow removal income and credits accounts receivable, and it is applied to the customer's open invoice. The original invoice stays in the records unchanged. Deleting or editing an invoice from a closed period would change reports already given to the owner; a credit memo corrects the balance while leaving a trail.
Reading the Aging Report
At November 30, accounts receivable totals $41,300. The aging report shows $30,900 current, $6,700 one to 30 days past due, $2,600 31 to 60 days past due and $1,100 more than 60 days past due. Petersen and Rajan (1997) found that suppliers extend trade credit partly because they can judge and monitor customers better than banks can, which is only true if someone actually watches the aging report. The office manager will email statements to every customer with a past-due balance, call the two commercial customers over 30 days and put the $1,100 balance, owed by a homeowner who moved away, on a list for the owner to decide whether to pursue or write off.
The size of that last group matters. McNichols and Wilson (1988) showed that estimates of uncollectible accounts involve judgment and can be used to shift reported income. For a small company the lesson is simpler: record an allowance based on the aging categories and review it each month, rather than waiting until a debt is years old.
Conclusion
One month of a lawn care and snow removal company used every customer form in the software. Estimates recorded proposals, invoices created receivables, sales receipts recorded payment at the time of sale, received payments cleared invoices, undeposited funds grouped receipts into deposits that match the bank, unearned revenue held prepaid contracts until earned and a credit memo corrected a charge without erasing history. Weygandt et al. (2021) stress that each of these forms is a journal entry in disguise; seeing the entry behind the screen is what lets an accountant find and fix errors.
References
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2014). Revenue from contracts with customers (Topic 606) (Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09).
McNichols, M., & Wilson, G. P. (1988). Evidence of earnings management from the provision for bad debts. Journal of Accounting Research, 26, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.2307/2491176
Petersen, M. A., & Rajan, R. G. (1997). Trade credit: Theories and evidence. The Review of Financial Studies, 10(3), 661-691. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/10.3.661
Weygandt, J. J., Kimmel, P. D., & Kieso, D. E. (2021). Accounting principles (14th ed.). Wiley.
What the ACC 315 Week 3 instructions ask
ACC 315 Week 3 often asks students to record customer transactions in accounting software and explain what each one does to the accounts. Typical tasks include creating customers, preparing estimates and invoices, recording sales receipts for payment at the time of sale, receiving payments, making deposits and issuing credit memos or refunds. Many sections also ask for a receivables aging report or customer statements and a short explanation of how the business will follow up on late accounts. The written part may be a paper or a set of explanations beside each transaction. Either way, the reader should be able to see the journal entry behind every screen and understand why that form, rather than another, was used.
How this ACC 315 Week 3 example is built
Instead of listing forms in isolation, the paper uses one month of a composite business, so each form appears where it would in real work. Every transaction is followed by the entry the software makes in the background, which ties the software steps to the accounting taught earlier in the program. The undeposited funds account gets its own explanation because students often skip it and then find that deposits do not match the bank. Prepaid snow contracts introduce unearned revenue and the revenue standard in plain language. A credit memo shows how to correct a sale without deleting it. The last section reads the aging report as a manager would, deciding who gets a reminder and who gets a call.
ACC 315 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go
Grading in this week generally rests on correct use of forms, correct accounts and clear explanation. Faculty look for invoices used when the customer pays later, sales receipts when payment happens at the sale, payments applied to the right invoices and deposits that match the bank. Accurate amounts and dates matter, and journal entries shown beside software steps demonstrate understanding rather than button pushing. Credit for the aging report depends on interpreting it, not only printing it. Where revenue timing arises, a correct reference to when revenue is earned earns extra marks. Organization, labeled tables or figures and APA citations of the textbook or standards complete the rubric, with deductions for errors that would misstate receivables.
ACC 315 Week 3 help: mistakes to avoid
One frequent slip in ACC 315 Week 3 is recording every sale on an invoice, even when the customer paid on the spot, which inflates receivables until someone notices. Use a sales receipt for payment at the time of sale. Another is receiving a payment without linking it to the open invoice, which leaves the invoice open and the customer overpaid. Students also send payments straight to the bank account and then record the deposit again, doubling cash. Explain undeposited funds so the reader sees why it exists. Record prepaid seasonal contracts as unearned revenue rather than income. Correct errors with credit memos, not by deleting transactions. Finally, turn the aging report into specific collection steps for named overdue balances.
Related ACC 315 sample papers
Other ACC 315 week samples
- ACC 315 Week 1: Choosing Accounting Software
- ACC 315 Week 2: Company Setup and Chart of Accounts
- ACC 315 Week 4: Purchases, Payroll and Banking
- ACC 315 Week 5: Reconciliation and Reports
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ACC 315 Week 3 questions, answered
What does ACC/315 Week 3 usually cover?
It usually covers customer transactions in accounting software: estimates, invoices, sales receipts, receiving payments, deposits, credit memos and reports such as receivables aging.
Where can I find a free ACC 315 Week 3 sample paper?
A complete lawn care and snow removal example is on this page, with every form paired to its journal entry and explained in the margin. If your class uses a different company, share the details and your first custom sample is on us.
When should I use a sales receipt instead of an invoice?
Use a sales receipt when the customer pays at the time of sale. Use an invoice when the customer will pay later, since only an invoice creates accounts receivable.
What is the undeposited funds account?
It is a holding account for payments received but not yet taken to the bank, so several checks can be grouped into one deposit that matches the bank statement.
How are prepaid service contracts recorded?
Cash received before the work is done is recorded as unearned revenue, a liability, and moved to income as the service is provided.
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