Question

On may 31, the cash account of bottle's r us had a normal balance of $5,000. during may, the account was debited for a total of $12,200 and credited for a total of $11,500. what was the balance in the cash account at the beginning of may?

Answer 1

Since there are no special paameters mentioned to solve the problem, algebra will be employed.

What we have so far:
Total debit = $12,200
Total credit = $11,500
Total transactions = Total credit - Total debit
Final balance = $5,000

To solve:
Let us use the working equation: Initial Balance = Final Balance + |Total Transactions|
Initial Balance  =  $5,000 + |$11,500 - $12,200|
Initial Balance  =  $5,000 + |-$700| <--- remember that -$700 is an absolute value which makes it positive.
Initial Balance  =  $5,700 <--- What we are looking for.

Checking:
Early May: $5,700
Around May : $5,700 - Total Debit (Assumption)
Around May : $5,700 - $12,200 = -$6,500 (Assumption)
Around May: -$6,500 + Total Credit (Assumption)
Around May: -$6,500 + $11,500 = $5,000 (Assumption)
31st of May: $5,000 <--- Proven

∴The answer is: $5,700, the initial balance at the beginning of May.