Account 513 records cash movements related to a company’s bank accounts in the General Chart of Accounts. Attached to class 5 (financial accounts), it centralizes all cash inflows and outflows passing through banking establishments. Its proper management conditions the reliability of the cash balance presented in the balance sheet.
Account 513 and the prohibition of offsetting: a frequently overlooked constraint
In the PCG, account 513 belongs to the monetary accounts of class 5. It is distinguished from account 512 used in certain nomenclatures by its direct connection to current banking operations. Each bank account opened by the company must correspond to a distinct sub-account of 513.
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The most structuring rule, and the least well applied in practice, concerns the non-offsetting between debit and credit balances. A debit balance in 513 indicates available cash. A credit balance signals a bank overdraft, which must be reclassified as financial debts in the balance sheet.
Offsetting these two balances in the same account distorts the reading of the balance sheet. To delve deeper into this mechanism, account 513 accounting on BusiBoost details the practical implications of this prohibition. When a company holds multiple accounts in different banks, it must open as many subdivisions (513.1, 513.2, etc.) as necessary to isolate each position.
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Operation of account 513: debit, credit, and current entries
Account 513 functions as an asset account. It is debited during cash inflows and credited during cash outflows.
Debit movements
The debit of 513 records any amount received by the company in its bank account: customer payments, incoming transfers, check deposits, current account contributions. The typical entry debits 513 and credits the relevant third-party account (411 for a customer, 455 for a partner).
Credit movements
The credit of 513 records outflows: payments to suppliers, salaries, social charges, taxes, bank withdrawals. The typical entry credits 513 and debits the corresponding expense or third-party account (401, 421, 431, etc.).
This symmetrical operation makes 513 a accounting mirror of the bank statement. The balance of the account on a given date must, after adjusting for transactions in transit, correspond to the balance displayed by the bank.
Bank reconciliation of account 513: method and common pitfalls
Bank reconciliation involves comparing the balance of account 513 in accounting with the balance shown on the bank statement on the same date. Discrepancies arise from transactions recorded on one side but not yet on the other.
- Checks issued by the company and recorded as credits to 513, but not yet cashed by the beneficiary, create a temporary discrepancy on the bank side.
- Incoming transfers appearing on the bank statement but not yet entered in accounting produce a reverse discrepancy.
- Bank fees deducted directly by the bank (overdraft fees, commissions, account maintenance fees) appear on the statement before being recorded in 513.
- Entries for miscellaneous transactions (OD) made at the end of the fiscal year on 513 must be justified individually, as they are subject to enhanced audit scrutiny.
A reliable bank reconciliation is built each month, not just at the annual closing. Waiting until December to reconcile twelve months of transactions multiplies undetected errors and makes control nearly impossible within the review deadlines.
Account 513 and payment service providers: Stripe, PayPal, SumUp
The generalization of online payment solutions has created a gray area in the treatment of account 513. A payment received via Stripe or PayPal does not directly pass through the company’s bank account. The provider collects the funds, deducts its commission, and then transfers the net balance to the bank.
Practical doctrine recommends not recording these flows in account 513. Funds held by a payment service provider (PSP) are more appropriately classified under account 517 or a subdivision of 511, depending on the nature of the provider. Account 513 only comes into play at the time of the actual transfer from the PSP to the bank account.
Confusing the two generates bank reconciliation errors, as the amounts transferred by the PSP do not correspond to the gross amounts of customer transactions. The provider’s commission should be isolated in an expense account (627 or 6278), which requires rigorous matching between the PSP statement and the accounting entries.
Structuring sub-accounts to avoid confusion
A company that uses both a traditional bank account and several PSPs has every interest in adopting an explicit sub-account nomenclature:
- 513.1 for the main bank account
- 513.2 for a potential second bank account
- 517.1 for Stripe
- 517.2 for PayPal
This separation facilitates reconciliation, reduces the risk of error on collected VAT, and simplifies the work of the auditor or statutory auditor during bank circularization.
Control of account 513 in legal audit
In audits, account 513 is part of the items systematically checked. The bank circularization (direct confirmation of the balance by the bank) constitutes the basic procedure. It allows for the validation of the closing balance independently of the company’s records.
Statutory auditors also check the cut-off, meaning the correct allocation of cash inflows and outflows to the appropriate accounting period. A receipt collected on January 2 but attributed to December distorts the result of the closed fiscal year. Entries of OD made on 513 at the end of the fiscal year receive particular attention, as they may conceal unsubstantiated adjustments.
Account 513 remains a technical item whose rigorous management determines the overall quality of accounting. A subdivision by bank, monthly reconciliation, and a clear separation from PSP flows are sufficient to cover the majority of error risks.