What Are Sundry Items in Accounting?

Sundry items in accounting refer to various miscellaneous financial transactions that are too small or infrequent to warrant their own distinct categories. Grouping these items helps simplify financial record-keeping by avoiding an excessive number of detailed accounts. This approach allows businesses to maintain cleaner, more manageable ledgers without sacrificing accuracy for significant transactions.

Defining Sundry in Accounting

The term “sundry” is used in accounting to group minor financial activities that do not fit into primary operational accounts. Sundry items are typically small in value, occur irregularly, and are not central to a business’s main revenue or expense categories. This classification streamlines accounting by preventing numerous specific accounts for insignificant transactions.

Materiality plays a significant role in determining what is considered sundry; items are grouped because their individual financial impact is not substantial enough to require separate tracking. While “sundry” itself is not a specific account, it describes a collection of miscellaneous items often aggregated under broader categories like “miscellaneous expenses” or “other income.” This grouping maintains organized financial records without overcomplicating the chart of accounts.

Common Sundry Expenses

Sundry expenses are minor costs that a business incurs outside of its regular, major operating expenditures. These are often small amounts that do not justify their own dedicated expense accounts due to their low value and infrequent occurrence. For example, a business might classify small bank charges, such as monthly service fees or transaction fees, as sundry expenses.

Other common examples include incidental office supplies, minor repair costs for non-essential equipment, occasional postage, or small, unreimbursed travel incidentals. These expenses are considered immaterial individually but still require proper recording.

Common Sundry Income

Sundry income represents small, infrequent earnings generated from sources outside a business’s primary revenue streams. These amounts are usually minor and do not contribute significantly to the overall profitability, thus not warranting a dedicated income account. An example might be a small amount of interest earned on a business checking account, which is a common occurrence for many businesses.

Other instances of sundry income include minor refunds from vendors, gains from the occasional sale of old office equipment, or incidental commissions from non-primary activities. These income types are recorded to ensure all financial inflows are accounted for, despite their small individual impact.

Accounting for Sundry Items

Sundry items are typically recorded in general ledger accounts designed for miscellaneous entries, such as “Miscellaneous Expenses” or “Other Income” and “Other Expenses.” This approach allows for the aggregation of many small transactions into a single, manageable account without creating an overly detailed ledger. Despite their grouped nature, proper categorization is still important to maintain accurate financial records and ensure compliance with accounting principles.

While individual sundry items may be small, their cumulative effect can become significant, necessitating diligent tracking. Businesses must retain detailed documentation, such as receipts, invoices, or bank statements, for all transactions, including those classified as sundry. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires businesses to keep records that support income and deductions for at least three years. This ensures aggregated expenses can be substantiated for tax purposes.