Permanent Accounts
What are Permanent Accounts?
Permanent accounts are accounts that are not closed out at period-end.
![pa1](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa1.jpg)
How it Works
The double entry account system contains a mix of permanent and temporary accounts.
![](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa2.jpg)
Temporary accounts are used to collect data for an accounting period.
![pa3](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/pa3.jpg)
After this, they are closed out.
![](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa4.jpg)
This leaves them empty, ready for next period’s transactions.
![](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa5.jpg)
Permanent accounts, on-the-other hand, are never closed out.
![](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa6.jpg)
At any stage, they show what the business owns verses what it owes.
![](https://seeaccountingnow.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pa7.jpg)
© R.J. Hickman 2020