https://www.expensepoint.com/portfolio Portfolio of important topics for finance and accounting teams en Tue, 12 May 2026 20:25:31 GMT 2026-05-12T20:25:31Z en https://www.expensepoint.com/portfolio/what-is-a-down-payment-in-a-journal-entry <h3>Definition of a Down Payment</h3> <p><strong><span style="line-height: 20.925px;">A down payment is cash paid upfront toward a larger purchase, before the buyer has fully received the goods, services, or asset. In a journal entry, it is recorded as an asset, not an expense because it represents value the buyer is still entitled to receive (or has just acquired through financing).</span></strong><span style="line-height: 20.925px;"> </span></p> <h3>Definition of a Down Payment</h3> <p><strong><span style="line-height: 20.925px;">A down payment is cash paid upfront toward a larger purchase, before the buyer has fully received the goods, services, or asset. In a journal entry, it is recorded as an asset, not an expense because it represents value the buyer is still entitled to receive (or has just acquired through financing).</span></strong><span style="line-height: 20.925px;"> </span></p> <img src="https://track.hubspot.com/__ptq.gif?a=9137804&amp;k=14&amp;r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expensepoint.com%2Fportfolio%2Fwhat-is-a-down-payment-in-a-journal-entry&amp;bu=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.expensepoint.com%252Fportfolio&amp;bvt=rss" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="min-height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border-width:0!important;margin-top:0!important;margin-bottom:0!important;margin-right:0!important;margin-left:0!important;padding-top:0!important;padding-bottom:0!important;padding-right:0!important;padding-left:0!important; "> portfolio Tue, 12 May 2026 20:00:55 GMT https://www.expensepoint.com/portfolio/what-is-a-down-payment-in-a-journal-entry 2026-05-12T20:00:55Z ExpensePoint team