How is the accounts receivable (A/R) account recorded for the total amount of the sales journal?

In accounting, the accounts receivable (A/R) account reflects amounts that customers owe to the business for sales made on credit. When a sale is recorded in the sales journal, it indicates that the business has delivered goods or provided services to a customer, resulting in a promise of payment in the future.

When the total amount from the sales journal is referenced, it implies an increase in the business's rights to receive money from customers. Therefore, the accounts receivable account is debited to show that there is now more money expected to be received in the future from these credit sales. Debiting the accounts receivable increases its balance, which accurately reflects the increase in money owed to the business from its customers.

Recognizing the sales in the sales journal necessitates an increase in accounts receivable, leading to the need to debit this account to maintain a proper accounting balance.

While other choices suggest different actions, they do not align with the standard accounting practice of recognizing credit sales, which specifically requires debiting accounts receivable to increase it according to the accounting equation.