The Pro Rata Table Trick: Solve Share Forfeiture in 5 Mins

The “Issue of Shares” chapter has one villain: Pro-Rata Allotment. When a question says “Applied for 60,000 shares but allotted 40,000”, most students panic. They calculate wrong “Money Received on Allotment” and lose 6 straight marks.

Stop using rough scribbles. Use the Commastery 8-Column Magic Table. If you fill this table, your journal entries will write themselves.

The 8-Column Magic Table Format

Draw this table at the top of your answer sheet (in Working Notes) before starting the question.

Col 1	Col 2	Col 3	Col 4	Col 5	Col 6	Col 7	Col 8
Category	Shares Applied	Shares Allotted	Money Recd (App x Rate)	Money Req (Allot x Rate)	Excess Money (4 – 5)	Adj. on Allotment	Refund (Bank)
A	20,000	20,000	60,000	60,000	Nil	Nil	Nil
B	10,000	Nil	30,000	Nil	30,000	Nil	30,000
C	60,000	40,000	1,80,000	1,20,000	60,000	60,000	Nil
Total	90,000	60,000	2,70,000	1,80,000	90,000	60,000	30,000

How to Use This Table for Journal Entries?

Entry 1: Bank A/c …Dr (Application Money)

• Just look at Column 4 Total (2,70,000).
• Entry: Bank A/c Dr 2,70,000 to Share Application A/c.

Entry 2: Transfer to Share Capital

• Share Capital gets Column 5 Total (1,80,000).
• To Share Allotment gets Column 7 Total (60,000).
• To Bank (Refund) gets Column 8 Total (30,000).
• Entry: Share App A/c Dr (2,70k) to Share Cap (1,80k) to Share Allotment (60k) to Bank (30k).

The “Calls-in-Arrears” Calculation

If a shareholder (Mr. X) from Category C fails to pay Allotment:

1. Find Applied Shares: (Allotted Shares / Total Allotted) * Total Applied
2. Excess Money of Mr. X: (Applied - Allotted) * App Rate
3. Net Due on Allotment: (Allotted * Allot Rate) - Excess Money
4. This “Net Due” is your Calls-in-Arrears.

[Conclusion] Don’t memorize steps. Memorize the Table. It saves time and ensures 100% accuracy. For practice questions using this table, download our Commastery App.