Recording rent payment receipt on Sonia's books

Steps:

• Identify Sonia's perspective: she receives cash, increasing her assets.
• Recognize the payment settles rent owed, reducing rent receivable.
• Apply double-entry rule: debit cash for inflow, credit rent receivable for settlement.
• Confirm entry: debits equal credits, balancing the accounts.

Why the correct option is correct:

• Per double-entry accounting, receiving cash for a receivable increases cash (debit) and decreases the receivable (credit), reflecting asset exchange.

Why the others are wrong:

• B: Reverses the entry, as if Sonia paid rent instead of receiving it.
• C: Debiting rent receivable increases it, which occurs when rent is earned, not collected.
• D: Debiting William implies increasing a payable or receivable to him, irrelevant to cash receipt.

Final answer: A