What is the journal entry to record warranty expenses as claims are made?

When a company incurs warranty expenses due to claims being made, it needs to recognize the liability associated with the warranties that it has issued. At this point, the liability will be settled by providing a cash payment or some other asset to cover the costs associated with the claims.

The correct journal entry involves debiting Warranty Payable, which reduces the liability account, reflecting that the company is fulfilling its obligation to honor the warranty claim. At the same time, the company credits Cash, which indicates that it is making a payment to settle the claim. This entry properly records the decrease in liabilities and accounts for the cash outflow that occurs when a warranty claim is honored.

This approach is aligned with the accounting principles of recognizing expenses and liabilities accurately as they occur.