The debit or credit balance that would be expected in a specific account in the general ledger. For example, asset accounts and expense accounts normally have debit balances. Revenues, liabilities, and...
The debit or credit balance that would be expected in a specific account in the general ledger. For example, asset accounts and expense accounts normally have debit balances. Revenues, liabilities, and...
The allocation of one year’s income tax expense to the various sections of the income statement. For example, extraordinary items must be reported after income tax on the income statement, while operating revenues...
A promise to repair, replace, refund, etc. a product during a specified period. The company making the promise has a contingent liability and a warranty expense that should be recorded at the time the product is sold.
A contra liability account arising when the proceeds of a note payable is less than the face amount of the note. The debit balance in this account will be amortized to interest expense over the life of the note.
A distribution of part of a corporation’s past profits to its stockholders. A dividend is not an expense on the corporation’s income statement.
An amount that is expensed immediately. For example, routine repair costs on equipment are revenue expenditures because they are charged directly to an income statement account such as Repairs and Maintenance Expense.
Buildings is a noncurrent or long-term asset account which shows the cost of a building (excluding the cost of the land). Buildings will be depreciated over their useful lives by debiting the income statement account...
Also referred to as draws. These are a reduction of owner’s equity, but are not a business expense and they do not appear on the sole proprietorship’s income statement.
Sometimes referred to in the context of cost or expense behavior such as “variable expenses increase as volume increases.” In this context volume might be an activity such as the number of machine hours, the...
An asset’s cost that has been assigned to Depreciation Expense.
A current asset account that reports the amount of future rent expense that was paid in advance of the rental period. The amount reported on the balance sheet is the amount that has not yet been used or expired as of the...
A current asset that reports the amount paid for dues that have not yet expired. As the prepaid dues expire, the account Prepaid Dues is reduced and dues expense is increased.
To report a revenue or expense that has occurred, but has not yet been entered in the accounting records as of the end of the accounting period. To learn more, see Explanation of Adjusting Entries.
Where are accruals reflected on the balance sheet? Definition of Accruals The accrual of expenses and liabilities refers to expenses and/or liabilities that a company has incurred, but the company has not yet paid or...
What is an imprest system of petty cash? Definition of Petty Cash Petty cash refers to a small amount of currency and coins that a company uses to pay small amounts without writing a check. The amount of petty cash (also...
Adjusting Entries(Quick Test #1) Download PDF After you have answered all 40 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Our Explanation of Nonmanufacturing Overhead provides examples of a manufacturer's expenses which are not considered to be costs of a product for financial reporting. However, they are operating expenses that will have...
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
Bonds Payable(Quick Test) Download PDF After you have answered all 40 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Financial Statements(Quick Test #3) Download PDF After you have answered all 50 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of...
Accounting Principles Accounting Principles The financial statements distributed to people outside of a U.S. corporation must be in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP or US GAAP). US GAAP...
Bonds Payable For multiple-choice and true/false questions, simply press or click on what you think is the correct answer. For fill-in-the-blank questions, press or click on the blank space provided. If you have...
Our Explanation of Accounting Equation (or bookkeeping equation) illustrates how the double-entry system keeps the accounting equation in balance. You will see how the revenues and expenses on the income statement are...
Financial Ratios For multiple-choice and true/false questions, simply press or click on what you think is the correct answer. For fill-in-the-blank questions, press or click on the blank space provided. If you have...
Financial Ratios(Quick Test #5 with Coaching) Download PDF This Quick Test with Coaching includes a “View Coaching” button to the right of each answer box. If you choose to click the button, an explanation for the...
Our Explanation of Income Statement helps you learn the most important features of a corporation's income statement (also known as the statement of operations or profit and loss statement). We provide more understanding...
Debits and Credits(Quick Test #3) Download PDF After you have answered all 40 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Bookkeeping Bookkeeping in the Past Historically, bookkeepers were responsible for the following steps in the accounting cycle: Record all the company’s transactions in journals Post the amounts from the journals to...
Our Explanation of Accounting Principles provides you with clear and concise descriptions of the basic underlying guidelines of accounting. You will see how the accounting principles affect the balance sheet and income...
A long-term asset which indicates the cost of the constructed improvements to land, such as driveways, walkways, lighting, and parking lots. Land Improvements will be depreciated over their useful life by debiting the...
A form of accelerated depreciation which means that in the early years of an asset’s life there is more depreciation expense than under the straight-line method. However, in the later years of the asset’s...
Is the deposit for a booth at a future trade show an asset? The deposit for a booth at a future trade show is an asset until the trade show occurs. Once the trade show occurs the deposit amount should be moved from the...
What does NOI stand for? NOI is the acronym for net operating income. Net operating income is also referred to as income from operations. NOI excludes discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and nonoperating (or...
A current asset resulting from selling goods or services on credit (on account). Invoice terms such as (a) net 30 days or (b) 2/10, n/30 signify that a sale was made on account and was not a cash sale. To learn more...
Also referred to as peripheral activities. A company’s activities outside of its main activities of buying/producing and selling. Examples include a retailer’s financing function involving interest revenue...
This is the bottom line of the income statement. It is the mathematical result of revenues and gains minus the cost of goods sold and all expenses and losses (including income tax expense if the company is a regular...
A long term asset account containing the cost of delivery equipment acquired by a company and used in its business. The account will appear on the balance sheet under the heading of Property, Plant and Equipment. There...
Featured Review
"The AccountingCoach program saved my business. Period! This is the best content I've found on the whole web on accounting. I just had to follow through the program and I learned everything I needed to know to be able to do all the bookkeeping for my business, which was way overdue. I only had to pay 50 bucks for the complete content so really, you won't find anything like this anywhere. Thank you so much Harold, you are a blessing." - Mathieu C.
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviews
For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has
worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.
We now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: