account entitled Petty Cash must be opened. (This will be an additional cash account that can be listed separately on the company’s balance sheet or its balance could be included with the balances in the other cash...
account entitled Petty Cash must be opened. (This will be an additional cash account that can be listed separately on the company’s balance sheet or its balance could be included with the balances in the other cash...
What is the journal entry to record a one-year subscription for a magazine? Ways to Record One-Year Subscriptions Let’s assume that the cost of the one-year subscription for a monthly trade publication is $120. Let’s...
What is a credit memo? Definition of Credit Memo One type of credit memo is issued by a seller in order to reduce the amount that a customer owes from a previously issued sales invoice. Another type of credit memo, or...
as the bookkeeper. He knew I kept the company’s books, so “bookkeeper” made sense to him. (Later, I tried to explain to him that he should not introduce me as the bookkeeper…after all I was an accountant with an...
What are the ways to value inventory? Definition of Valuing Inventory Generally, the financial statements of a U.S. company must report its inventory at its historical cost (not at its selling prices). Inventories are to...
and ready for use. If a company purchases goods with terms such as FOB shipping point, the company will be responsible for any costs to get the products from the seller to the company’s warehouse. In that situation,...
: Less profit Less asset amount Greater liability amount The conservatism guideline does not direct the accountant to be super conservative and beat down a company’s profits. The accountant is to be fair and objective....
Why are the amounts on the financial statements rounded to thousands or millions? Definition of Rounding Amounts on Financial Statements Rounding the amounts on a company’s financial statements means dropping the less...
prices based on their costs. In the long run, the products’ selling prices must be large enough to cover all of a company’s manufacturing costs (including the variable and fixed indirect manufacturing costs) plus...
of the company’s most valuable assets. However, if they were developed by the company (as opposed to purchased from another company), there may be no amount to report on the balance sheet. Examples of Intangible...
that the net amount will also be reported. The net amount is often referred to as the carrying amount or perhaps the net realizable amount. Examples of Contra Accounts To illustrate, let’s use the contra asset account...
in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts reduces the amount reported on a company’s balance sheet for accounts receivable to the amount that is expected to be collected. The balance sheet account Allowance for Doubtful...
compliance with U.S. accounting principles and income tax regulations. Traditionally, the predetermined manufacturing overhead rate was calculated prior to a new year by dividing the budgeted amount of manufacturing...
What are indirect manufacturing costs? Definition of Indirect Manufacturing Costs Indirect manufacturing costs are a manufacturer’s production costs other than direct materials and direct labor. Indirect manufacturing...
Quiz for this topic. For more insight regarding a specific question, use the search box at the top of the page. 1. The end-of-year balances in the revenue accounts will become the following year’s beginning balances....
-down in Inventory Under FIFO and average cost methods, if the net realizable value is less than the inventory’s cost, the balance sheet must report the lower amount. If the amount of the Loss on Write-Down of...
month’s principal payment reduces the loan’s principal balance, the next month’s interest payment will be slightly less and the principal payment slightly more. In addition to the amortization schedule for loans...
What are cost flow assumptions? Definition of Cost Flow Assumptions The term cost flow assumptions refers to the manner in which costs are removed from a company’s inventory and are reported as the cost of goods sold....
What is the meaning of fixed overhead absorbed? Definition of Fixed Overhead Absorbed Fixed overhead absorbed refers to a manufacturer’s fixed indirect manufacturing/production costs. Since these costs are...
What is the difference in salaries between a bookkeeper and an accountant? I estimate that a bookkeeper’s salary will be less than half of an accountant’s salary. For example, an accountant with a year or two of...
be calculated by discounting the bond’s future cash amounts (semiannual interest payments and the maturity amount) back to the amount of cash paid to buy the bond (the present value). Example of Actual or Real...
What is the gross margin ratio? Definition of Gross Margin Ratio The gross margin ratio is a percentage resulting from dividing the amount of a company’s gross profit by the amount of its net sales. (The gross margin...
is usually associated with a manufacturer’s product costs. In this setting, variance analysis attempts to identify the causes of the differences between a manufacturer’s 1) standard or planned costs of the inputs...
to the allocations (which are viewed as arbitrary), consider that changes in volume will affect a product’s cost. For example, if a company’s total fixed costs remain constant but its volume of products decreases by...
What is the difference between the current ratio and working capital? Definition of Current Ratio The current ratio is the proportion, quotient, or relationship between the amount of a company’s current assets and the...
state’s educational requirements for taking the CPA Exam. Recent grads usually need to have earned 150 college credits in order to sit for the CPA Exam. You need to determine the requirements for someone graduating...
with recently deposited checks from customers, the money in a checking account is available on demand. (This is why banks refer to the amounts in their customers’ checking accounts as demand deposits.) The balances in...
To illustrate the contra revenue account Sales Returns and Allowances, let’s assume that Company K sells $100,000 of merchandise on credit. It will debit Accounts Receivable for $100,000 and will credit Sales for...
What are interim financial statements? Definition of Interim Financial Statements Interim financial statements report amounts for time intervals that are shorter than a company’s annual financial statements. The...
. Examples of Double-Entry Bookkeeping Let’s assume that a company borrows $10,000 from its bank. The company’s asset account Cash is increased with a debit entry of $10,000 and the company’s liability account...
its bank and signs a promissory note due in six months. Local Retailer records $20,000 as a credit to its current liability account Notes Payable (and debits its Cash account). The bank records the $20,000 promissory...
What is a single-step income statement? Single-Step Income Statement Definition A single-step income statement arrives at a company’s net income in one step or subtraction: [total revenues and gains] – [total...
sheet account that is reported under the heading of Property, Plant and Equipment. The asset’s cost (except for the cost of land) will then be allocated to depreciation expense over the useful life of the asset. The...
What is the difference between a ledger and a trial balance? Definition of a Ledger A ledger is often defined as a book of accounts. Today the ledger and its accounts are likely to be an electronic record or file....
will report on its income statement the insurance expense incurred for its selling, general and administrative functions. However, the insurance costs associated with the manufacturing function are included in the cost...
Inventory and will be the first costs to be included in the cost of goods sold on the income statement. Therefore, under the FIFO cost flow assumption the most recent costs will remain in Inventory to be reported on the...
(usually in the form of a check or currency). Some payments are current period expenses (e.g. current month’s rent payment) but many payments are not expenses of the current period. Examples of Expenses and Payments...
What are generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)? Definition of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Generally accepted accounting principles (commonly referred to as GAAP or US GAAP) are the common...
What does current portion of long term debt mean? Definition of Current Portion of Long-Term Debt The current portion of long-term debt is the amount of principal that will be due within one year of the date of the...
What is a purchase allowance? Definition of Purchase Allowance A purchase allowance is a reduction in the buyer’s cost of merchandise that had been purchased. The purchase allowance is granted by the supplier because...
Featured Review
"AccountingCoach is designed for non-accountants and is well suited to students, small-business owners, and bookkeepers. The quizzes and crosswords provide positive reinforcement and are a fun way to learn. There are videos if you prefer to learn by watching and listening rather than reading. The tests increase your confidence in your mastery of the material. As an employer, you can test the knowledge of a potential hire before they can touch your books. Additionally, the free articles on bookkeeping and accounting are a great resource for when you have questions as an isolated bookkeeper working from home with no peers working alongside you. The PRO Plus membership has certificates you can earn, which could potentially even help an employee get a raise or promotion at work, or to return to the workforce. All around, this site is a great resource." - Laura
Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials
Read all 2,645 reviewsWe now offer 10 Certificates of Achievement for Introductory Accounting and Bookkeeping: