Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s portion of the health insurance cost incurred by the company during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s portion of the health insurance cost incurred by the company during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether...
See natural expense classification.
A loan from a bank or other lender for which the borrower is not required to pledge assets as collateral for the loan.
The reduction in inventory quantities resulting in the removal of older layers of costs. With continuously higher costs, the older layers are likely to be low costs under LIFO. Removing these old, low costs will cause an...
The result of dividing a corporation’s net income by the average amount of common stockholders’ equity during the time interval when the net income was earned. To learn more about this ratio, see Explanation...
A term used in break-even analysis to indicate the amount of sales that are above the break-even point. In other words, the margin of safety is the amount by which a company’s sales could decrease before the...
A tax status allowed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
See double declining balance method of depreciation.
The amount that would be agreed upon by two independent persons. The amount to be received in the ordinary course of business in an arm’s length transaction.
See outstanding checks.
The operating activities of a company, excluding the major segments of the company that are being discontinued.
See straight-line method of depreciation.
A rule that requires that the same inventory cost flow be used on the financial statements as is used on the income tax return.
The shipping cost to be paid by the buyer of merchandise purchased when the terms are FOB shipping point. Freight-in is considered to be part of the cost of the merchandise and should be included in inventory if the...
A bank account balance that a corporation agrees to maintain with a current or potential lender. For example, a corporation may agree to keep $1 million in its checking account at a bank in exchange for the bank agreeing...
The income statement account which contains a portion of the cost of plant and equipment that is being matched to the time interval shown in the heading of the income statement. (There is no depreciation expense for...
The ratio of total liabilities to total assets. For example, a company with total assets of $800,000 and total liabilities of $200,000 will have a debt ratio of 0.25 to 1, or 25% ($200,000 divided by $800,000).
A form of business entity having partners. (Consult with an attorney about this form of entity versus alternatives.)
A cost that has been recorded in the accounting records and reported on the balance sheet as an asset until matched with revenues on the income statement in a later accounting period.
Merchandise that has been shipped by a supplier but the merchandise has not yet reached the customer’s location. Goods in transit that were shipped FOB Shipping Point should be included in the customer’s...
A bond issued with a series (or staggering) of maturity dates.
The net amount of gross sales on credit minus the sales returns, sales allowances, and sales discounts which pertain to the sales on credit.
The term used by manufacturers to indicate that the manufacturing overhead applied or assigned to its production is greater than the amount actually incurred.
The record of checks issued or written, deposits, bank charges, bank credits and the resulting balance. Also referred to as the check register.
A liability account with a credit balance associated with bonds payable that were issued at more than the face value or maturity value of the bonds. The premium on bonds payable is amortized to interest expense over the...
See goods in transit.
A publication by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to assist employers with federal payroll taxes. The complete title of the publication is Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide. It is available...
See time period assumption.
In financial accounting this term often refers to the accounting guidelines or principles of conservatism and materiality.
The cost transferred from one department to the next department in a process costing system.
An asset’s cost that has been assigned to Depreciation Expense.
Goods or services provided instead of money.
See functional expense classification.
A phrase used in depreciation and amortization to indicate that the expense is being allocated on a logical basis (because a cause and effect relationship does not exist).
The difference between assets and liabilities, such as stockholders’ equity, owner’s equity, or a nonprofit organization’s net assets. Also used to indicate an owner’s interest in a personal...
The balance in a business record such as a general ledger account.
A contra liability account that reports the amount of unamortized discount associated with bonds that are outstanding. The discount on bonds payable originates when bonds are issued for less than the bond’s face or...
A current asset account that represents an amount of cash for making small disbursements for postage due, supplies, etc.
A term that is sometimes used interchangeably with gross profit. Others use the term to mean the percentage of gross profit dollars divided by net sales dollars.
A company’s receipts that appear on the company’s records but do not yet appear on the bank statement. For example, a retail store’s receipts of March 31 are deposited after banking hours on March 31 or...
Featured Review
"I retired a few months ago from a law enforcement career in order to spend more time with my family. Leading up to my retirement, I explored different secondary career options that would be stimulating and rewarding, but also give me the flexibility I wanted. I learned about bookkeeping and really developed an interest for it. From the beginning, I saw AccountingCoach and Mr. Averkamp being highly and widely praised. After taking a few courses, I made the decision to become a bookkeeper. I became a PRO user because I believed it was important to keep track of my studies and use as many resources as possible to absorb the information. I like how the material is presented in a variety of ways (reading, video, flashcards) that reinforce my learning. I also feel it is presented at a good level, in a way that makes it fairly easy to understand without oversimplifying it. AccountingCoach has helped me understand proper accounting skills that can be applied regardless of the accounting system or software I use. I think this is great because although there is a lot of software out there that simplifies bookkeeping, I don't think it should be used without having a thorough understanding of the processes and knowing whether it's working properly. I definitely believe AccountingCoach has helped me become a better, more reliable, and more intelligent bookkeeper." - Mark P.
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: