What is a letter of credit? A letter of credit is a letter or document issued by a bank for use by one of its customers. The letter of credit states that the bank will guarantee payment up to the stated amount for...
What is a letter of credit? A letter of credit is a letter or document issued by a bank for use by one of its customers. The letter of credit states that the bank will guarantee payment up to the stated amount for...
A credit is not a normal balance for what accounts? Definition of Credit Balance A credit balance refers to the balance on the right side of a general ledger account or T-account. Normally, the liability and owner’s...
Is it okay to have negative amounts in the equity section of the balance sheet? Definition of Equity Section of the Balance Sheet The equity section of the balance sheet is known as: Owner’s equity if it is a sole...
Does the accrual method apply to the purchase of equipment? The accrual method does apply to the purchase of equipment (as well as applying to revenues and expenses). To illustrate, let’s assume that on December 29 a...
What is the fixed asset turnover ratio? Definition of Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio The fixed asset turnover ratio shows the relationship between a company’s annual net sales and the net amount of its fixed assets. The...
Why does LIFO usually produce a lower gross profit than FIFO? Definition of LIFO LIFO (which is the acronym for Last In, First Out) is a cost flow assumption in which the most recent costs of inventory items are the...
Can I capitalize this year's R&D? Generally, R&D costs cannot be capitalized for U.S. financial statements according to the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 2, Accounting for Research and Development...
What is the difference between gross profit and net profit? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is defined as net sales minus the cost of goods sold. Example of Gross Profit Assume that a retailer had gross sales of...
Do variance accounts have an impact on financial statements? Or are they for performance evaluation only? Since the financial statements must reflect the cost principle, both the standard costs and the variances must be...
Why would Prepaid Insurance have a credit balance? Definition of Prepaid Insurance Generally, Prepaid Insurance is a current asset account that has a debit balance. The debit balance indicates the amount that remains...
How do I calculate the amount of sales tax that is included in total receipts? Sales Tax Calculation To calculate the sales tax that is included in a company’s receipts, divide the total amount received (for the items...
What is a source document? Definition of Source Document A source document is an original record which contains the detail that supports or substantiates a transaction that will be (or has been) entered in an accounting...
What is the cost of goods sold? Definition of Cost of Goods Sold The cost of goods sold is the cost of the products that a retailer, distributor, or manufacturer has sold. The cost of goods sold is reported on the income...
What is the difference between a deferred expense and a prepaid expense? Definition of Deferred Expense and Prepaid Expense Deferred expense and prepaid expense both refer to a payment that was made, but due to the...
Are fixed assets the same as plant assets? Definition of Fixed Assets and Plant Assets My experience indicates that people use the term fixed assets to mean the same as plant assets. As a result, I define both fixed...
What does amortization mean? Definition of Amortization In general, the word amortization means to systematically reduce a balance over time. In accounting, amortization is conceptually similar to the depreciation of a...
What are dividends? In accounting, dividends often refers to the cash dividends that a corporation pays to its stockholders (or shareholders). Dividends are often paid quarterly, but could be paid at other times. For a...
What is the profit margin (after tax) ratio? Definition of Profit Margin Ratio The after tax profit margin ratio expresses the company’s net income or earnings as a percent of the company’s net sales. In other words,...
What is the three-way match? Definition of Three-Way Match In the accounting and bookkeeping area of accounts payable, the three-way match refers to a procedure used when processing an invoice received from a vendor or...
Where is treasury stock reported on the balance sheet? Under the cost method of recording treasury stock, the cost of treasury stock is reported at the end of the Stockholders’ Equity section of the balance sheet....
What does Accumulated Depreciation tell us? Definition of Accumulated Depreciation Accumulated depreciation reports the amount of depreciation that has been recorded from the time an asset was acquired until the date of...
What is a comparative balance sheet? Definition of Comparative Balance Sheet A comparative balance sheet typically has two columns of amounts that appear to the right of the account titles or other descriptions such as...
What is the entry when a contract is signed? Accounting Entry When Signing a Contract Merely signing a contract does not by itself require a journal entry. In other words, signing a contract for a future transaction does...
What is the difference between gains and proceeds in terms of long-term assets? Definition of Long-term Assets Long-term assets, which are also referred to as noncurrent assets, are assets that generally are not expected...
What is the difference between the terms capitalize and depreciate? Definition of Capitalize In accounting, the term capitalize refers to adding an amount to the balance sheet as an asset (as opposed to immediately...
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...
Why does a company debit Purchases instead of Inventory? Definition of Purchases and Inventory When a company uses the periodic inventory system the amount of the company’s inventory is determined by a physical count...
What is budgeting? Definition of Budgeting Budgeting is the process of preparing detailed projections of future amounts. Companies often engage in two types of budgeting: Operational budgeting, and Capital budgeting...
How do I calculate the cost of goods sold for a manufacturing company? Calculation of the Cost of Goods Sold for a Manufacturer The calculation of the cost of goods sold for a manufacturing company is: Beginning...
What is the monthly close? Definition of Monthly Close In accounting, monthly close is a series of steps and procedures that are followed so that a company’s monthly financial statements are in compliance with the...
What is the difference between bad debt and doubtful debt? Definition of Bad Debt and Doubtful Debt In accounting, the terms bad debt and doubtful debt usually refer to the amounts owed by a company’s customers who...
What is a noncash expense? Definition of a Noncash Expense A noncash expense is an expense that is reported on the income statement of the current accounting period, but the related cash payment took place in another...
Are earnings different from profits? Earnings and profits are often used interchangeably. Others might make a distinction between the two words. In the case of earnings per share, earnings means a corporation’s net...
What is miscellaneous expense? Definition of Miscellaneous Expense In accounting, miscellaneous expense may refer to a general ledger account in which small, infrequent transaction amounts are recorded. The account...
What is the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax in 2022 and 2023? 2022 Annual Earnings Limit for Social Security Payroll Tax The maximum amount of an employee’s 2022 earnings (and a...
What is the income statement? Definition of Income Statement The income statement is also known as the statement of operations, profit and loss statement, and statement of earnings. It is one of a company’s main...
Are the sales taxes part of a retailer's sales? Definition of Sales Taxes Sales taxes are likely state and local taxes collected by the sellers of specified goods and the providers of specified services. The sales taxes...
What is the accounting journal entry for depreciation? Definition of Journal Entry for Depreciation The journal entry for depreciation is: Debit to the income statement account Depreciation Expense Credit to the balance...
What is owner's equity? Definition of Owner’s Equity Owner’s equity is one of the three main sections of a sole proprietorship’s balance sheet and one of the components of the accounting equation: Assets =...
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...
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