What is the accounting entry when an order is received? There is no accounting entry recorded in a company’s general ledger accounts when an order is received. The reason is that a sale or sales revenues has not yet...
What is the accounting entry when an order is received? There is no accounting entry recorded in a company’s general ledger accounts when an order is received. The reason is that a sale or sales revenues has not yet...
What are the journal entries for a stock split? Definition of a Stock Split A stock split usually increases the number of shares of a corporation’s common stock with the intention of reducing the market price of each...
What is revenue? Definition of Revenue Revenue is the amount a company receives from selling goods and/or providing services to its customers and clients. A company’s revenue, which is reported on the first line of its...
What is financial leverage? Definition of Financial Leverage Financial leverage which is also known as leverage or trading on equity, refers to the use of debt to acquire additional assets. The use of financial leverage...
What is the difference between gross profit margin and gross margin? Definition of Gross Profit Gross profit is an amount that is computed as follows: A company’s net Sales minus its cost of goods sold A product’s...
What is an unpresented cheque or check and does it require an adjustment to the balance sheet? Definition of Unpresented Cheque or Check An unpresented cheque is a check that a company has written, but the check has not...
What is the difference between notes payable and notes receivable? Definition of Notes Payable and Notes Receivable Notes payable and notes receivable are both associated with a written note that promises to repay the...
What is the difference between entries in a general journal versus a general ledger? Definition of General Journal The general journal is described as the book of original entry. Today the general journal is used to...
What items are added to the balance per bank on the bank reconciliation? Bank Reconciliation Adjustments to Bank Balance The items that are added to the balance per bank when doing a bank reconciliation include: Deposits...
When does a negative cash balance appear on the balance sheet? Definition of Negative Cash Balance A negative cash balance results when the cash account in a company’s general ledger has a credit balance. The credit or...
What is historical cost? Definition of Historical Cost Historical cost is a term used instead of the term cost. Cost and historical cost usually mean the original cost at the time of a transaction. The term historical...
What are inventoriable costs? Definition of Inventoriable Costs Inventoriable costs are: A retailer’s cost of the goods (products) that it purchased for resale, and any additional cost to get the goods in place and...
Is depreciation a temporary account? Definition of Depreciation Accounts There are two types of general ledger accounts in which depreciation is recorded: Depreciation Expense which is a temporary account since it is an...
What is a burden rate in inventory? I assume that the burden rate in inventory refers to a manufacturer’s indirect manufacturing costs, which are also referred to as factory overhead, indirect production costs, and...
What is salvage value? Definition of Salvage Value In accounting, salvage value is the amount that is expected to be received at the end of a plant asset‘s useful life. Salvage value is sometimes referred to as...
What is job order costing? Definition of Job Order Costing Job order costing or job costing is a system for assigning and accumulating manufacturing costs of an individual unit of output. The job order costing system is...
Should capital budgeting decisions be based on cash flows or revenues and expenses? Definition of Capital Budgeting Decisions Capital budgeting assists in the investment decisions regarding assets that will have an...
What is an incremental cost? Definition of Incremental Cost An incremental cost is the difference in total costs as the result of a change in some activity. Incremental costs are also referred to as the differential...
What is solvency? Definition of Solvency I use the term solvency to mean a company is able to 1) pay its obligations when they come due, and 2) continue in business. Some people look to a company’s working capital to...
What is bookkeeping? Definition of Bookkeeping Bookkeeping includes the recording, storing and retrieving of financial transactions for a business, nonprofit organization, individual, etc. Examples of Bookkeeping Tasks...
Are liabilities always a bad thing? Definition of Liabilities Liabilities are a company’s obligations and are usually defined as a claim on the company’s assets. However, liabilities (and stockholders’ equity) can...
Does paying an account payable affect net income? Definition of Paying Accounts Payable Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are recorded when they have occurred, not when they are paid. Therefore, if an...
Are undeposited checks reported as cash? Undeposited checks that are not postdated (not dated with a future date) are reported as cash. Accountants define cash as more than just currency and coins. For example,...
What is the difference between Notes Payable and Accounts Payable? Definition of Notes Payable The account Notes Payable is a liability account in which a borrower’s written promise to pay a lender is recorded. (The...
What is a dependent variable? In accounting, a dependent variable is likely to be the total of a mixed cost that will change as the result of several factors. A factor that causes the change in the total cost is referred...
What is the difference between break-even point and payback period? Definition of Break-Even Point The break-even point is the amount of sales required to cover a company’s costs and expenses that are reported on its...
Should a cash discount be recorded as a reduction to an expense? Yes, a cash discount should be a reduction to an expense. After all, accountants define cost as the cash amount (or cash equivalent amount) at the time of...
What is sales mix? Definition of Sales Mix Sales mix is the relative proportion or ratio of a business’s products that are sold. Sales mix is important because a company’s products usually have different degrees of...
What is value billing? Value billing is a way of billing a client for services provided. Basically, the amount billed is based on the value of the service (or information) instead of the number of hours spent. The...
What is the inventory turnover ratio? Definition of Inventory Turnover Ratio The inventory turnover ratio is an important financial ratio that indicates a company’s past ability to sell its goods. Converting inventory...
What is the effective interest rate? Definition of Effective Interest Rate The effective interest rate is the true rate of interest earned. It can also mean the market interest rate, the yield to maturity, the discount...
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...
What is contained on a 10-column worksheet? The 10-column worksheet that I am familiar with will have the general ledger account titles in the first column followed by ten columns of amounts. There will be one debit and...
What is a creditor? Definition of Creditor A creditor could be a bank, supplier or person that has provided money, goods, or services to a company and expects to be paid at a later date. In other words, the company owes...
What is the working capital turnover ratio? Definition of Working Capital Turnover Ratio The working capital turnover ratio is also referred to as net sales to working capital. It indicates a company’s effectiveness in...
Do I buy a new machine or use an old one? One technique for deciding whether to buy a new machine or to use an old machine is to look at the future cash flows if you buy a new machine and the future cash flows if you use...
What is a fixed expense? Definition of Fixed Expense A fixed expense is an expense whose total amount does not change when there is an increase in an activity such as sales or production. The words within a relevant or...
What are mixed costs? Definition of Mixed Costs In accounting, the term mixed costs refers to costs and expenses that consist of two components: A fixed component, the total of which does not change as the volume of...
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....
Are commissions considered to be revenues or expenses? Definition of Commissions Revenues or Expenses The company or person earning and receiving commissions (such as a percentage of sales) will have commissions revenue....
Featured Review
"There are many resources out here in ‘internet land’, but AccountingCoach has become my go-to for all things accounting. Whether it is a specific accounting question I have, or if it is simply to refresh my brain regarding a cash flow statement, prepaids, deferrals, or all things accrual! I have small-business owners as clients, and I refer them here to learn the basics. What a truly great resource for simple AND more challenging accounting questions. I appreciate you, AccountingCoach!" - Pete
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: