Are payroll withholding taxes an expense or a liability? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes Payroll withholding taxes are amounts withheld from employees’ wages and salaries. The amounts withheld are actually the...
Are payroll withholding taxes an expense or a liability? Definition of Payroll Withholding Taxes Payroll withholding taxes are amounts withheld from employees’ wages and salaries. The amounts withheld are actually the...
What is a rubber check? A rubber check is a check that is not paid (or honored) by the bank on which it is drawn. The reason the check is not paid is the maker’s account had insufficient funds or not sufficient funds...
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...
What is inventory shrinkage? Definition of Inventory Shrinkage Inventory shrinkage is a term to describe the loss of inventory. The shrinkage could be the result of theft, breakage, poor recordkeeping, etc. The term...
What is a customer deposit? Definition of Customer Deposit A customer deposit could be money that a company receives from a customer prior to the company earning it (by providing the customer with goods or services). In...
What is an early payment discount? Definition of Early Payment Discount An early payment discount is a reduction in the amount on a supplier’s invoice if the customer pays the supplier promptly. The early payment...
What is IFRS? IFRS is the acronym for International Financial Reporting Standards. IFRS is used throughout the world except in the United States where U.S. GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) is followed....
What does a balance sheet tell us? Definition of Balance Sheet A balance sheet reports the dollar amounts of a company’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity (or stockholders’ equity) as of midnight of the...
What does the cost principle mean for a company's income statement? If a company has buildings, equipment and inventory, the cost principle will mean that the amount of depreciation expense and the cost of goods sold...
What is the acid test ratio? Definition of Acid Test Ratio The acid test ratio, which is also known as the quick ratio, compares the total of a company’s cash, temporary marketable securities, and accounts receivable...
What is gross margin? Definition of Gross Margin Gross margin is the amount remaining after a retailer or manufacturer subtracts its cost of goods sold from its net sales. In other words, gross margin is the retailer’s...
What is accrued interest? Definition of Accrued Interest Accrued interest is the amount of loan interest that has already occurred, but has not yet been paid by the borrower and not yet received by the lender. Under the...
What is the net method? Definition of Net Method In accounting, the net method likely refers to the way a company records each vendor’s invoice that offers an early payment discount. Example of Net Method Assume that a...
What is the production volume variance? Definition of Production Volume Variance The production volume variance is associated with a standard costing system used by some manufacturers. This variance arises when there is...
Where is interest on a note payable reported on the cash flow statement? Definition of Interest on a Note Payable The interest on a note payable is reported on the income statement as Interest Expense. Usually this means...
What is a dividend? Definition of Dividend Generally, the term dividend refers to a cash dividend, which is distribution of a portion of a corporation’s earnings to its stockholders in the form of cash. The cash...
What is an account payable? Definition of an Account Payable An account payable is an amount owed to a supplier or vendor for goods or services that were provided in advance of payment. However, some people use the term...
Are utility bills an expense or a liability? Definition of Utility Bills Utility bills are invoices received by a company for the natural gas, electricity, water, and sewer charges that the company used during a previous...
What do overabsorbed and underabsorbed mean? Definition of Overabsorbed and Underabsorbed In cost accounting, overabsorbed and underabsorbed pertain to a manufacturer’s manufacturing overhead costs. The manufacturing...
What is disinvestment? In business, disinvestment means to sell off certain assets such as a manufacturing plant, a division or subsidiary, or product line. Disinvestment is sometimes described as the opposite of capital...
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 should a business report cash which is restricted to purchase a long-term asset? The cash which a business has restricted to purchase a long-term asset should be reported on the balance sheet under the asset...
What is a cost driver? Ideally, a cost driver is an activity that is the root cause of why a cost occurs. In the past century, the root cause of indirect manufacturing costs has changed from a single cost driver (such as...
What is prepaid insurance? Definition of Prepaid Insurance Prepaid insurance is the portion of an insurance premium that has been paid in advance and has not expired as of the date of a company’s balance sheet. This...
Where can I find financial ratios for my industry? One source for financial ratios by industry is the RMA Annual Statement Studies Financial Ratio Benchmarks. RMA is the acronym for Risk Management Association and...
Why do you separate current liabilities from long-term liabilities? Definition of Current Liabilities and Long-term Liabilities Generally, current liabilities are a company’s obligations that are due within one year of...
What is the monetary unit assumption? Definition of Monetary Unit Assumption The monetary unit assumption as it applies to a U.S. corporation is that the U.S.dollar (USD) is stable in the long run. That is, the USD does...
What is a contingent asset? Definition of Contingent Asset A contingent asset is a potential asset that is associated with a potential gain. The asset and gain are contingent because they are dependent upon some future...
What is the days' sales in accounts receivable ratio? Definition of Days’ Sales in Accounts Receivable The days’ sales in accounts receivable ratio (also known as the average collection period) tells you the number...
What is periodicity in accounting? Definition of Periodicity Periodicity is an accounting assumption made by accountants so that a company’s complex and ongoing activities can be divided up into annual, quarterly, and...
What are adjusting entries? Definition of Adjusting Entries Adjusting entries are usually made on the last day of an accounting period (year, quarter, month) so that a company’s financial statements comply with the...
Why are accruals needed every month? Reasons for Monthly Accruals Accrual adjusting entries are needed monthly only if a company issues monthly financial statements. Two reasons for the monthly accrual adjusting entries...
What is a capital expenditure versus a revenue expenditure? Definition of Capital Expenditure A capital expenditure is an amount spent to acquire or significantly improve the capacity or capabilities of a long-term asset...
What is net sales? Definition of Net Sales Under the accrual basis of accounting, net sales is the total amount of goods shipped/delivered to customers during a specified period of time minus any early payment discounts...
Why is interest expense a nonoperating expense? Definition of Interest Expense as a Nonoperating Expense Interest expense is the cost of borrowing money. For most companies the borrowing of money is not part of their...
What is the difference between Rent Receivable and Rent Payable? Definition of Rent Receivable Rent Receivable is an asset account in the general ledger of a landlord which reports the amount of rent that has been earned...
How do I determine my payroll tax liabilities? Your payroll tax liabilities will include the following: Federal, state, and local income taxes withheld from employees’ wages, salaries, bonuses, etc. but not yet...
What is an ordinary annuity? Definition of Ordinary Annuity In accounting, an ordinary annuity refers to a series of identical cash amounts with each amount occurring at the end of equal time intervals. Another term for...
What is a deferred asset? Definition of Deferred Asset A deferred asset represents costs that have occurred, but because of certain circumstances the costs will be reported as expenses at a later time. You might consider...
What is the difference between paid-in capital and retained earnings? Definition of Paid-in Capital Paid-in capital is one of the major categories of stockholders’ equity. Generally, paid-in capital reports the amount...
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 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: