Where can I get official information for federal payroll taxes? For official information on federal payroll taxes we recommend the Internal Revenue Service Publication 15 which is known by two names: Circular E and...
Where can I get official information for federal payroll taxes? For official information on federal payroll taxes we recommend the Internal Revenue Service Publication 15 which is known by two names: Circular E and...
What is the amortization of premium on bonds payable? Definition of Amortization of Premium on Bonds Payable The amortization of the premium on bonds payable is the systematic movement of the amount of premium received...
Is Accounts Payable a debit or a credit or both? Definition of an Accounts Payable Credit Since Accounts Payable is a liability account, it should have a credit balance. The credit balance indicates the amount that a...
How do you record a dividend payment to stockholders? Definition of Dividend Payment to Stockholders A dividend payment to stockholders is usually a cash payment which reduces the corporation’s asset cash and the...
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...
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 the difference between accounts payable and accounts receivable? Definition of Accounts Payable Accounts payable is a current liability account in which a company records the amounts it owes to suppliers or...
Why is it necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items? It is necessary to allocate a lump sum payment to individual items in order to record a fair portion of the lump sum in each of the proper general...
are distributed the corporation must record an adjusting entry to accrue the $3,000 expense and liability. The journal entry will debit $3,000 to Repairs Expense, and will credit $3,000 to Accrued Expenses Payable....
Our Explanation of Depreciation emphasizes what the depreciation amounts on the income statement and balance sheet represent. Learn why depreciation is an estimated expense that does not assist in determining the current...
Our Explanation of Depreciation emphasizes what the depreciation amounts on the income statement and balance sheet represent. Learn why depreciation is an estimated expense that does not assist in determining the current...
Our Explanation of Break-even Point illustrates how to determine the number of units or sales dollars that will result in zero net income. The techniques rely on a product's contribution margin or contribution margin...
freight-in. False Wrong. 19. Net Purchases is Gross Purchases minus Purchase Returns and Allowances and Purchase __________ Discounts. 20. The difference between the Cost of Goods Available and the Cost of Goods Sold is...
the contra revenue accounts will normally have debit balances. (Two examples of contra revenue accounts are Sales Discounts and Sales Returns and Allowances. These accounts reduce a company's gross sales to its net...
What is FIFO? Definition of FIFO In accounting, FIFO is the acronym for First-In, First-Out. It is a cost flow assumption usually associated with the valuation of inventory and the cost of goods sold. Under FIFO, the...
Which assets are classified as current assets? Definition of Current Assets Current assets include cash and assets that are expected to turn to cash within one year of the balance sheet date. Current assets also include...
What is burn rate? In business, burn rate is usually the monthly amount of cash spent in the early years of a start-up business. Burn rate is an important metric since the new business must spend time and money...
What is the difference between book depreciation and tax depreciation? Definition of Book Depreciation Book depreciation is the amount recorded in the company’s general ledger accounts and reported on the company’s...
At what point are revenues considered to be earned? Revenues, which are derived from an entity’s main activities such as the sale of merchandise or the performance of service, are considered to be earned when the...
How do I record exterior cement work? Is it an asset or an expense? If the cement work was done to repair or maintain existing cement work, then the expenditure should be recorded as an expense. Even if the cost is very...
What is an uncleared cheque? Definition of Uncleared Cheque An uncleared cheque is a cheque (check) that has been written and recorded in the payer’s records, but has not yet been paid by the bank on which it is drawn....
What is the effective interest rate for a bond? Definition of Effective Interest Rate of a Bond The effective interest rate of a bond is usually the market interest rate and the bond’s yield-to-maturity (as opposed to...
What are marketable securities? Marketable securities are unrestricted financial instruments which can be readily sold on a stock exchange or bond exchange. Marketable securities are often classified into two groups:...
What does it mean to rotate stock? Definition of Rotating Inventory Stock To rotate stock means to arrange the oldest units in inventory so they are sold before the newer units. The goal is to avoid losses due to getting...
Why is there a difference in the amounts for Bad Debts Expense and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts? Amount Reported as Bad Debts Expense The amount reported in the income statement account Bad Debts Expense pertains to...
Is there a difference between the accounts Purchases and Inventory? Purchases Account Under the Periodic Inventory System The general ledger account Purchases is used to record the purchases of inventory items under the...
Is it a requirement for a small business to have a CPA? Generally, a small business is not required to have a CPA or certified public accountant. A CPA would be needed if the small business must have its financial...
How do you balance a checkbook? Definition of Balance a Checkbook To balance a company checkbook means comparing the amounts on the bank statement (or other bank account detail) to the amount in the company’s...
Why are some expenses deferred? Definition of Deferred Expenses Under the accrual basis of accounting, an expense is a cost that is used up, has expired, or is directly related to revenues reported on a company’s...
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...
What causes a corporation's market value to be greater than its book value? One cause of a corporation’s market value being greater than its book value is the accountant’s cost principle. In order for an item to be...
What is LIFO? Definition of LIFO LIFO is the acronym for last-in, first-out, which is a cost flow assumption often used by U.S. corporations in moving costs from inventory to the cost of goods sold. Under LIFO, the most...
What is a liability? Definition of Liability A liability is an obligation arising from a past business event. It is reported on a company’s balance sheet. Liabilities are also part of the basic accounting equation:...
Which financial ratios are considered to be efficiency ratios? I consider the efficiency ratios to be the ratios also known as asset turnover ratios, activity ratios, or asset management ratios. These efficiency ratios...
What is a vendor? Definition of Vendor In the context of accounts payable, a vendor is a person or business that supplies goods or services to the company. Another term for vendor is supplier. The term vendor can also be...
What are capital expenditures? Definition of Capital Expenditures Capital expenditures are the amounts spent for tangible assets that will be used for more than one year in the operations of a business. Capital...
What is the difference between loan interest and bank loan repayment? Definition of Loan Interest Loan interest is the expense a borrower incurs for using a lender’s money. Loan interest is also the income earned by a...
What is not sufficient funds? Definition of Not Sufficient Funds Not sufficient funds or NSF or insufficient funds is a term to describe a check that has been returned by the bank because the balance in the checking...
How do you account for the rebate on an automobile? The rebate on the purchase of an automobile should be recorded as a reduction of the automobile’s cost. The lower automobile cost will result in lower depreciation...
What is the double-entry system? Definition of Double-Entry System The double-entry system of accounting or bookkeeping means that for every business transaction, amounts must be recorded in a minimum of two accounts....
Featured Review
"AccountingCoach saved my job. I have had bookkeeping jobs on and off for the past ten years but never any formal training. I recently accepted a position and it was evident to me after the first day that I was way out of my league. Because of how AccountingCoach is structured, I was able to study at a fast pace and get the info I needed to be more productive at work. Thank you for presenting the information in such a basic, uncomplicated way." - Tammy Y.
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: