What is the cost of sales? Definition of Cost of Sales Cost of sales is often a line shown on a manufacturer’s or retailer’s income statement instead of cost of goods sold. The cost of sales for a manufacturer is the...
What is the cost of sales? Definition of Cost of Sales Cost of sales is often a line shown on a manufacturer’s or retailer’s income statement instead of cost of goods sold. The cost of sales for a manufacturer is 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...
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....
How do you calculate staff turnover? To calculate staff turnover, I would use the W-2 wage statements for the most recent year. My first step would be to sort the W-2’s into meaningful groups such as full-time...
What is the difference between a nominal account and a real account? Definition of Nominal Account The balance in a nominal account is closed at the end of the accounting year. As a result, a nominal account begins each...
Why are wages reported as an expense when the work occurs, but the employees' tax records report them when they are paid? Accrual Method for the Corporation, Cash Method for the Employees The short answer is that the...
What is cycle counting? Cycle counting refers to physically counting a portion of the inventory items on many days throughout the year instead of counting all of the items on a single day near the end of the year. For...
What is a post-dated check? Definition of a Post-dated Check A post-dated check (or post-dated cheque) is a check written with a future date. In other words, the date that appears on the check is after the date when the...
How is the account Cash Short and Over used? Definition of Cash Short and Over Account The account Cash Short and Over is an income statement account (within a company’s general ledger) in which shortages or overages...
What is a bond? There are several business definitions for bond. A bond could be a formal debt instrument issued by a corporation or government and purchased by investors. This is the meaning when we say that a public...
Are income taxes affected by accelerated depreciation? Definition of Accelerated Depreciation Accelerated depreciation means the cost of an asset used in a business will be charged to Depreciation Expense at a faster...
What is principles of accounting? Three meanings come to mind when you ask about principles of accounting… Principles of accounting was often the title of the introductory course in accounting. It was also common for...
What is a common carrier? A common carrier is a business that transports goods for other companies, organizations, or individuals. The common carrier is responsible for any loss associated with the transport of the...
What is an asset's useful life? Definition of Asset’s Useful Life An asset’s useful life is the estimated period of time (or total amount of activity) that a long-lived asset will be economically feasible for use in...
What is net? In accounting, net usually refers to the combination of positive and negative amounts. For example, the amount of net sales is the combination of the amount of gross sales (a positive amount) and some...
What is a credit memo? Definition of Credit Memo One type of credit memo is issued by a seller in order to reduce the amount that a customer owes from a previously issued sales invoice. Another type of credit memo, or...
Will every transaction affect an income statement account and a balance sheet account? Definition of Income Statement and Balance Sheet Accounts A company’s general ledger accounts are arranged into two categories...
What is the difference between wages and salary? You should be aware that some people use the terms wages and salary interchangeably. I and many others make the following distinction… Definition of Wages Wages are...
What is a cash discount? Definition of Cash Discount A cash discount is a deduction allowed by some sellers of goods or by some providers of services to motivate customers to pay within an earlier specified time. The...
FIFO and LIFO is best with which type of products? Definition of FIFO and LIFO FIFO and LIFO pertain to the flow of products’ costs out of inventory to the cost of goods sold that is reported on the income statement....
What is a post-closing trial balance? Definition of Post-closing Trial Balance A post-closing trial balance is a trial balance which is prepared after all of the temporary accounts in the general ledger have been closed....
How are the balance sheet and income statement connected? Connection between Balance Sheet and Income Statement The connection between the balance sheet and the income statement results from: The use of double-entry...
How do you estimate the amount of uncollectible accounts receivable? Definition of Estimating Uncollectible Accounts Receivable When a company sells goods and/or provides services on account (on credit) using the accrual...
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...
What is the difference between expense and loss? Definition of Expense An expense is a cost that a company incurs or uses up when it earns revenues. Examples of Expenses A few examples of the many expenses that a company...
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...
+ $10,000 of owner’s equity. Next, let’s assume the new company completes a service for another business and earns revenues of $1,500 and allows the business to pay in 10 days. This means the new company will have...
What is an escrow payment? An escrow payment is an amount deposited with another party and it is to be released only for its specified purpose. The following is one example of an escrow payment. A borrower and lender...
What is SG&A? Definition of SG&A SG&A is the acronym for selling, general and administrative. SG&A are the operating expenses incurred to 1) promote, sell, and deliver a company’s products and services, and 2) manage...
What is the accounting cycle? Definition of Accounting Cycle The accounting cycle is often described as a process that includes the following steps: Identifying, collecting and analyzing documents and transactions...
What is the difference between cost and expense? Definition of Cost A cost might be an expense or it might be an asset. Definition of Expense An expense is a cost that has expired or was necessary in order to earn...
How can I determine the difference in earnings from using LIFO instead of FIFO? The difference in a corporation’s earnings from using LIFO instead of FIFO can be determined by the amounts reported in the balance sheet...
What is a promissory note? Definition of Promissory Note A promissory note is a written promise to pay an amount of money by a specified date (or perhaps on demand). The maker of the promissory note agrees to pay the...
What is the entry for the down payment from a signed contract? Definition of Down Payment on a Contract A down payment on a signed contract means a company has received money in advance of doing the work specified in the...
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 Subchapter S? Subchapter S refers to a section of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A subchapter S corporation, which is also referred to as an S corporation, is a corporation that does not pay the...
What is GAAP? Definition of GAAP GAAP is the acronym for generally accepted accounting principles. GAAP consists of the following: Basic underlying accounting principles, assumptions, and concepts such as the cost...
Why are assets and expenses increased with a debit? Definition of Debit In accounting the term debit indicates the left side of a general ledger account or the left side of a T-account. (The right side of an account or a...
What is the employer matching of FICA? Definition of FICA FICA is the acronym for Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which requires employers to withhold the following from each employee’s paycheck: Social Security...
How do you calculate the cost of goods sold for a retailer? Formula for Calculating a Retailer’s Cost of Goods Sold A retailer’s cost of goods sold is: The cost of the retailer’s beginning inventory Plus the cost...
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