Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Under accrual accounting, how are worker comp premiums handled? Worker comp insurance premiums should be charged to the areas where the related wages and salaries are charged. Let’s assume that the net cost of worker...
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...
Also known as freight-out or as delivery expense. This is an operating expense further classified as a selling expense. It results when merchandise is sold with terms of FOB destination.
Our Explanation of Income Statement helps you learn the most important features of a corporation's income statement (also known as the statement of operations or profit and loss statement). We provide more understanding...
Is depreciation a direct or indirect cost? Definition of Depreciation Depreciation is defined as the systematic expensing of the cost of an asset such as equipment, building, vehicle, etc. over the useful life of the...
Is the depreciation of delivery trucks a period cost or is it manufacturing overhead? The depreciation on the trucks used to deliver products to customers is a period cost. The depreciation on delivery trucks will be...
Delivery expense to be paid by the seller when its merchandise is sold with terms of FOB destination. This is an operating expense and is not included in the cost of merchandise.
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Our Explanation of Bookkeeping provides you with a rich understanding of the recording of transactions. It then discusses the additional steps necessary for preparing accurate financial statements. This is great for...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the employer’s expense for the company’s 401(k) plan associated with the employees in the warehouse department during the period indicated in the...
Improving Profits For multiple-choice and true/false questions, simply press or click on what you think is the correct answer. For fill-in-the-blank questions, press or click on the blank space provided. If you have...
Is the cost of goods sold an expense? Why the Cost of Goods Sold is an Expense We often think of expenses as salaries, advertising, rent, commissions, interest, and so on. However, the cost of goods sold is also an...
Sorting and reporting expenses according to the type of activity for which the expense was incurred. The functional expense classifications for a nonprofit organization would be Program #1, Program #2, Management and...
Sorting and reporting expenses by the nature of the expense such as salaries, wages, rent, utilities, supplies, depreciation, advertising, and so on.
What is a cost center? Definition of Cost Center A cost center is often a department within a company. The manager and employees of a cost center are responsible for its costs but are not directly responsible for...
What is depreciation? Definition of Depreciation In accounting, depreciation is the assigning or allocating of the cost of a plant asset (other than land) to expense in the accounting periods that are within the...
Our Explanation of Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense helps you understand the accounting for the losses associated with selling goods and providing services on credit. You will understand the impact on the...
A phrase used to communicate the total compensation of a salaried employee. Fringe benefits (health insurance, vacation days, sick days, employer matching of Social Security and Medicare taxes, pension or 401-k...
A person whose pay is based on an annual amount (instead of being based on an hourly rate of pay multiplied by actual hours worked). For example, the officers of a corporation and the heads of departments within a...
The situation where manufacturing service departments provide service to each other. For example, the factory maintenance department provides services to the factory administrative department and the factory...
Should a retailer's delivery surcharges be reported as revenues or as other income? I believe that a retailer’s delivery surcharges are a price adjustment and should be reported as operating revenues. The surcharges...
Terms indicating that the seller will incur the delivery expense to get the goods to the destination. With terms of FOB destination the title to the goods usually passes from the seller to the buyer at the destination....
Terms indicating that the buyer must pay to get the goods delivered. (The buyer will record freight-in and the seller will not have any delivery expense.) With terms of FOB shipping point the title to the goods usually...
Process Costing(Quick Test) Download PDF After you have answered all 25 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on your answers. Note: Some of the...
Can a cost be both a direct cost and an indirect cost? A cost can be both a direct cost and an indirect cost. One of many examples is the cost of a supervisor in a department within a factory. Let’s assume that Sam...
Is depreciation expense an administrative expense? Definition of Depreciation Expense Depreciation expense is the systematic allocation of a depreciable asset’s cost to the accounting periods in which the asset is...
Our Explanation of Accounting Basics uses a simple story to introduce important accounting concepts and terminology. It illustrates how transactions will be included in a company's financial statements.
Used in conjunction with cost or expense behavior. Mixed expenses consist of a constant or fixed portion and a variable portion. For example, sales salaries would be a mixed expense if each sales person’s...
What are direct costs? Definition of Direct Costs Direct costs are directly traceable to a cost object such as a product or a department. In other words, direct costs do not have to be allocated to a product, department,...
Under the accrual method of accounting, this account reports the amount of holiday pay, vacation pay, and sick day pay that the warehouse employees have earned during the accounting period indicated in the heading of the...
Is sales tax an expense or a liability? Definition of Sales Tax In the U.S., a sales tax is a state tax (and possibly an additional city and/or county tax) that is paid by the buyer at the time of purchase. The sales tax...
What is a static budget? Definition of Static Budget A static budget is a budget in which the amounts will not change even with significant changes in volume. In contrast to a static budget, a company’s sales...
Our Explanation of Accounts Payable provides insights on the bill paying process in a large company. Included are discussions of the three-way match, early payment discounts, end of period accruals, and more.
Rates based on a department’s direct and indirect overhead costs and some measure of the department’s activity, such as the department’s machine hours. Departmental rates are more accurate than...
What is the difference between a budget and a standard? Definition of a Budget In business and other organizations, a budget often refers to a department’s or a company’s projected revenues, costs, or expenses....
What are some tips to make learning debits and credits easy? Here are five tips to make learning debits and credits easier: The accounts for expenses are nearly always debited. For example, when a company pays its...
The exchange or trade-in of a long-term asset for a similar long-term asset. For example, trading the old delivery truck for a new delivery truck; trading a two-family rental unit toward an eight-family rental unit.
Featured Review
"I am a degreed accounting and finance professional with a diverse business background (bookkeeper, staff accountant, auction coordinator, etc.). Over the years I have held many different roles that sometimes require transaction-heavy duties. Other times, the billing, invoicing, and journal transactions are automated. In order to keep my accounting skills sharp and to retain my theoretical understanding, I had chosen AccountingCoach PRO many years ago. The content has always been concisely written and well structured, with possible areas of confusion preemptively addressed. It's a great platform to have access to for graduates, students, and accounting professionals alike. AccountingCoach has benefited me greatly, as its materials have always kept me prepared for my next challenge. " - Jason K.
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: