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.
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.
Under the accrual basis of accounting, the account Rent Expense will report the cost of occupying space during the time interval indicated in the heading of the income statement, whether or not the rent was paid within...
This account is a contra long-term asset account which is credited for the depreciation associated with land improvements. As an asset account, the accumulated depreciation account balance does not close at the end of...
This accounting guideline states that if doubt exists between two acceptable alternatives (in other words the accountant needs to break a tie), the accountant should choose the alternative that will result in a lesser...
Some examples of intangible assets include copyrights, patents, goodwill, trade names, trademarks, mail lists, etc. These assets will be reported at cost (or lower) on the balance sheet after property, plant and...
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 repairs to office equipment an expense? Repairing and maintaining office equipment is an immediate expense. This is true even if the repair cost is a very large amount. If a large expenditure is made to improve...
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...
This is a contra long-term asset account which is credited for the depreciation associated with Buildings. Since it is a balance sheet account, the accumulated depreciation account balance does not close at the end of...
A gain that occurs by holding an asset. For example, if a company bought land for $20,000 many years ago and today the company continues to hold the land and its value is now $175,000, the company has a holding gain of...
Under the accrual basis of accounting, this account reports the cost of the electricity, heat, sewer, and water used during the period indicated in the heading of the income statement. Because utility companies deliver...
The systematic allocation of the cost of an asset from the balance sheet to Depreciation Expense on the income statement over the useful life of the asset. (The depreciation journal entry includes a debit to Depreciation...
Goodwill is a long-term (or noncurrent) asset categorized as an intangible asset. Goodwill arises when a company acquires another entire business. The amount of goodwill is the cost to purchase the business minus the...
What is the FISH inventory method? FISH is the acronym for first-in, still-here. FISH is an attempt to bring humor to the fact that some items have been sitting in inventory for years. Unlike FIFO and LIFO, which are...
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...
Vs. the actual hours it took and multiplies the difference in hours by the standard cost per direct labor hour. Here’s an example with amounts. Let’s assume the standard for direct labor is 3 hours per unit of...
are recorded as part of the cost of the van. The total cost of the van will then be charged to depreciation expense over the van’s useful life. Examples of Sales Tax If a company sells $100,000 of merchandise that is...
What is a fringe benefit rate? Definition of Fringe Benefit Rate A fringe benefit rate is a percentage that results from dividing the cost of an employee’s fringe benefits by the wages paid to the employee for the...
vs Operating Income Let’s assume that a company is a retailer whose main business activities are the purchasing and reselling of merchandise. When the retailer sells $5,000 of merchandise that it had purchased at a...
is helpful in determining the two components of a mixed cost (also known as semivariable cost): The amount that is fixed or constant The variable rate (the rate by which the total cost changes when there is one...
Our Explanation of Financial Ratios includes calculations and descriptions of 15 financial ratios. As you calculate the financial ratios you will also gain a deeper understanding of a company's operations and financial...
as an asset on the company’s balance sheet. 6. When costs are consistently increasing, which of the following inventory cost flow assumptions will result in a large, profitable U.S. business reporting the least amount...
Our Explanation of Accounting Principles provides you with clear and concise descriptions of the basic underlying guidelines of accounting. You will see how the accounting principles affect the balance sheet and income...
. If a store sells its old delivery truck for cash, and the cash amount is more than its book value, a __________ is reported on the income statement. 4. An asset’s book value or carrying value is the the asset’s...
Our Explanation of Future Value of a Single Amount will show you the power of compounded interest on a single deposit. You will see how the future value tables can be useful as well as the rule of 72.
Wrong. Direct labor is a specific, separate component of the manufacturing cost of a product. Indirect Labor Right! Indirect manufacturing labor is part of manufacturing overhead. Other examples of manufacturing...
of accounting. Example of Book Depreciation Let’s assume that equipment used in a business has a cost of $500,000 and is expected to be used for 10 years. If the company assumes no salvage value at the end of the 10...
Our Explanation of Manufacturing Overhead gives you examples of what is included in manufacturing overhead. You will learn that these are indirect product costs and therefore are allocated to the products in order to...
of the accounts receivable activity in a subsidiary ledger, employees in a company’s credit department of a company can access the credit sales information without having access to any information in the general...
What entry is made when selling a fixed asset? Defining the Entries When Selling a Fixed Asset When a fixed asset or plant asset is sold, there are several things that must take place: The fixed asset’s depreciation...
What is the difference between a land improvement and a leasehold improvement? Definition of Land Improvement A land improvement is a long-term (long-lived) asset resulting from a physical addition to a company’s land....
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...
is less than the asset’s book value, the difference is recorded as a loss. Example of a Gain on the Sale of an Asset On March 31, a company sells its old delivery van for $4,000. The van’s original cost was $45,000...
. The most common responsibility centers are the numerous departments within a company. Examples of Responsibility Centers Responsibility centers are often categorized by the degree of authority and responsibility given...
30, and will not include the goods in transit as its December 31 inventory. On December 31, the customer (buyer) is the owner of the goods in transit and will need to report a purchase, a payable, and must include the...
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...
the depreciation expense of an asset, the expected amount of the salvage value is not included. Example of Salvage Value Assume that a plant asset has a cost of $325,000 and is expected to have a salvage value of...
What is accumulated depreciation? Definition of Accumulated Depreciation Accumulated depreciation is the total amount of a plant asset’s cost that has been allocated to depreciation expense (or to manufacturing...
incurred, the products have overabsorbed the overhead costs. At the end of the accounting year, the amount of the overapplied, overassigned, or overabsorbed overhead is often credited to the cost of goods sold. The...
Featured Review
"It is my sincere pleasure to give full support for the AccountingCoach website. As a college professor at two (2) colleges and a full-time accounting professional at Toyota, I refer my students to the AccountingCoach website for source data, concept explanations and resources. AccountingCoach is one of my main sources for accounting information, it has easy access and the information provided is simple to understand. My students and I love the site. My lectures are more powerful because I use the site as my validation and source data. The site makes teaching and applying accounting concepts so much easier when you have a reliable source like AccountingCoach. The site is full of information and will give you the knowledge base to be successful in the world of accounting and in business. The site is great for those who may not make it to college to take a formal accounting course like mine. It is a great benefit. Thank you AccountingCoach for assisting us, ensuring the world of accounting is easier to understand, and for providing an easy to use site for finding information and an affordable pathway to increase your knowledge." - Renee W.
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: