Classifying expenses according to the type of work such as selling, administration, general, and financing.
Classifying expenses according to the type of work such as selling, administration, general, and financing.
Expenses which do not change in response to reasonable changes in sales or other activity.
Expenses that vary with some activity. For example, sales commissions expense and cost of goods sold will be greater when sales are greater; electricity expense will decrease when machine hours are reduced.
See mixed expenses.
A phrase used in depreciation and amortization to indicate that the expense is being allocated on a logical basis (because a cause and effect relationship does not exist).
A classification on a single-step income statement for both operating and nonoperating expenses and losses that pertain to the time interval shown in the heading of the income statement.
period. These costs are expenses because they may have expired, may have been used up, or may not have a future value that can be measured. Some authors define operating expenses as only SG&A. In other words, they...
Administrative expenses are part of the operating expenses (along with selling expenses). Administrative expenses include expenses associated with the general administration of the business. Examples include the salaries...
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...
A subgroup of a nonprofit’s supporting activities expenses. This functional expense classification is used for the fundraising activities including fundraising campaigns, mailings for funds from supporters, and...
One of two broad functional categories for sorting and reporting a nonprofit organization’s expenses. (The other is program expenses.) Supporting services expenses consists of 1) management and general expenses,...
A liability account that reflects the estimated amount a company owes for expenses that occurred, but have not yet been paid nor recorded through a routine transaction. To learn more, see Explanation of Adjusting...
A subgroup of the supporting activities of a nonprofit organization. This functional expense classification is used to report the overall management of the nonprofit organization other than the direct expenses of...
, there are occasions when the general ledger expense accounts will be credited. Examples of Expenses being Credited Below are some examples of when general ledger expense accounts are credited: When recording closing...
The expenses directly incurred by a nonprofit organization in providing one of its programs.
. If any of the items recorded in Sundry Expenses begin to occur frequently and/or become significant, a new account should be opened for such items. Sundry expenses could also refer to a line on a company’s...
Why are expenses debited? Why Expenses Are Debited Expenses cause owner’s equity to decrease. Since owner’s equity’s normal balance is a credit balance, an expense must be recorded as a debit. At the end of the...
One of the financial statements issued by a nonprofit organization which reports expenses according to both function and nature. Learn more about Nonprofit Accounting.
Why is Rent Expense a debit and Service Revenues a credit? Why Rent Expense is a Debit Rent expense (and any other expense) will reduce a company’s owner’s equity (or stockholders’ equity). Owner’s equity which...
Should an owner's compensation be recorded as an expense or in the Drawing account? If the enterprise is a sole proprietorship, the owner’s compensation should be debited to the Drawing account. If the enterprise...
Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense(Quick Test #2) Download PDF After you have answered all 15 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on...
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...
Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense(Quick Test #3 with Coaching) Download PDF This Quick Test with Coaching includes a “View Coaching” button to the right of each answer box. If you choose to click the button,...
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...
Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense(Quick Test #1) Download PDF After you have answered all 40 questions, click "Grade This Quick Test" at the bottom of the page to view your grade and receive feedback on...
Is the sales tax paid on merchandise that you will resell an expense? I believe that most states have sales tax exemptions for merchandise purchased for resale. Check with your state’s sales tax department to see if...
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...
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...
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...
What is the difference between depreciation expense and accumulated depreciation? Definition of Depreciation Expense Depreciation expense is the amount of depreciation that is reported on the income statement. In other...
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...
What is the difference between interest expense and interest payable? Definition of Interest Expense Assuming the accrual method of accounting, interest expense is the amount of interest that was incurred on debt during...
How does the aging of accounts receivable determine bad debts expense? Definition of Aging of Accounts Receivable The aging of accounts receivable sorts the amounts that a company is owed (from customers who had...
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...
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...
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...
Are commissions considered to be revenues or expenses? Definition of Commissions Revenues or Expenses The company or person earning and receiving commissions (such as a percentage of sales) will have commissions revenue....
Also referred to as SG&A. For a manufacturer these are expenses outside of the manufacturing function. (However, interest expense and other nonoperating expenses are not included; they are reported separately.)...
Obligations that a company has incurred, but have not yet been routinely recorded in Accounts Payable. For example, if the interest on a bank loan is paid on the 10th of each month, then on the last day of each month...
of the previous month until the 15th of the current month, we needed to estimate the expense for the second half of the month. For example, when I was preparing his company’s November 30th balance sheet and its...
Featured Review
"I have taken Accounting classes THREE DIFFERENT TIMES and failed every time - until now. Thanks to AccountingCoach, I finally understand the basic Accounting concepts that I couldn't figure out in a fast-paced classroom setting. I wish I would have found this site YEARS ago. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" - E.M.
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: