The actual cost incurred for manufacturing costs that does not change as production volume changes. Examples include the property tax, rent, and depreciation of the factory building and equipment, and the salaries of the...
The actual cost incurred for manufacturing costs that does not change as production volume changes. Examples include the property tax, rent, and depreciation of the factory building and equipment, and the salaries of the...
See economic order quantity (EOQ) model.
The number of years needed to recover the cash amount invested in a project. The calculation uses cash flows rather than accounting income flows. Generally the cash flows are not discounted to reflect the time value of...
The additional revenues from an additional quantity. It is similar to marginal revenue, except that marginal revenue refers to the revenue from the next unit. Incremental revenue might be the additional revenues from the...
An accounting guideline where the U.S. dollar is assumed to be constant (no change in purchasing power) over time. This allows an accountant to add one dollar from a transaction in 2010 to one dollar in 2024 and to show...
A visual aid used by accountants to illustrate a journal entry’s effect on the general ledger accounts. Debit amounts are entered on the left side of the “T” and credit amounts are entered on the right...
See endowment fund.
Preferred stock that is callable by the issuer at a certain price. The price and other conditions are disclosed in the preferred stock’s indenture.
The British term for controller.
An asset account which reports the carrying amount of a company’s investment in another enterprise.
The compensation earned by hourly-paid employees during the interval of time indicated in the heading of the income statement. Under the accrual basis of accounting, the date that wages are paid does not determine when...
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...
A method of payment used in place of a paper check.
See warranty liability.
A method used by retailers for estimating the cost of ending inventory without tracking the individual units of product.
The next best benefit foregone. The opportunity lost. Often measured as the contribution margin given up by not doing an activity. For example, if a sole proprietor is foregoing a salary and benefits of $50,000 at...
This phrase has two connotations. One is the cost of holding inventory. In this case the carrying cost is the cost of capital tied up in inventory, the cost of storage, insurance, and obsolescence. Often this is...
The chief accounting officer of a company. This person would head up the accounting department.
A publication by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to assist employers with federal payroll taxes. The complete title of the publication is Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide. It is available...
An income statement that subtracts all variable costs and expenses from revenues in order to show the contribution margin. From that is subtracted the fixed costs and expenses to arrive at net income. To learn more, see...
This term is associated with preferred stock that does not allow its holders to receive more than its stated dividend. The nonparticipating feature is typical in preferred stock. To learn more about preferred stock, see...
The length of time that an asset would last. Instead of the physical life, accountants focus on the useful life. For example, a computer’s physical life is perhaps 50 years. However, its useful life is likely to be...
A directive to a company’s bank to not honor (pay) a specific check that the company had written. The company making the request will be charged a fee by the bank for this service.
The principle that requires a company to match expenses with related revenues in order to report a company’s profitability during a specified time interval. Ideally, the matching is based on a cause and effect...
A legal entity organized under state laws that is considered separate from its owners. Ownership is evidenced by shares of stock.
See uncleared check.
See Explanation of Standard Costing.
See direct materials usage variance.
Form 990 is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form entitled Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. This federal form must be filed annually by tax exempt organizations. However, some organizations such as...
Bookkeeping Video Training Part 5 Why does my bank credit my account when they increase my cash account? Must-Watch Video Learn How to Advance Your Accounting and Bookkeeping Career Perform better at your current job...
The price at which the holder of a bond must sell the bond to the issuer. For example, a corporation may have the right to redeem/buy back its bonds by paying the bondholder 110% of the bond’s face amount.
Part of a company’s administration that is responsible for preparing the financial statements, maintaining the general ledger, paying bills, billing customers, payroll, cost accounting, financial analysis, and...
In regression analysis this is a statistic (designated as r-squared) indicating the percentage of the change occurring in the dependent variable that is explained by the change in the independent variable(s). The percent...
Under the accrual basis of accounting this income statement account reports the amount of commissions expense that pertains to the revenues earned by the company during the accounting period shown in the heading of the...
A heading that includes common stock and preferred stock.
Beginning in 2018, this is one of two classifications of net assets reported on the financial statements of a not-for-profit organization’s financial statements. This classification replaces the previous...
See chief operating officer.
A technique for allocating costs to a product, service, customer, etc. The premise is that activities cause an organization to incur costs. Once the costs of the activities have been identified and each activity’s...
An income statement account showing the amount of vacation expense earned by employees (by working) during the specified accounting period.
Featured Review
"I took an accounting course 30+ years ago but never really used it in my job(s). My job recently expanded into bookkeeping and I want to hone my skills; AccountingCoach is perfect for this - it allows me to move at my own pace, and I love the test quizzes and crossword puzzles - I can really see how I am retaining the information. The price of the course is well worth it!" - Debbie M.
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: