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Accounting & Tax vocabulary · Bookkeeping & Ledgers

Bookkeeping

Meaning in accounting & tax, with examples

/ˈbʊkˌkiːpɪŋ/nounCore term

In accounting & tax, bookkeeping means: The day-to-day recording of a business's transactions, such as sales, purchases, receipts and payments, in its books or accounting system.

In Turkish: defter tutma, kayıt tutma, ön muhasebe

How it is used

Bookkeeping is the routine recording side of accounting; accounting adds analysis, reporting and tax work. A bookkeeper keeps the books up to date, and many small businesses outsource their bookkeeping.

Example sentences

  1. We outsource our bookkeeping to a small firm, but the tax returns are prepared in-house.

  2. Good bookkeeping makes the year-end audit much faster.

Common collocations

  • keep the books
  • bookkeeping system
  • double-entry bookkeeping
  • outsource bookkeeping
  • accountingThe work of recording, organising and reporting a business's financial transactions so that owners, managers, tax offices and investors can understand its financial position.
  • journal entryA record of one business transaction in the accounting system, showing the date, the accounts affected, the debit and credit amounts and a short description.
  • general ledgerThe main set of accounts of a business, where all transactions are collected account by account to show the balance of each one.
  • debitAn entry on the left side of an account. Debits increase asset and expense accounts and decrease liability, equity and revenue accounts.
  • creditAn entry on the right side of an account. Credits increase liability, equity and revenue accounts and decrease asset and expense accounts.

More terms: Bookkeeping & Ledgers

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.