An expense accrual is a journal entry that is used to record a company's expenses to the general ledger in the period that the expense was incurred or consumed, regardless of when the cash is paid or ...

Thanks to accrual basis accounting, many expenses appear on the balance sheet before money changes hands. The company records these expenses, called accrued expenses, in the period they occur. They ...

The accrual method of accounting is accepted by the generally accepted accounting principles, also known as GAAP. Under this methodology, revenue and expenses are recognized in the accounting books as ...

Should small businesses use cash or accrual accounting? This question gets asked almost as much as “paper or plastic?” and “debit or credit?” While the IRS requires some companies to use accrual ...

Learn what every business owner needs to know about financial accounting, accounting software and financial statements.

Most businesses handle their accounting on an accrual basis. What is accrual basis accounting? It’s the practice of recording transactions at the point of origination, even if no money changes hands ...

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed. Suzanne is a content marketer, writer, and ...

In the U.S., there are accounting standards known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). They are the accounting standards used for all businesses in this country and provide principles ...

The handling of prepaid expense deferrals and expense accruals will be consistent with the last nine fiscal years. General Accounting processes all prepaid expense deferrals and accruals for all of ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Should small businesses use cash or accrual accounting? This question gets asked almost as much as “paper or plastic?” and “debit or ...

There are two basic methods of accounting that businesses use to track and report revenues: the cash basis and the accrual basis. Under the accrual basis, revenues are recorded on a company's income ...