Bookkeeping terms made clearer

The small-business bookkeeping glossary

Use this plain-language reference to better understand common bookkeeping, financial reporting, software, and Buzzing Bee Bookkeeping service terms.

Glossary Terms

Showing 35 terms

Accounts Payable (A/P)

Amounts a business owes vendors or suppliers.

Accounts Receivable (A/R)

Amounts customers owe the business.

A/P Aging

Report showing outstanding vendor obligations by age.

A/R Aging

Report showing outstanding customer balances by age.

ARR

Annual Recurring Revenue; commonly MRR × 12.

Balance Sheet

Statement showing assets, liabilities and equity at a specific date.

Bank Feed

Electronic connection importing financial transactions into accounting software.

Bookkeeping Cleanup

Correction and organization of inaccurate historical accounting records.

Catch-Up Bookkeeping

Completion of bookkeeping for previously uncompleted periods.

Chart of Accounts

Organized list of accounts used to classify financial activity.

Client Portal

Secure system used to exchange information and documents with clients.

Close / Monthly Close

Process of completing, reconciling, reviewing and finalizing a month’s accounting records.

COGS / Cost of Goods Sold

Direct costs attributable to producing goods or services sold.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management system used to manage prospects and client relationships.

Equity

Owner/shareholder residual interest after liabilities are deducted from assets.

FMV

Fair Market Value; the value used to support Honeycomb Exchange™ transactions.

GAAP

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Gross Margin

Gross profit expressed as a percentage of revenue.

Honeycomb Exchange™

Buzzing Bee Bookkeeping’s invitation-only strategic partnership program.

KPI

Key Performance Indicator used to measure business performance.

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication used to strengthen account security.

MRR

Monthly Recurring Revenue generated by recurring service agreements.

Net Income

Revenue less expenses for the applicable period.

Operating Margin

Operating profit expressed as a percentage of revenue.

P&L / Profit & Loss

Financial statement showing revenue, expenses and profit over a period.

QBO

QuickBooks Online.

QBOA

QuickBooks Online Accountant.

Quality Assurance (QA)

Formal review process designed to detect errors before client delivery.

Reconciliation

Comparison of accounting records to an external statement or source to confirm accuracy.

Recurring Revenue

Revenue expected to repeat under continuing client agreements.

Scope Creep

Work expanding beyond the agreed engagement without corresponding authorization or pricing.

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure.

Transaction Volume

Number of financial transactions processed during a defined period.

Working Capital

Short-term financial resources available to support operations.

Year-End Book Preparation

Final bookkeeping review and organization performed before records are delivered to a tax professional.

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