Resources · Glossary
Short definitions, written for someone who runs a business rather than a ledger. Each one also tells you where that thing lives in Easy Books.
A
Money you owe to vendors for goods or services you've already received.
In Easy Books: posted when you receive merchandise or enter a vendor invoice, then scheduled and paid in a weekly check run.
Money your customers owe you for goods you've already delivered.
In Easy Books: raised automatically when you bill out a sales order; collected in the Accounts Receivable payment window.
A list of what's owed, grouped by how long it's been owed — current, 30 days, 60 days, 90 and over.
In Easy Books: one for receivables and one for payables.
Everything the business owns that has value: cash, money owed to you, inventory, equipment, vehicles.
In Easy Books: shown on the balance sheet.
B
The part of a customer's order you can't fill yet because there isn't enough stock.
In Easy Books: created for you automatically on the sales order line.
A snapshot of the business on a given date: what it owns, what it owes, and what's left over for the owner.
In Easy Books: Financial Reports, for any date you choose.
The level of sales at which the business covers all its costs and makes neither a profit nor a loss.
In Easy Books: your profit and loss statement gives you the two figures you need — fixed expenses and gross margin.
C
Money coming in and going out over a period. A profitable business can still run short of cash if customers pay slowly.
In Easy Books: the check register shows your liquid position every time you open it.
The list of categories every transaction is sorted into — sales, rent, inventory, payroll, and so on.
In Easy Books: set up for you; new accounts can be added from Utilities.
Cash on delivery. The customer pays when the goods are handed over, rather than on account.
In Easy Books: COD customers can leave several deposits against one order.
What you paid for the products you sold during a period.
In Easy Books: recorded automatically each time you bill out a sale.
A document that reduces what a customer owes you — usually for a return or a pricing error.
In Easy Books: built in the sales order window and saved as a credit memo; an entire invoice can be reversed in one step.
D
The two sides of every bookkeeping entry. They must always balance.
In Easy Books: handled for you. Where an offset is needed, Easy Books makes its side and asks only for the account.
Spreading the cost of a long-lasting asset, like a truck or a machine, over the years you use it.
In Easy Books: one button, once a year, in the Asset Manager.
The centuries-old system in which every transaction is recorded in two places, so the books always balance.
In Easy Books: the foundation of everything, and almost entirely invisible.
E
A price you give a customer before they commit to buying.
In Easy Books: becomes a sales order with one click when the customer says yes.
F
Something the business owns and expects to use for more than a year — equipment, vehicles, computers.
In Easy Books: added to the asset register automatically when you post the purchase.
G
The master record of every transaction, organized by account.
In Easy Books: updated automatically in the background as you work.
Sales minus the cost of the goods you sold, before your other expenses.
In Easy Books: on the profit and loss statement.
I
The difference between the stock your books say you have and what you actually count on the shelf.
In Easy Books: posted automatically when you update counts after a physical inventory.
J
A manual bookkeeping entry, made when a transaction doesn't fit any standard form.
In Easy Books: rarely needed. Arriving Funds, payroll posting and depreciation handle most of the situations that would require one elsewhere.
L
What the business owes: vendor bills, loans, credit cards, taxes due.
In Easy Books: shown on the balance sheet.
M
Margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. Markup is profit as a percentage of the cost. A $60 item that cost $40 has a 33% margin but a 50% markup.
In Easy Books: Profit Plus shows margin on every line and for the whole order.
The lowest stock you're willing to run down to, and the most you want on the shelf.
In Easy Books: set on each item, and used by the PO Wizard to decide what to order.
N
What's left after all expenses have been paid. The bottom line.
In Easy Books: the last line of the profit and loss statement.
The number of days a customer has to pay — Net 30 means 30 days from the invoice date.
In Easy Books: set on each customer and vendor record.
P
Keeping a running count of stock that updates with every sale, receipt and return, rather than counting once a year.
In Easy Books: included, at no extra charge.
A summary of revenue, costs and expenses over a period, ending in profit or loss. Also called an income statement.
In Easy Books: Financial Reports, for any dates, with drill-down to every transaction.
A formal order you send a vendor for goods.
In Easy Books: optional — and the PO Wizard can write them for you.
Q
A measure of whether you can pay short-term bills from cash and money owed to you, without selling stock. Between 1.0 and 1.5 is generally healthy.
In Easy Books: shown at the top of the check register.
R
Matching your own records to the bank's statement, so you know both are right.
In Easy Books: assumptive reconciliation does most of the work for you.
Money earned from sales before any costs are taken out.
In Easy Books: on the profit and loss statement.
S
A confirmed customer order that hasn't yet been invoiced.
In Easy Books: estimates, sales orders and invoices all live in one window.
The quantity a vendor ships in — a box of 25, a case of 12.
In Easy Books: set on each item, so the PO Wizard orders in whole packs.
T
A list of every account and its balance, used to check the books are in balance.
In Easy Books: one click in Reports.
U
Money you've received but haven't yet taken to the bank.
In Easy Books: where customer payments wait until you post the deposit.
W
Current assets minus current liabilities — the cushion that pays the bills while you wait to be paid.
In Easy Books: the figures are on the balance sheet.
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