Fiskl Glossary
Welcome to the Fiskl Glossary. This comprehensive resource provides definitions and explanations for all terms used in the Fiskl accounting platform. Use the alphabetical index below to navigate to specific terms or sections.
Alphabetical Index
A
Accountant
A professional who manages and interprets financial records.
Accounting
The process of recording, classifying, and summarizing financial transactions.
Accounting Cycle
The process of recording and processing all financial transactions of a company, from when the transaction occurs to its representation on the financial statements.
Accounting Period
A specific time frame for which financial statements are prepared and financial performance is assessed.
Accounts Payable
Money owed by a company to its creditors for goods or services purchased on credit.
Accounts Receivable
Money owed to a company by its debtors for goods or services provided on credit.
Accrual Accounting
A method of accounting where revenues and expenses are recorded when they are earned or incurred, regardless of when cash is exchanged.
Accruals
Expenses or revenues that have been incurred or earned but not yet recorded in the accounts.
Accrued Expenses
Expenses that have been incurred but not yet paid for.
Accrual Method Accounting
A system of accounting that recognizes revenue and expenses as they are earned or incurred, regardless of when cash is received or paid.
Amortization
The process of spreading the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life.
Assets
Resources owned by a company that have economic value and are expected to provide future benefits.
Audit
An official inspection of an organization's accounts, typically by an independent body.
B
Bad Debt Expense
The cost that a business incurs when a customer fails to pay for goods or services purchased on credit.
Bad Debts
Amounts owed to a company that are unlikely to be paid by the customers or debtors.
Balance Sheet
A financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company's financial position at a specific point in time.
Bank Connection
A secure link between your bank account and the Fiskl platform, enabling automatic import of bank transactions into your ledger accounts.
Bank Transfer
The movement of money between bank accounts owned by the same business, which needs to be recorded as an internal transfer for accurate financial tracking.
Bankfeed
A secure, automatic connection between a company's bank account and its accounting software.
Bookkeeping
The systematic recording, organizing, and tracking of financial transactions in a business.
Base Currency
The primary currency used for accounting purposes, also known as the company currency.
C
Capital
Financial resources available for use in the production of further assets.
Capital Cost
The total cost needed to bring a project to a commercially operable status.
Cash
Money in the form of currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed quickly.
Cash Accounting
A method of bookkeeping that records financial events based on cash flows and cash position.
Cash Equivalents
Short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash.
Cash Flow
The net amount of cash and cash equivalents moving into and out of a business.
Cash Flow Statement
A financial statement that provides aggregate data regarding all cash inflows and outflows a company receives.
Cash Method Accounting
A method of accounting where income and expenses are recorded when cash is actually received or paid.
Cash on Hand
The total amount of accessible cash kept by a company.
Cash vs Accrual
Detailed overview of Cash vs Accrual accounting methods.
Chart of Accounts
A financial organizational tool that provides a complete listing of every account in an accounting system.
Client
Also known as a customer, a key entity purchasing goods or services, essential for managing invoices, quotes, and related financial transactions.
Cost of Goods Sold
The direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by a company.
Credit
An accounting entry that either decreases assets or increases liabilities and equity on the company's balance sheet.
Credit Entries
Accounting entries that increase liabilities, income, and equity, or decrease assets and expenses.
CSV File
A comma-separated values file which allows data to be saved in a tabular format.
Current Assets
Assets that are expected to be converted to cash or used up within one year or one business cycle, whichever is longer.
Current Liabilities
A company's debts or obligations that are due within one year or within a normal operating cycle.
D
Data Export
The process of extracting data from a system for use elsewhere.
Data Import
The process of retrieving data from an external source and inputting it into a system.
Data Privacy
The aspect of information technology that deals with the ability an organization has to determine what data in a computer system can be shared with third parties.
Data Security
The practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.
Data Validation
The process of ensuring that a program operates on clean, correct and useful data.
Debit
An accounting entry that either increases an asset or expense account, or decreases a liability or equity account.
Debit Entries
Accounting entries that increase assets or expenses, or decrease liabilities, income, and equity.
Debt
An amount of money borrowed by one party from another.
Depreciation
The allocation of the cost of an asset over a period of time for accounting and tax purposes.
Dividends
A distribution of a portion of a company's earnings to its shareholders.
Double-Entry Bookkeeping
A system of bookkeeping where every entry to an account requires a corresponding and opposite entry to a different account.
E
End of Financial Year (EOFY)
The completion of a one-year accounting period.
Equity
The value of an ownership interest in property, including shareholders' equity in a business.
Expenses
The costs incurred in running a business, such as wages, rent, and utilities.
F
Financial Statements
Written records that convey the business activities and the financial performance of a company.
Financial Year
A period used for calculating annual financial statements in businesses and other organizations.
Fiscal Year
A one-year period that companies and governments use for financial reporting and budgeting.
Fixed Assets
Long-term tangible pieces of property that a firm owns and uses in its operations to generate income.
Forecasting
The process of making predictions of the future based on past and present data.
G
General Ledger
A complete record of financial transactions over the life of a company.
Goodwill
An intangible asset that arises when a company acquires another business for a price higher than the fair market value of its net assets.
Google Sheets
A spreadsheet program included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite.
Gross Profit
The profit a company makes after deducting the costs associated with making and selling its products, or the costs associated with providing its services.
Gross Profit Margin
A financial metric used to assess a company's financial health and business model by revealing the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold.
H
Header Row
The top row in a spreadsheet or table that typically contains labels for each column of data.
I
Income
Money that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital.
Income Statement
A financial statement that reports a company's financial performance over a specific accounting period. Also known as a Profit and Loss (P&L).
Income Tax (Business)
A tax levied by governments on the income of businesses.
Insolvency
The state of being unable to pay the money owed, by a person or company, on time.
Intangible Assets
Assets that are not physical in nature, such as goodwill, brand recognition and intellectual property.
Inventory
The goods available for sale and raw materials used to produce goods available for sale.
Invoice
A document issued by a seller to a buyer that lists the items or services provided, quantities, and total amount due.
J
Journal
A record of financial transactions in order by date.
L
Liabilities
A company's financial debts or obligations that arise during the course of its business operations.
Liability Account
An account on a company's balance sheet that represents a company's financial debt or obligations.
Line Item
A specific entry in an accounting record, financial statement, or other documentation.
Liquidate
To convert assets into cash or cash equivalents by selling them on the open market.
Long-Term Liabilities
Financial obligations of a company that are due more than one year in the future.
M
Margin
The difference between a product or service's selling price and its cost of production or the ratio between a company's revenues and expenses.
Multi Currency
The ability to manage and report financial transactions in multiple currencies.
Multi Journal
A feature that allows for the creation of complex journal entries involving multiple accounts and currencies simultaneously.
N
Net
The amount remaining after all deductions have been made.
Net Income
A company's total earnings (or profit); calculated by subtracting total expenses from total revenue.
Net Profit
The amount of money a business earns after accounting for all expenses, taxes and costs.
Non-Current Assets
Assets that are not expected to be converted to cash within one year.
Non-Current Liabilities
Financial obligations that are due after a period of at least one year from the date of the balance sheet.
Non-Operating Assets
Assets that are not essential to the ongoing operations of a business but may still generate income or provide a return on investment.
O
OFX
A standardized file format for the electronic exchange of financial data, used to import bank statements and synchronize accounting records.
Opening Balance
The amount in an account at the beginning of an accounting period.
Operating Assets
Resources owned and used by a company to generate revenue through its primary operations.
Operational Expense
The ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system.
Overheads
Ongoing business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service.
Owner's Equity
The owner's investment in the business minus the owner's draws or withdrawals from the business plus the net income since the business began.
P
Petty Cash
A small amount of cash kept on hand to pay for minor expenses.
Prepaid Expenses
Expenses paid in advance and recorded as assets before they are used or consumed.
Profit
The financial benefit realized when the amount of revenue gained from a business activity exceeds the expenses, costs, and taxes needed to sustain the activity.
Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)
A financial document that summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a specific period of time. Also known as an Income Statement.
R
Receipt
A written acknowledgment that something of value has been transferred from one party to another.
Reconciling
The process of comparing and matching financial records to ensure accuracy.
Retained Earnings
The portion of a company's profit that is held or retained from the net income at the end of a reporting period and saved for future use as shareholder's equity.
Revenue
The total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services related to the company's primary operations.
ROI
Return on Investment, a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment.
S
Statement of Accounts
A comprehensive financial document that summarizes all transactions between a business and its customer or supplier over a specific period.
T
Tangible Assets
Assets that have a physical form and can be seen, touched, and measured.
Third-Party Provider
An entity that provides a product or service to a company or its customers on behalf of the company.
Transaction by Account Report
A financial report that categorizes and presents accounting transactions grouped by their respective accounts.
Trial Balance
A bookkeeping worksheet in which the balances of all ledgers are compiled into debit and credit columns.
V
Vendor
A key entity in accounting responsible for supplying goods or services to a business, crucial for managing expenses and financial transactions.
W
Working Capital
The difference between a company's current assets and current liabilities.
Write-Off
A reduction in the value of an asset or earnings by the amount of an expense or loss.
X
XLS/XLSX File
File formats for spreadsheet files used by Microsoft Excel.