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To keep track of the financial ups and downs of your small business, there are three important reports to reference: balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement. Although there are countless other reports, these three will give you the best idea of where your business stands and where it is headed. Each report provides its own window to further understanding the financials of your business. We challenge you to run these reports once a month to maintain a firm understanding of where your small business stands!

If you’re just starting to navigate your books, you may be unsure of some of the lingo. It’s like a different language for those outside of the accounting world, but the more you work with your books, the quicker you’ll catch on. What’s important is to think of everything in terms of your business; these terms provide you with vital information about your company’s standing. Let’s go over some common terms you’ll frequently hear and need to use in order to discuss and understand your books.

First things first, what is an asset? An asset is a resource that your company owns that is used for a function of your business operations. It can be something tangible (vehicle, furniture, equipment, etc.) or intangible (goodwill, intellectual property, patents, etc.). Assets will always have a useful lifespan of greater than one year, and they may or may not go up in value. For example, buildings and land usually go up in value, but the large piece of machinery you have in the shop will likely decrease in value.

Whether you run your own business or just work on the books, it’s imperative to know all the lingo. When you work on your books, these factors will tell you quite a bit about your business’s financial health. We know there seem to be an infinite number of terms in the accounting and bookkeeping world. It’s almost like a different language!

When setting up your books, you must first manage your accounts. The word “account” in bookkeeping doesn’t refer to bank accounts, which one might first think. It actually refers to the different kinds of transactions made, which will all be grouped into their rightful place, a.k.a. “account.” Keep this in mind moving forward. Some examples of accounts are sales, payroll, and inventory, just to name a few.