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In banking and accounting, the balance is the amount of money owed (or due) on an account. In bookkeeping, "balance" is the difference between the sum of debit entries and the sum of credit entries entered into an account during a financial period. [1] When total debits exceed the total credits, the account indicates a debit balance.
It is sometimes said that, in its original Latin, Pacioli's Summa used the Latin words debere (to owe) and credere (to entrust) to describe the two sides of a closed accounting transaction. Assets were owed to the owner and the owners' equity was entrusted to the company. At the time negative numbers were not in use.
The accounting equation relates assets, liabilities, and owner's equity: Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity. The accounting equation is the mathematical structure of the balance sheet. Probably the most accepted accounting definition of liability is the one used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The following is a ...
Accounts receivable represents money owed by entities to the firm on the sale of products or services on credit. In most business entities, accounts receivable is typically executed by generating an invoice and either mailing or electronically delivering it to the customer, who, in turn, must pay it within an established timeframe, called credit terms [citation needed] or payment terms.
Long-term liabilities give users more information about the long-term prosperity of the company, [3] [better source needed] while current liabilities inform the user of debt that the company owes in the current period. On a balance sheet, accounts are listed in order of liquidity, so long-term liabilities come after current liabilities.
Often the account stated is a bill, invoice or a summary of invoices, signed by the customer or sent to the customer who pays part or all of it without protest. An account stated may also be established when the debtor retains the statement of account (for example the bill or invoice) without objecting, for a reasonable length of time.
The accounting equation plays a significant role as the foundation of the double-entry bookkeeping system. The primary aim of the double-entry system is to keep track of debits and credits and ensure that the sum of these always matches up to the company assets, a calculation carried out by the accounting equation.
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor.Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual.