Balance Sheet Terms

Balance sheet terms are where bookkeeping mistakes linger. An expense posted to the wrong account usually shows up in this month's P&L. A bad balance sheet account can sit for months until the tax preparer, lender, or owner asks why cash, AP, AR, or equity does not make sense.

Start with the working-capital pair: accounts payable and accounts receivable. AP is what the business owes vendors. AR is what customers owe the business. Both need aging review, not just a category label. Then check bank reconciliation, because the cash balance in QuickBooks has to tie to the statement before the rest of the balance sheet can be trusted.

This sub-hub groups the glossary terms bookkeepers use during monthly close: cash, receivables, payables, current vs long-term liabilities, fixed assets, accumulated depreciation, and equity. Growthy helps by proposing categories and confidence levels, but the bookkeeper still approves the balance sheet impact.

For balance sheet terms to stay clean, categorization has to be right every month. See how Growthy's features support balance sheet accuracy — it keeps AP, AR, and fixed asset accounts in order using pattern learning, so the balance sheet tells the truth without a cleanup sprint at month-end. Built by a CPA firm partner with 18 years reviewing balance sheets.