Terminology (bookkeeping)

I'm already struggling with bookkkeeping terminology in Dutch, my native language. And the more in English. Let's use this article to keep terms & translations consistent.

Both Dutch & English entries might be included here. Or one entry might mention the other entry, without the latter having a separate heading - Whatever.

Accounts payable

NL: Handelskrediteuren.

• Account payable is not to be confused with regular creditors: This is short term credit, from the time between receiving an invoice and paying the invoice. It's not like 'real' credit - Only a float.
• That's why in Dutch, handelskrediteuren is a better name than just krediteuren.

Example: VAT at closing balance

At a closing balance of any given year, there is likely to be a post at credit concerning VAT that has to be disbursed to the Belastingdienst over the last period of that year. That would be called Creditor: Belastingdienst (VAT to be disbursed) or something like that. This is credit, not accounts payable.

The moment this VAT submission is done, this amount changes to accounts payable: Only now it became a regular account payable.

Accounts receivable

NL: Debiteuren

BTW-aangifte

What's the proper English term for BTW-aangifte?

That's an excellent question for ChatGPT: It has endless patience for such nitpicking questions:

> I have a single-owned business, in The Netherlands. Every month, I have to send a form to the tax office (Belastingdienst) to inform them about VAT. In Dutch, this is called "BTW-aangifte". What would be the English term for this? "VAT submission", "VAT declaration", or maybe something else?

ChatGPT:

The English term for "BTW-aangifte" in the Netherlands is typically "VAT return" or "VAT declaration." Both "VAT submission" and "VAT report" are also commonly used alternatives to describe the process of providing information to the tax office regarding Value Added Tax (VAT) transactions. The specific term can vary slightly based on regional variations and preferred terminology, but "VAT return" and "VAT declaration" are widely understood and used.

Personally, I find VAT return a strange term, just as I find the US term tax return strange → I'll use VAT submission.

BTW: Verschuldigd

• BTW: Verschuldigd is VAT that has been invoiced to the company's customers and that has to be disbursed to the tax authorities.
• English: VAT: Due

BTW: Voorbelasting

This is VAT that has been incurred in purchases done by the company:

• NL: BTW: Voorbelasting
• EN: VAT: Pretax.

Chart of accounts - Rekeningschema

Chart of accounts [1] or rekeningschema: List of all accounts or grootboekrekeningen

Debet - Debit

• NL: Debet
• EN: Debit

General ledger - Grootboek

The general ledger or grootboek, is the collection or overview of all accounts or grootboekrekeningen.

When using a spreadsheet for bookkeeping, all accounts are incorporated in one sheet - Good example of a general ledger.

Handelskrediteuren

This means the same as leverancierskrediteuren: Credit or float from suppliers.

EN:

• → Accounts payable
• (Supplier credit - Supplier creditors)
• (Trade credit? - Trade creditors?_

Journals - Journalen/dagboeken

journals, journalen, boeken or dagboeken are the initial systems where transactions are recorded, before being consolidated into the general ledger.

Traditional

• Cash disbursement journal - kasboek or kasuitgavenboek
• Cash receipts journal - kasontvangstenboek
• General journal - algemeen daboek
• Purchase journal - inkoopboek
• Payroll journal - loonjournaal
• Sales journal - verkoopboek

Examples

• WooCommerce sales reports
• Cash register records
• Orders in an order entry system
• Certain Amazon sales reports.

On the other hand, bank statements and credit card statements aren't good examples of journals, as they only partially represent transactions, whereas e.g., webshop reports represent complete transactions.

From journal to general ledger

About consolidating transactions from a journal to the general ledger: The Oasys order entry system had a link with a bookkeeping system to basically transfer stuff from a journal to the general ledger.

Why?

The reason for having journals, separate from the general ledger: It's just more practical - You don't want to have access to your complete bookkeeping at all these places. E.g., the checkout ladies at the local supermarket don't need to post complete transactions directly into the bookkeeping system of the supermarket. They just need to register sales - in an efficient, reliable and robust way.

I use a spreadsheet for bookkeeping, and it basically only has a general ledger: One sheet with all accounts as columns and transactions as rows. However, when I'm entering e.g., all sales invoices from a certain period, I only need a couple of columns. Sometimes I hide all other columns for the duration of posting these transactions. Would that be an example of a journal? I don't think so.

However, if I would use bookkeeping software, there probably would be things that I would call a journal: views that are optimized for booking specific transactions.

Means of production

Productiemiddelen.

Order book - Orderboek

What is usually called an "orderboek" (order book) is not typically considered a journal in the traditional accounting sense.

Instead, it is used to track orders placed by customers and orders that the company has yet to fulfill. While it plays an important role in the overall business process, it does not serve the same function as a journal in bookkeeping.

Onttrekking privé

• Private withdrawal
• Withdrawal private?

Posting

How do you call the act of putting stuff in a bookkeeping?

• EN: Posting [2]
• NL: Inboeken.

Rekening-courant

• Current account
• (Checking account)

Revenue - Omzet

English:

• Revenue
• Not: turnover.

Dutch:

• Omzet
• revenuen
• resultaat
• opbrengsten.

Transactions, entries, etc.

It seems best to discuss these entities together:

Transactions - Transacties

In bookkeeping, the real-world "things", "facts" or "events" that are recorded are typically referred to as transactions (Dutch: transacties). These transactions represent any financial event that affects the company's accounts and must be documented systematically. Examples of transactions include sales, purchases, receipts and payments

Entries/postings - Boekingen

A transaction consists of at least two entries, postings or boekingen, to make sure that the administration balances.

E.g.:

• Een transactie vereist minimaal twee boekingen, zodat je links en rechts hetzelfde hebt
• De boeking van de betaling is voltooid - It doesn't mention explicitly that two entries are made, but that's not important here.

Simple & compound transactions - Enkelvoudige & samengestelde transacties

When it's important to distinguish:

• A simple transaction involves just two entries
• A compound transactions involves more than two entries.

In Dutch:

• Enkelvoudige transactie. E.g.: Inboeken van een betaling betreft een enkelvoudige transactie
• Samengestelde transactie. E.g.: Inboeken van een buitelandse aankoop, betreft een samengestelde transactie.

In any case, a transaction is 'atomic' - Something you can't reasonably split into separate "events" or transactions.

Linked/related transactions - Gekoppelde/gerelateerde transactions

Example:

• I buy something on invoice
• Two weeks later, I pay the invoice.

This are two linked or related transactions - They are not a compound transaction, as they do represent two separate transactions, that not always happen both. These transactions are linked through the business process that they represent.

To have another look at the example above:

• First transaction: Purchase on invoice
• Second transaction: Payment of an invoice.

Why this concept of linked transactions is important in bookkeeping: You want to make sure that they only happen both - You want to be able to detect incomplete business processes. Or specifically: You want to be able to detect payments that don't have associated purchases. Somehow, a bookkeeping system should be able to link such transactions.

To post/record - Boeken/Inboeken

The verbs that describe the activities of nntroducing transactions in an administration:

• EN: To post, to record
• NL: Boeken, inboeken.

To debit/credit - Debiteren/crediteren

to debit or to credit an account means that something is added 'to the left' or 'to the right' of the account. Whether that increases or decreases the value of the account, depends on whether it is a debit or credit account (if it's on the left or right side of the general ledger):

• For a debit account (e.g. costs), to debit means to increase its value and to credit means to decrease its value
• For a credit account (e.g., revenue), to debit means to decrease and to credit means to increase.

Debiteren & crediteren, aan/ten laste/gunste van

In Dutch accounting terminology, specifc terms are "debiteren" and "crediteren," and the phrases "aan" and "ten laste van" (sometimes "ten gunste van") were used in traditional bookkeeping language:

• Debiteren: To debit an account.
• Crediteren: To credit an account
• Aan: Used to indicate the credit side of a transaction - Used in combination with the verb crediteren
• Ten laste van: Used to indicate the debit side of a transaction - Use with debiteren
• Ten gunste van: Sometimes used to indicate the credit side of a transaction (less common but contextually correct) - Use with crediteren.

Example - Purchase on credit

• Debiteer kantoorbenodigdheden ten laste van € 500
• Crediteer crediteuren aan € 500.

Example - Pay the associated invoice

• Debiteer crediteuren ten laste van € 500
• Crediteer rekening courant aan € 500

It might seem counterintuitive that crediting a bank account, means decreasing its value, but it really is: It's a debit account, so debiteren means increasing and crediteren means decreasing.

VAT: Due

→ BTW: Verschuldigd

VAT: Pretax

→ BTW: Voorbelasting

VAT Rate

Is it rate or tariff in English?

> I have a single-owned business, in The Netherlands. Every month, I have to send a form to the tax office (Belastingdienst) to inform them about VAT. In Dutch, this is called "BTW-aangifte". Figures are split into two groups: "High VAT" and "Low VAT". How would you call these groups in English? "High VAT Rate & Low VAT Rate", or "High VAT tariff & Low VAT tariff"? Or something else?

ChatGPT:

In English, you can refer to these groups as "High VAT Rate" and "Low VAT Rate." This terminology is clear and straightforward, making it easy for others to understand the distinction between the two categories. Using "tariff" instead of "rate" could potentially be confusing, as "tariff" often refers to taxes or duties imposed on imports or exports, rather than the standard tax rates applied to goods and services within a country.

Verkoopboek

A verkoopboek (sales book) is an example of a → journal - journaal.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookkeeping
• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boekhouding
• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journaalpost
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_entry
• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grootboek
• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rekeningschema
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart_of_accounts
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_ledger