Bookkeeping/Single-Entry Bookkeeping/Mercantile Terms, Abbreviations, Signs, and Characters/Mercantile Terms
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The following list of mercantile terms is very complete, and a clear and comprehensive knowledge of them and their application will be found necessary to every student of commercial subjects.
Accept.---So to acknowledge, by signature, as to bind for payment.
Acceptance.---A draft or bill of exchange that has been accepted; usually done by the acceptor (drawee) writing his name across the face of the draft in red ink, together with the word "Accepted" and the date.
Account.---A formal statement of the debits and credits.
Account Books.---Books made and used for keeping accounts.
Account Current.---An open or running account; an account for the present month, quarter, or other period of time.
Account Sales.---A detailed statement of the sales of goods by a commission merchant, showing also the expenses, after charges, and the net proceeds.
Accrued.---Accumulated, as interest due and unpaid.
Acknowledgment.---A formal admission made before a notary or other authorized person that the act described was voluntarily performed.
Ad Valorem.---According to value; a custom-house term relating to duties on imported goods.
Advice.---A notice of a bill drawn; information with reference to a shipment; any mercantile information.
Affidavit.---A written declaration made under oath.
Agent.---One who acts for another; a deputy.
Agreement.---Mutual assent; a contract.
Allowance.---A deduction from the gross weight of goods; an abatement.
Annuity.---A sum to be paid to another in fee, or for life, or for years.
Antedate.---To date anything prior to the actual time of writing.
Appraise.---To estimate the value of goods or property, as for the purpose of taxation, etc.
Appurtenances.---Those things that appertain or belong to something else, as the buildings and fences to the farm on which they stand.
Articles.---Divisions of a written or printed agreement, as articles of copartnership; things or commodities, as articles of merchandise.
Assets.---The funds, property, and total resources of a person in business.
Assign.---To transfer or make over to another, usually for the benefit of creditors.
Assignee.---The person to whom the affairs of an insolvent debtor are referred for adjustment, usually a trustee of the creditors.
Assignment.---The formal transfer of property to an assignee.
Assignor.---The one who assigns his property for the benefit of his creditors.
Assume.---To take upon oneself the risk or liabilities of another.
Attachment.---A legally executed claim on property; a warrant for the seizure of goods to satisfy a debt.
Auxiliary.---(Helping.) Applied to such account books as are kept merely as aids to the principal books.
Average.---A proportional share of a general loss, usually applied to the loss of goods at sea; also, a mean time of payment for several debts due at different times.
Balance.---To close an account; difference between debits and credits.
Balance of Trade.---Difference between the exports and imports of a country.
Balance Sheet.---A statement in condensed form, showing the condition and progress of a business.
Bank.---An institution, generally incorporated, authorized to receive deposits of money, to lend money, and to issue promissory notes---usually called bank notes---or to perform some one or more of these functions.
Bank Balance.---Net amount on deposit at bank.
Bank Bills or Notes.---Promissory notes printed by the government and issued by national banks, payable on demand, and used as money.
Bank Book.---The pass book of the depositor, in which the receiving teller writes the separate deposits. The bookkeeper enters the paid checks at stated intervals.
Bank of Deposit.---A bank for the custody and employment of money entrusted to its care by its customers.
Bank of Discount.---A bank for the loaning of money on commercial paper and collateral securities.
Bank of Issue.---A bank that, besides employing or lending the money entrusted to it, is authorized to issue notes of its own.
Bankrupt.---One who fails in business and is unable to pay his debts.
Bank Stock.---Shares in a banking establishment.
Bill.---A detailed statement of goods bought or sold; a negotiable instrument.
Bill Book.---A book containing the particulars of notes issued and notes received.
Bill of Exchange.---An order for the payment of money, usually drawn on a person or a bank in another country, the term draft being used to designate bills that are payable in the same country in which they are drawn.
Bill of Lading.---A written acknowledgement by the representative of a common carrier that he has received the goods therein described, to be carried to a certain destination, on the terms stated, and delivered to the person specified or to the order of the shipper; it is both a receipt and a contract; it may be negotiated for value, and then it becomes the absolute title to the goods.
Bill of Sale.---A writing given by the seller to the buyer, transferring the ownership of personal property.
Bill Head.---A printed form on which to render bills.
Bills Payable.---Notes and acceptances payable by us.
Bills Receivable.---Notes and acceptances of others payable to us.
Blanks.---Books and papers rules to forms suitable for business purposes.
Blotter.---(The Day Book.) Book of original entry containing a history of transactions in the order of their occurrence.
Book Account.---An entry or charge in the books in contradistinction from a note or written promise.
Breakage.---An allowance on goods imported in bottles; compensation for things broken.
Broker.---An agent or middleman between the buyer and the seller.
Brokerage.---The percentage or commission charged by a broker for his services.
Cancel.---To annul; to destroy; to render void.
Capital.---Investment in business.
Capital Stock.---The joint or aggregate paid-in capital of the stockholders in corporate institutions.
Cartage.---The charges for conveying goods by carts or wagons.
Cash.---Coin, bank notes, checks, etc., that pass as money.
Certificate.---A written or printed testimony; as a certificate of deposit, a certificate of stock.
Certified Check.---A check that has been acknowledged good by the bank on which it is drawn.
Charges.---The expenses incurred in handling goods, more especially those bought and sold on commission.
Chattels.---Movable things; personal property.
Check.---An order on a bank drawn by a depositor.
Closing an Account.---Making an entry to balance it.
Closing Lines.---The ruling lines drawn after an account is balanced and footed.
Collaterals.---Pledges of stock, notes, or chattels for security of loans and other indebtedness.
Commission.---A percentage allowed for buying or selling goods or for transacting other business.
Commercial Paper.---Notes, drafts, and other written orders for the payment of money used in trade.
Consideration.---The material cause that moves a party to enter into a contract; not the motive or moral cause, but the price or stipulated amount that may be expressed in money value.
Consignee.---The agent or person to whom goods are sent to be sold on commission. The goods are said to be consigned, and are called by the one who receives them a consignment.
Consignor.---The party who thus consigns his goods to an agent. The consignor calls such goods a shipment to distinguish them from other goods that he himself may have received to be sold on commission, and which he, in turn, calls a consignment.
Contract.---An agreement for a lawful consideration to do or not to do something possible and lawful to be done.
Conveyance.---A legal document transferring the ownership of land or other property from one person to another.
Cooperage.---Expense paid for repairing casks, boxes, etc.
Date.---A statement of the day of the month and year when a letter was written or a transaction effected.
Days of Grace.---The days allowed for the payment of a note or bill after the time specified has expired.
Deed.---A sealed instrument used in the conveyance of real estate; any legal instrument under seal.
Demand.---Asking by authority; a claim or right.
Deposit.---Money left in a bank subject to order.
Discount.---A deduction; the sum allowed for payment of a bill before due; the sum paid as interest in advance for money at a bank.
Dishonor.---Failure to pay when due; refusal to accept a draft.
Dividend.---Gain to be divided among the stockholders in a joint-stock company.
Double-Entry.---A system of bookkeeping by which the debits and credits in any transaction are equal in amount.
Draft.---A written order or request for the payment of money at a certain time.
Drawee.---One on whom the draft is drawn; the payer.
Drawer.---The person who draws the draft, and thus asks the drawee to pay to the payee named.
Drayage.---Charges for hauling goods on drays or wagons.
Due Bill.---A brief written acknowledgment of debt, having the effect of a promissory note without time to run.
Duplicate.---A copy; a transcript of any document.
Extend.---In accounts, to add the items and carry the totals out into their proper columns.
Face.---The amount for which a bill is drawn.
Facsimile.---An exact copy.
Favor.---A polite term for a letter received. A bill or note is said to be drawn in favor of the one to whom it is made payable.
Fixtures.---That part of the furniture of a store or office which is not movable; as, the gas pipes, partitions, etc.
Freight.---Goods in transit; the price paid for transportation.
Gain.---Increase in wealth; profit.
Good-Will.---The reputation and patronage that pertains to an established business; also, the personal interest and influence of a withdrawing partner apart from that shown by his account.
Gross Weight.---Weight of goods including box and packing.
Indorse.---To guarantee; to write one's name on the back of a check or note.
Indorsee.---The person in whose favor a check is indorsed.
Indorser.---The person who indorses.
Instant.---Present; current; the present month.
Insurance Policy.---The instrument containing the contract between the insurance company and the party insured.
Interest.---The use of money; premium paid for the use of money; right or share in a business.
Inventory.---An itemized schedule or list of goods and other property, with their value as then estimated.
Investment.---The laying out of money in the purchase of property or goods.
Invoice.---A list of goods bought or sold, received from abroad, or about to be shipped.
Invoice Book.---A book in which invoices are copied or placed.
Jobber.---One who buys goods from manufacturers and importers, and sells them to retailers.
Job Lot.---An irregular assortment; miscellaneous goods unsold at the end of a season.
Joint Stock.---Property held in common by a company of men, each of whom is called a stockholder.
Journal.---A book in which the debits and credits of a transaction are arranged preparatory to posting.
Judgment.---The decree of a court enforcing a contract or redressing a wrong.
Judgment Note.---A promissory note in the usual form, coupled with a warrant of attorney authorizing the entry of judgment without process of law, in case of non-payment.
Leakage.---An allowance made for loss or waste on liquids transported in casks.
Lease.---A contract granting possession and use of property for a specified time.
Ledger.---A book of accounts, in which the results of business are arranged under suitable headings.
Legal Tender.---(Lawful offer.) The name given to such currency as the law declares shall be received in payment of all ordinary debts.
Lessee.---One to whom a lease is made.
Letter of Advice.---A letter containing a notice of a shipment, or of a bill drawn, or of some act in which the party receiving the advice has an interest.
Letter of Attorney.---Written authority to act for another.
Letter of Credit.---An open letter authorizing the bearer to receive money on the credit of the writer. (Generally issued by banking houses to travelers in foreign countries.)
Liabilities.---Debts owed by an individual or firm.
Loss and Gain.---The title of an account showing the profit and loss in business.
Maker.---The signer of a note.
Mercantile Agency.---A company whose business is to obtain and circulate among its patrons information as to the business standing of merchants and traders.
Merchandise.---Any of the movable articles used in trade; that which is bought to sell again, as distinguished from that which is bought to use.
Money Order.---An order on a third party requesting him to pay to the person named a certain sum.
Mortgage.---The pledge of land, goods, or chattels to secure the payment of a debt.
Mortgagee.---The person in whose favor the mortgage is given.
Mortgagor.---The person who gives a mortgage.
National Bank.---A banking institution established in the United States under an Act of Congress. National banks can issue their individual notes (engraved and furnished by the government) but only on the basis of United States bonds deposited with the treasurer of the United states as security for said notes in circulation, should any such bank fail in business.
Negotiable.---That which is transferable by delivery, assignment, or indorsement.
Net.---Clear of all charges and deductions.
Net Loss.---Excess of losses over gains.
Net Proceeds.---The remainder after deducting charges for sales
Net Weight.---Weight after deducting all allowances.
Nominal.---Existing in name only.
Obligation.---Indebtedness; a bond with a consideration annexed, and a penalty for non-fulfilment.
Open Account.---An unsettled account with a firm or individual.
Open Policy.---An insurance policy intended to cover all goods shipped by a certain person (or received) within a certain specified time. Each separate risk is to be indorsed on the policy as it arises.
Order.---A request to pay or deliver certain money or goods.
Order Book.---The book in which requests for goods are entered.
Overdraw.---To draw for a sum greater than one's credit balance.
Par.---Equal in value; that is, the market value is equal to the face or nominal value without premium or discount.
Partnership.---Company; firm; union of two or more in business.
Par Value.---The nominal value; usually the printed or written value of any commercial paper.
Pass Book.---A book in which a trader enters articles sold on credit. It is carried by the purchaser and presented by him for record when the purchases are made.
Payee.---Person to whom money is paid.
Payer.---Person who pays.
Per.---A Latin preposition meaning through or by. used in self-explaining compounds; as, per bushel, per day, per gross, etc.
Per Annum.---By the year.
Per Cent.---(Per centum.) By the hundred.
Percentage.---A part or portion expressed in hundredths.
Per Diem.---By the day.
Personal Accounts.---Accounts with persons---even artificial persons, as banks, corporations, etc.---as distinguished from accounts with property, etc.
Personal Property.---All property except real estate.
Petty Cash Book.---A memorandum book of small receipts and expenses.
Postdate.---(After date.) To date after the real time of writing.
Posting.---Transferring the entries from the Journal and other books to their proper accounts in the Ledger.
Power of Attorney.---A written instrument giving an agent authority to act for his principal in matters requiring such written delegation of power; such an agent is called an Attorney-in-Fact.
Preferred Stock.---Stock that is entitled to a stipulated dividend before any dividend can be declared on the ordinary or common stock.
Premium.---Excess above par; sum paid for insurance.
Proceeds.---The amount or value of anything converted into money.
Promissory Note.---A written promise to pay a certain sum of money at a specified time.
Protecting a Draft.---Accepting or paying a draft to prevent its being dishonored or protested.
Protest.---(1) A formal declaration made by a notary public that a note was not paid at maturity, or that a bill of exchange was not accepted when presented, or was not paid when due; (2) an official statement by the master of a vessel that the damage to ship or cargo was caused by stress of weather and not by negligence.
Proximo.---Next month.
Quotation.---The published price of stocks, merchandise, freight rates, rates of exchange, etc.
Real Estate.---Land and such buildings and appurtenances as pass with the land in conveyance of sale.
Receiver.---A person appointed to take charge of the affairs of a corporation on its dissolution, and to distribute its property according to law.
Remittance.---Funds sent from one place to another.
Renewal.---(Of a note.) As giving a new note in exchange for a like note when due.
Rent.---Amount paid for use of another's premises.
Resources.---Money, property, or that which can be converted into property; as, claims against other people, either on written or verbal promises.
Savings Bank.---bank of deposit where interest is allowed on amounts deposited.
Schedule.---A list or inventory of goods or prices.
Shipment.---The putting of goods on board a vessel; the title of an account with goods sent away to be sold on commission.
Sight draft.---A draft payable at sight; that is, on presentation to the drawee.
Spot Cash.---Immediate payment.
Statement.---A list of resources and liabilities; a report of an agent's transactions sent to his principal; a list showing the dates and amount of the debits and credits of a Ledger account for a month, quarter, or other period of time.
Stockholder.---One who owns shares in a joint-stock company or corporation.
Stocks.---Shares in joint-stock companies and corporations.
Storage.---Charges for the use of a warehouse.
Suspense Account.---An accounts employed to contain balances of personal accounts that may be considered doubtful.
Tare.---A deduction for the weight of boxes, crate, or barrels.
Terms.---The conditions of a sale as to time and kind of payment.
Terms Cash.---Generally understood to mean that goods are to be paid for as soon as they have been received and inspected.
Time Draft.---A draft maturing at a future specified time.
Trade Discount.---A discount or series of discounts from list prices, made to dealers or because of a change in prices.
Ultimo.---Last month.
Value Received.---A phrase of formality used in notes to indicate that a consideration has been given.
Voucher.---Such papers or documents as prove the truth of accounts; thus, a receipt is a voucher for the payment of money.
Way Bill.---A document containing a list of goods sent by railroad.
Wholesale.---(To sell whole.) To sell goods in large quantities, usually in unbroken packages.
