BizJourney
Home › Glossary › Accounting › Bookkeeping Basics › Fiscal year

What is Fiscal year?

Fiscal year: A 12-month period used for accounting and taxes.

Where Fiscal year fits

Fiscal year is part of Bookkeeping Basics in Accounting. Bookkeeping records every transaction in a ledger. Accrual accounting records revenue when earned and costs when incurred, not when cash moves.

Practical tip

Record promptly, keep invoices and reconcile monthly.

Related terms

Invoice
A bill sent to a customer listing what they owe.
Accrual accounting
Recording income and costs when earned or incurred, not when cash moves.
Retained earnings
Profit kept in the company instead of paid out.
Gross profit
Revenue minus the direct cost of what was sold.
Ledger
The book that records all of a company's accounts and transactions.

Formulas you will use with it

Gross profitRetained earningsNet promoter score

Test yourself

Which term means: “A 12-month period used for accounting and taxes.”?

Gross profit · Fiscal year · Retained earnings

Answer: Fiscal year

Learn Fiscal year by playing

Quizzes, a CEO simulator, a real estate tycoon game and startup tools. Free to start, in 7 languages.

Play BizJourney free →