What is Retained earnings?
Retained earnings: Profit kept in the company instead of paid out.
Where Retained earnings fits
Retained earnings 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.
- Fiscal year
- A 12-month period used for accounting and taxes.
- Accrual accounting
- Recording income and costs when earned or incurred, not when cash moves.
- 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
Test yourself
Which term means: “Profit kept in the company instead of paid out.”?
Accrual accounting · Retained earnings · Invoice
Answer: Retained earnings
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