bookkeeping

Everyday

1. The job of keeping records of money that a business or person spends and earns. tree →
2. Keeping careful written records of anything. tree →

In the lessons

In maths and money lessons: bookkeeping means writing down income and costs to see the profit. In business and everyday life: a shop's bookkeeping. Phrase: do the bookkeeping, careful bookkeeping.

Examples

• Mum does the bookkeeping for her bakery. tree →
• Good bookkeeping shows how much money came in and went out. tree →
• The class practised bookkeeping for the school fair. tree →
• Bookkeeping helps a business pay its taxes. tree →
• He learned bookkeeping at college. tree →
• Careful bookkeeping showed they had made a profit of 50 dollars. tree →

Note

Rare spelling: three double letters in a row: b-oo-kk-ee-ping. Uncountable. Related to accounting, but bookkeeping is the recording; accounting also explains the numbers. In maths problems, bookkeeping means adding up money in and taking away money out.