Accounting & banking glossary

Every term a founder, CA, or bookkeeper actually looks up — defined in one line.

1099-KUS IRS form for payment card and third-party transactions.1099-NECUS form for non-employee compensation.26ASConsolidated annual tax statement from the IT department.Account reconciliationComparing two sets of records for the same account to ensure they agree.Accrual accountingRecognise revenue when earned, expenses when incurred.ACHAutomated Clearing House — US batch electronic transfers.AISAnnual Information Statement (India).AmortisationDepreciation's cousin for intangibles.Balance sheetSnapshot of assets, liabilities and equity.Bank certificateA bank-issued attestation of account existence, balance and history.Bank feedA direct or file-based flow of bank transactions into accounting software.Bank overdraftCredit facility allowing negative bank balance.Bank reconciliationMatching the bank statement against the ledger to find and resolve discrepancies.Bank statementA dated list of transactions and balances for a bank account over a period.Cash bookChronological register of cash and bank transactions.Cash creditWorking-capital limit against stock/debtor hypothecation.Cash flow statementOperating, investing and financing cash movements over a period.ChargebackCard-network reversal of a completed payment.Chart of accountsThe tree of ledger accounts used to classify transactions.CIN21-char Corporate Identification Number (MCA).Closing balanceThe account balance at the end of a period.COA (Chart of Accounts)The tree of ledger accounts a business uses to classify transactions.Contra entryBank ↔ cash / bank ↔ bank transfers with no P&L impact.DepreciationSystematic allocation of a fixed asset's cost over its useful life.DINDirector Identification Number.Direct ConnectAPI-based bank feed that pulls transactions on schedule.Double-entry bookkeepingEvery transaction hits at least two accounts, debits = credits.DPINDesignated Partner Identification Number (LLP).e-InvoicingIRP-generated IRN + QR on B2B invoices for turnover > threshold.e-way billElectronic waybill required for goods movement above ₹50,000 (India).FITIDFinancial Institution Transaction ID — the unique identifier for a transaction in OFX/QBO/QFX.Form 3CA/3CB/3CDTax audit report formats under sec 44AB.GAAPGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles.General ledgerThe master record of every accounting transaction in a business.GSTGoods and Services Tax — India's destination-based consumption tax.GST ratePercentage of GST applied to a taxable supply; depends on HSN/SAC.GSTIN15-char Goods & Services Tax Identification Number (India).GSTR-2BStatic monthly ITC statement.GSTR-3BSummary monthly GST return.HSN codeHarmonised System Nomenclature for goods classification under GST.IBANInternational Bank Account Number.IFRSInternational Financial Reporting Standards.IFSC11-character code identifying an Indian bank branch.IIF fileIntuit Interchange Format — QuickBooks Desktop's tab-delimited batch import format.IMPSImmediate Payment Service — instant 24×7 interbank transfer.Ind ASIndian Accounting Standards, IFRS-converged.Input Tax CreditCredit for GST paid on purchases, offsettable against GST on sales.JournalThe chronological record of transactions before they post to the ledger.Journal entryThe atomic accounting record.Ledger accountA named bucket in the general ledger for tracking a specific type of activity.MCA XBRLStructured reporting format for MCA filings.MDRMerchant Discount Rate — the fee acquirers charge merchants on card sales.MICR9-digit code printed on cheques for clearing.MMIDMobile Money Identifier — 7-digit code used with mobile number for IMPS transfers.MSME classificationMicro/Small/Medium categorisation (India) by turnover and investment.MTD (Making Tax Digital)UK HMRC's digital VAT/ITSA compliance regime.NACHNational Automated Clearing House — India's recurring-debit rails for SIPs, EMIs, insurance.NEFTNational Electronic Funds Transfer — RBI-operated one-to-one bank transfer.OFX fileOpen Financial Exchange — an open XML/SGML format for bank statement exchange.OFX vs QFXOFX is the open spec; QFX is Quicken's licensed variant with a Quicken-specific FI signature.Opening balanceThe account balance at the start of a period.P&L / Income statementRevenue, expenses and profit for a period.PAN10-character Permanent Account Number issued by IT dept.Petty cashSmall imprest fund for day-to-day expenses.QBO fileQuickBooks Web Connect file — an OFX 2.x variant QuickBooks imports as a bank feed.QFX fileQuicken Web Connect file — an OFX variant used by Quicken.QIF fileQuicken Interchange Format — legacy plain-text finance file format.ReconciliationMatching internal records against bank statements.Reconciliation statementFormal document listing reconciling items between two ledgers.RTGSReal-Time Gross Settlement for high-value transfers (₹2L+).Running balanceThe account balance after each transaction, updated line by line.SA302HMRC's self-assessment tax calculation summary.SAC codeServices Accounting Code — HSN's services counterpart.Schedule IIIFormat for financial statements under the Companies Act.SEPASingle Euro Payments Area transfer.SFTStatement of Financial Transactions.Statement of accountBusiness-focused variant of a bank statement showing amounts owed and paid between counterparties.Suspense accountHolding account for unclassified transactions.SWIFT / BIC8–11 character code used for international wire transfers.TAN10-char Tax deduction and collection Account Number.TDSTax Deducted at Source — Indian withholding tax mechanism.TDS challanChallan 281 — the payment slip used to deposit TDS to the government.TDS interestInterest payable on late deduction (1%) or late deposit (1.5%) of TDS under Sec 201(1A).TDS on salaryMonthly tax deducted by the employer from an employee's salary under Sec 192.TDS returnQuarterly filing (Form 24Q/26Q/27Q) reporting TDS deducted and deposited.Trial balanceList of ledger balances, debits = credits.UPIUnified Payments Interface — instant mobile-first bank rails.UTRUnique Transaction Reference — 12–22 char ID for a bank transfer.VATValue Added Tax — consumption tax used across UK/EU/UAE.VoucherSource document supporting a journal entry.W-9US taxpayer identification request form.Web ConnectQuickBooks / Quicken's file-import bank feed mechanism.Working capitalCurrent assets − current liabilities.