Bookkeeping (book-keeping or book keeping) is the recording of the value of assets, liabilities, income, and expenses in the daybooks, journals, and ledgers, in which debit and credit entries are chronologically posted to record changes in value. Bookkeeping is often mistaken for accounting, which is the system of recording, verifying, and reporting such information. Practitioners of accounting are called accountants.

Bookkeeping is undertaken by individuals and organizations including companies and legal persons. It refers to "keeping records of what is bought, sold, owed, and owned; what money comes in, what goes out, and what is left." Bookkeeping is parted into accounting periods, and bookkeepers' work is closely related to that of accountants.

Individual and family bookkeeping involves keeping track of income and expenses in a cash account record, checking account register, or savings account passbook. Individuals who borrow or lend money track how much they owe to others or are owed from others.

Bookkeeping may be performed using paper and a pen or pencil or using computer software.

Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper (or book-keeper), sometimes called an accounting clerk in the United States, is a person who records the day-to-day financial transactions of an organization. A bookkeeper is usually responsible for writing up the "daybooks." The daybooks consist of purchase, sales, receipts and payments. The bookkeeper is responsible for ensuring all transactions are recorded in the correct daybook, suppliers ledger, customer ledger and general ledger. The bookkeeper brings the books to the trial balance stage. An accountant may prepare the income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.