T

Three column cash book

A journal which deals with the day to day cash and bank transactions of a business. The side of a transaction which relates directly to the cash or bank account is usually balanced within the journal and used as a part of the nominal ledger when compiling a balance sheet (ie. only the side which details the sale or purchase needs to be posted to the nominal ledger).

T-Account

A particular method of displaying an account where the debits and associated information are shown on the left. and credits and associated information on the right.

Trial Balance

A statement showing all the accounts used in a business and their balances.

Trading account

An account which shows the gross profit of a manufacturing or retail business.

Transaction

An event of a financial nature that must be recorder in the organisations accounts. Examples include: purchasing stock, selling merchandise, paying employees, selling an obsolete computer and paying rent.

Tangible assets

Assets of a physical nature. Examples include buildings. motor vehicles. plant and equipment. fixtures and fittings.

Turnover

The income of a business over a period of time (usually a year).

Total cost of ownership (TCO)

The real amount an asset will cost. Example: An accounting application retails at Rs. 1000. Support – which is mandatory. costs a further Rs. 200 per annum. Assuming the software will be in use for 5 years. TCO will be Rs. 2000 (1000+5×200=2000).

Time to market

The time duration between conception of a new product or service, through the design, engineering and construction phases, until final delivery of the product or service to the end customer.