Temporary account
In accounting, temporary account means an account that measures one period only — revenue, expense, gain, loss, dividends declared — and is closed to retained earnings at year end.
- Layer
- Lexicon
- Defined in
- Lexicon
- Also called
- Nominal account
- Nearby
- 1
Not a rule
Bookkeeping convention — not codified. US GAAP governs recognition, measurement and presentation — not the mechanics a bookkeeper uses to get there. Anyone citing a standard for this word is citing the wrong thing.
Every citation in this system, with the text we read and the date we checked it, is in US GAAP and where these rules come from.
What it is not called
Each of these is a real word for a different thing. Using it here is what makes a product read as though it was built by someone who has not done the work.
- P&L category
Components that render the terms it depends on
No component names this concept outright. Its definition is built out of terms that are named. These render account, expense, revenue, period.
2Cards
Family spec3Payments
Family spec4Swaps & FX
Family spec5Ledger & tables
Family spec- TrialBalanceAll accounts with the debit=credit proof.
- PeriodPickerFiscal-aware. Never assumes January.
- FluxAnalysisPeriod-over-period explanations.
- ProfitAndLossP&L with period comparison and variance.
- StatementTableThe shared shell: hierarchy, periods, rules.
- StatementToolbarBasis, period, comparison, currency, consolidation.
- AccountPickerShows the normal balance. Blocks non-postable accounts.
- AccountTieOutEvery BS account, proven against its evidence.
- ChartOfAccountsHierarchy, statement mapping, unsupported-account flags.
- AccountRegisterGL detail with a running balance.
- DimensionPickerEntity always required; renders what the account demands.
- RevenueWaterfallDeferred balance recognizing by future period.
10Receivables (AR)
Family spec12Close, controls & consolidation
Family specNearby in the catalog
No component names this concept outright. These are the ones in its part of the system, which is a weaker claim — but a component nothing links to is a component nobody finds.
12Close, controls & consolidation
Family specTerms this one depends on
- Retained earningsAccumulated net income not distributed to owners — where the P&L lands on the balance sheet
- AccountA GL account in the chart of accounts. Always qualify when a bank account is meant.
- ExpenseOutflows or using up of assets, or incurrences of liabilities, from delivering goods or services — recognized when incurred, not when paid
- RevenueInflows or enhancements of assets, or settlements of liabilities, from delivering goods or services — recognized when control transfers, not when cash arrives
- PeriodA fiscal reporting window
Also in Close
Work with this concept
The calculators that compute it and the ledger payloads that carry it. A definition is where a reader starts; these are where they go next.
- Temporary account vs permanent accountTemporary accounts — revenue, expenses, dividends and drawings — measure one period and are closed to zero at year-end; permanent accounts — assets, liabilities and equity — carry their balances forward.Compare
- Journal entry for dividendsWhen dividends are declared, debit Dividends declared (or Retained earnings) and credit Dividends payable. When paid, debit Dividends payable and credit Cash. At year-end, close Dividends declared to Retained earnings.Entry
- Journal entry for an owner's drawFor a sole proprietorship or partnership, debit Owner's drawings and credit Cash when the owner takes money out. At year-end, close drawings to capital: debit Owner's capital, credit Owner's drawings. A contribution is the reverse: debit Cash, credit Owner's capital.Entry
- Journal entry for closing entriesAt the end of the fiscal year, debit every revenue account for its credit balance, credit every expense account for its debit balance, and take the difference — net income — to Retained earnings. Revenue and expense accounts start the new year at zero.Entry
Defined in Lexicon. This page is generated from that document, so the two cannot disagree.