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Term
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Definition
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Abacus
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Wooden frame, with balls threaded onto horizontal wires, used for mathematical calculations
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Acquittance
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Note verifying that a payment has been made, and attesting that the payer is released from his debt or obligation
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Annuity
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Annual payment of money
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Arabic numerals
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Numerals in current use, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4
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Arrears
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Money owed but unpaid, e.g. previous year’s rents not paid to the landowner
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Assessment
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Table showing the names of people liable to pay a tax or rate, and the amount of money they should pay towards that tax or rate based on criteria such as their relative wealth or the value of their possessions
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Assets
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Goods or property which benefit a business, and which can be made liable for the repayment of the business’s debts
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Balance
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The difference between the credit side and the debit side of an account
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Balance sheet
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Account showing the financial position of a company on a particular date
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Bank
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Financial institution storing money deposited with it by its customers, and lending money out at interest on the security of those deposits
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Bank note
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Paper substitute for money, originally issued by a bank as a receipt for money deposited with it
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Bearer
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Person in possession of a bank note, promissory note or bill of exchange
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Bill
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written demand for payment for services done or goods rendered in the past
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Bill of exchange
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Written instruction to a third party (e.g. a money lender or a bank) to pay money to another person
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Capital
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Money used as an investment in order to start a business
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Cash
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1. Coins or paper money
2. In accounting, a term for money in general
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Cash book
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Chronological record of receipts and payments
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Charge and discharge
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Method of accounting giving an overview of receipts and expenditure over the course of a fixed period of time
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Cheque
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Written instruction to a bank to pay money to another person
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Compotus
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Latin word for an account, especially used in manorial records
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Credit
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1. An amount of money allowed to a debtor; e.g. those given credit are allowed a certain amount of time between receiving goods and having to pay for them
2. The side of an account used to record incoming payments
3. A payment into an account
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Creditor
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Person who is owed money for goods or services
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Day book
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Daily record of business transactions
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Debit
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1. The side of an account used to record outgoing payments
2. A payment out of an account
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Debtor
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Person who owes money for goods or services
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Impersonal ledger
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Ledger for accounts not associated with individual people or companies, e.g. for property or assets
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Interest
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Money added to the cost of credit or a loan, usually calculated as a percentage of the principal sum
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Invoice
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Itemised list of services done or goods rendered, given to the customer along with those goods or services
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Journal
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Another word for Day book
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Ledger
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Record of accounts associated with a business
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Levy
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Another word for a tax or rate, e.g. a churchwardens’ levy for repairs to the church
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Liabilities
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A company’s debts or obligations
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Note
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See Bank note or Promissory note
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Personal ledger
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Ledger for accounts associated with individual people or companies
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Principal
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Money lent in a loan or mortgage, to be repaid with interest
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Private ledger
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Ledger for confidential accounts
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Profit and loss account
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Account listing receipts and expenditure over a stated period
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Promissory note
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Written promise by one person to pay money to another
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Quittance
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See Acquittance
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Rate
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A tax assessed on the basis of relative wealth or amount of property owned, e.g. Poor Rate
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Receipt
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Written verification of a payment
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Roman numerals
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Numerals used in Latin and in common use in Britain until the seventeenth century, e.g. i, ii, iii, iv, v, x, l, c
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Shares
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Equal proportions of the capital of a company, sold to investors in order to raise money for the business
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Shareholder
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A person owning one or more shares in a company
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Sterling
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Another word for the currency of the United Kingdom (£)
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Stocks
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Varying proportions of the capital of a company or the debt of a government institution, sold to investors in order to raise money
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Subsidy
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A one-off sum of money raised by Parliament from a tax, for the benefit of the monarch
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Tithes
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One-tenth of agricultural produce (hay, corn, sheep etc.), given to support the church
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Voucher
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A bill or receipt that has been accepted as correct
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Waste book
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Book for keeping rough notes of daily business transactions
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