Glossary

Balance Carried Forward

The single figure moved from the bottom of one page or month to the top of the next, so a new page never starts from zero.

Cash Book

A ledger kept specifically for cash in and cash out, as distinct from a broader household ledger that may also track transfers or planned bills.

Category Heading

A short, fixed label — groceries, utilities, transport — written once at the top of a section and reused every month rather than invented fresh each time.

Column

A vertical section of a ledger page reserved for one kind of figure, such as an amount or a running balance, kept separate from the description text.

Correction Line

A single line struck through a mistaken entry, left legible, usually with initials and a date beside it, rather than an erasure.

Double Column

A layout with an entry column beside a running balance column, so an arithmetic slip shows up as a mismatch instead of hiding in a plain list.

Entry

One recorded line: a date, a short description, and an amount.

Fixed Category

A category a household commits to using consistently for a full year, chosen for durability over precision.

Journal

In this site's usage, the day-by-day record of what happened, distinct from a formal ledger, which is often organized by category rather than by date.

Ledger

A bound or ongoing record of entries organized so that a balance can be checked at any point, typically by category or account.

Margin Note

A short annotation beside an entry — who it was for, why it was split — kept separate from the number itself.

Monthly Close

The short routine at the end of a month: totaling entries, checking the balance, and carrying the result forward to the next page.

Opening Balance

The figure a new page or new month starts from, taken from the prior period's balance carried forward.

Petty Cash Tin

A small physical cash reserve for incidental spending, usually reconciled against its own short column separate from the main ledger.

Posting

The act of writing an entry into the ledger, as distinct from simply noting it on a receipt or in a phone.

Reconciliation

Comparing a ledger's running balance against an outside record, such as a bank statement or a counted cash tin, to confirm they agree.

Recap Line

A short summary line, often at the top of a new page, restating the balance carried forward before new entries begin.

Retained Receipt

A paper receipt kept alongside the ledger as backup for a specific entry, usually filed by date rather than by category.

Running Balance

The continuously updated total shown after each entry, rather than only at the end of the month.

Totals Line

The row at the bottom of a page or section, often marked with a double rule, showing the sum of the entries above it.

Voucher

A slip or note written to stand in for a receipt that was lost or never issued, recorded so the entry still has a paper trail.