Australian Tax Office (ATO) |
The government department responsible for collecting tax. |
Balance Sheet |
A statement showing the financial position (the assets and liabilities) of your project on a certain date. The term 'balance sheet' implies that the total assets (incoming funding) matches the expenditure (outgoings). |
Cost centre |
Splitting up expenses by departments or project grants. For example, your grant travel or postage costs will be listed to your project cost centre, rather than the faculty as a whole. This helps track where funds are being spent. |
Expenses |
Goods or services purchased directly for the running of the project. |
Fixed Cost |
A fixed cost is one where the total cost does not change when there is a change in activity level. Examples include rent, rates, insurance, etc. |
Fixtures & Fittings |
This is a class of fixed asset/non-current asset which includes office furniture, filing cabinets, display cases, warehouse shelving and the like. |
Goods and Services Tax (GST, applies in many countries) |
GST is a sales tax which increases the price of goods and services. The Australian GST standard rate is 10%, so if an item is priced at $10, it will sell at $11 after GST is added. |
Receipt |
A term typically used to describe confirmation of a payment – if you buy some petrol you will normally ask for a receipt to prove that the money was spent legitimately. |
Reconciling |
The procedure of checking entries made about expenditures with records on a statement sent by a third person (e.g. checking the university log of expenditure against the invoices held for that account). |
Variable Cost |
A cost that varies in line with volume/activity levels. Variable costs usually include raw materials in a production process or sales commissions. |
Wages |
Payments made to employees for their work on behalf of the project. |
Modules