Accruals & MatchingWhy profit is not cash, and when revenue is recognised.Accounting & FinanceRevenue is recognised when earned; costs arematched to the revenue they helped generate.Profit ≠ Cash flowSale on creditRevenue now, cash laterCreates a receivable.Rent paid in advanceAsset now, expense laterPrepayment.Electricity used, unbilledExpense nowAccrual.THE COMMON MISTAKETreating a profitable business as safeProfit does not pay wages, cash doesA growing firm can be profitable and insolvent at once, because cash goes outbefore customers pay.Most business failures are cash failures, not profit failures. That is whythe cash flow statement exists.Accruals & Matchinglearnposters.com
Accruals & Matching — printable business wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Accruals & Matching poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

Most business failures are cash failures, not profit failures. That is why the cash flow statement exists.

Questions about the Accruals & Matching poster

What’s on the Accruals & Matching poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Revenue is recognised when earned; costs are matched to the revenue they helped gener…; Profit ≠ Cash flow; Sale on credit = Revenue now, cash later; Rent paid in advance = Asset now, expense later; Electricity used, unbilled = Expense now; Common mistake: Treating a profitable business as safe → Profit does not pay wages, c…. Most business failures are cash failures, not profit failures. That is why the cash flow statement exists.
Who is the Accruals & Matching poster for?
Accruals & Matching belongs to the Accounting & Finance section rather than to a school year, because business is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning financial accounting can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Accruals & Matching poster?
Record revenue when earned and costs when incurred, not when cash moves. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Accruals & Matching belongs on the wall where that business work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Accruals & Matching?
Revenue Recognition, IFRS & GAAP and Reading a Balance Sheet sit alongside Accruals & Matching in the Accounting & Finance section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Revenue RecognitionIFRS & GAAPReading a Balance Sheet
Is the Accruals & Matching poster free to download and print?
Yes. Accruals & Matching downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Accounting & Finance section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Accruals & Matching poster print at?
Accruals & Matching is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Accruals & Matching loses nothing.Printing guide

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