If you don't know double-entry bookkeeping from a double-dip ice-cream cone, here are a few basic accounting terms to help you keep your ducks in a row.

Accrual-basis accounting recognizes revenue when earned and expenses when incurred.

Cash-basis accounting tracks revenue and expenses when cash is received or disbursed.

A credit is an entry on the right side of an account. Credits increase liabilities, equity and revenues, and decrease assets and expenses.

A debit is an entry on the left side of an account. Debits increase assets and expenses; they decrease liabilities, equity and revenue.

FIFO (first-in, first-out) costing computes unit costs by separating work-in-process inventory costs from newly introduced costs.

General ledger is a record of a business's accounts.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are standards, conventions and rules followed by accountants in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statements.

LIFO (last-in, first-out) costing assumes goods will be sold in the reverse order of their acquisition.

Realized gain (loss) is the difference between the amount received from the sale or disposal of an asset and its carrying value.

Unrealized gain (loss) is the change in value of an asset that is still being held.