bookkeeping

American  

[book-kee-ping] / ˈbʊkˌki pɪŋ /

noun

1. the work or skill of keeping account books or systematic records of money transactions (distinguished from accounting).

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bookkeeper
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bookkeeping

First recorded in 1680–90; book + keeping

Explanation

Bookkeeping is keeping track of a business's financial transactions. Most bookkeeping these days happens on computers rather than in actual books. The activity of keeping your own financial records and the job of doing the same thing for a company are both considered bookkeeping. Some people teach themselves basic bookkeeping and others hire experts to do it for them. The word bookkeeping comes from the sense of book that means "record" or "written document," and it has the distinction of being one of very few words in English with three consecutive double letters.

Example Sentences

There’s not a textbook for empathy the way there is for Python or for bookkeeping.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

Automation had been hollowing out middle-skill work since the early 2000s, quietly eliminating the clerical roles, bookkeeping jobs and sales positions that once absorbed India's graduates.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

As Jackson’s media prominence grew — including a cover photo on Time magazine in 1970 — tensions erupted between Jackson and SCLC, in part because of the sloppy bookkeeping that became a Jackson characteristic.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

In accounting, software has automated large portions of bookkeeping and tax preparation without eliminating accountants, who have moved up the value chain toward advisory, forensic and judgment-intensive work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Then I went downstairs to the family computer in the basement and sorted through the boxes of software until I found the bookkeeping program Mom uses for her store.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen