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

The riskiest segments included administrative support, data entry, bookkeeping, and editing, said the study.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Their statement also stresses that they effectively opened up their entire bookkeeping system to the Premier League for the purposes of the investigation.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 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

She called up to the bookkeeping department on an open mezzanine.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin