Glossary

Plain-English definitions for terms you'll encounter in Kick.

Accrual accounting A method of accounting where income and expenses are recorded when they're earned or incurred, not when cash actually changes hands. The alternative is cash basis accounting.

Balance Sheet A financial report showing what your business owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities), and what's left over (equity) at a specific point in time.

Cash basis accounting A method of accounting where income and expenses are recorded when cash is actually received or paid. Simpler than accrual, and common for small businesses.

Categorization The process of labeling a transaction with a category - like Meals & Entertainment or Software - so it appears in the right place on your reports.

Chart of Accounts (CoA) A structured list of all the accounts used to record transactions in your books. Your accountant manages this - most business owners don't need to interact with it directly.

Class A way to segment transactions by department, location, project, or product line for more granular reporting. Available on the Plus plan.

Counterparty The vendor or customer on the other side of a transaction - who you paid or who paid you.

Entity A single business within your Kick workspace. If you own multiple businesses, each one is a separate entity.

General Ledger (GL) The complete record of all financial transactions in your business, organized by account. The underlying source of truth for all your reports.

Lock A setting that prevents changes to a closed period. Your accountant typically locks periods after they've reviewed and finalized the books.

Memo A free-text note attached to a transaction for context - useful for explaining what a charge was for.

Personal entity A special entity in Kick for connecting personal bank accounts and credit cards. Transactions here don't post to your business books until you move them across.

Profit & Loss (P&L) A financial report showing your income, expenses, and net profit or loss over a period. Also called an income statement.

Reconciliation The process of matching your transactions in Kick against your official bank statements to confirm everything is accurate. Your accountant typically handles this.

Rule An automated instruction that tells Kick how to handle specific transactions - for example, always categorizing Amazon transactions as Supplies & Equipment.

Split Dividing a single transaction into multiple line items, each with its own category, entity, or class assignment.

Task A communication tool in Kick that lets your accountant or team assign you requests, questions, or action items tied directly to specific transactions.

Transfer Money moving between two accounts you own - like a bank-to-bank transfer or a credit card payment. Both sides need to be matched in Kick so the movement doesn't inflate your income or expenses.

Workspace Your Kick account environment - the single place that contains all your entities, transactions, reports, and settings.