What is the revenue recognition principle?

As part of my business series on the blog, here is an info-graphic covering revenue recognition. As some of you know, revenue recognition has a special place in my heart as I audited revenue for a software company in the bay area.  I had to know these principles like that back of my hand. If you are hoping to run a business with investors, you may want to know some of this too. Without further adieu, the info graphic and intro by Ghergich & Co.

When it comes to plotting out your next steps as a business, there are a lot of factors that come into play. Of course, you need to understand expenses and employees and demand and customers, but you also need to figure out what to do about revenue — and by that I mean, what do you do about recognizing revenue.

There are a number of different established accounting principles that are acceptable and that can guide you in figuring out what’s best for your business. For example, you can recognize the revenue after you have completed the obligations of the contract. The biggest issue is to choose the accounting method that best matches the needs of your business, and stick with it for consistency and continuity. That’s because the revenue recognition decision you make affects every part of your business. Need to learn more? This graphic explains it in greater detail.

Click To Enlarge


Via Salesforce