Paid-In Capital
Capital received from investors for stock, equal to capital stock plus paid-in capital, NOT that capital received from earnings or donations. Also called contributed capital.

Paid-Up Capital
The total amount paid by shareholders for their shares of capital stock.

Pari Passu
To do or apply something at an equal pace or rate. In finance, it is used in reference to two class of securities or obligations that have equal entitlement to payment.

Partnership
A business with two or more owners, who share in the profits as well as the liability for debts.

Par Value
The amount printed on each share of stock, which must be recorded in the capital stock accounts; used in determining the legal capital of a corporation.

Passive Activity
Defined in the US Tax Code as one or more trades, business or rental activity, that the taxpayer does not materially participate in managing or running. All income and losses from passive activities are grouped together on an income tax return and, generally, loss deductions are limited or suspended until the passive activity that generated them is disposed of in its entirety.

Patent
A legal form of protection that provides a person or legal entity with exclusive rights to exclude others from making, using, or selling a concept or invention for the duration of the patent. There are three types of patents available: design, plant, and utility.

Payroll Burden
In the U.S., includes the cost of your payroll administration, FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers’ compensation, etc., based on each $100.00 of payroll. For example: $100.00 of payroll earned + 37.56 payroll burden = $137.56 total payroll.

Payroll Taxes
Taxes on a payroll, including social security taxes and employment insurance taxes.

Pension Fund
A fund set up by a corporation to provide for its employees in retirement. Typically, employees contribute a portion of their paychecks to the fund. The fund is used to make investments as part of the company’s pension plan.

Pension Plan
A plan by which a company provides for its employees in retirement. Employees—sometimes with matching contributions from employers—contribute to a pension fund, which is used to make investments as part of the plan. Managers of pension plans must follow strict investment guidelines.

Per Capita Income
The mean income computed for every man, woman, and child in a particular group. It is derived by dividing the total income of a particular group by the total population in that group.

Percentage Lease 
A type of lease where the landlord charges a base rent plus an additional percentage of any profits realized by the business tenant.

Per Diem
Is a) one every day (e.g., save 10 man-hours per diem); or, b) payment of daily expenses and/or fees of an employee or an agent.

Performance Evaluation
The application of financial measurement techniques so that actual results can be compared with expectations and a manager's performance judged.

Periodic Inventory Method
Determination of cost of goods sold by deducting the ending inventory, which has been determined by a count of the physical inventory, from total of purchases plus beginnig merchandise inventory.

Perpetual Inventory 
An inventory accounting system whereby book inventory is kept in continuous agreement with stock on hand. A daily record is maintained of the dollar amount and physical quantity. There are periodic physical inventories taken to reconcile at short intervals.

Personal Property
Items and things, as opposed to real property, such as buildings and land. By definition, personal property is not “immovable”; in other words, it can be moved. A baseball card is personal property; a baseball field is real property.

Phantom Profit
Is hypothetical profit, i.e., no cash flow is generated. Appreciation on any asset, e.g. stock, is considered phantom profit unless or until the asset is sold, thereby generating cash flow.

Piercing The Corporate Veil
A legal concept through which a corporation's shareholders, who generally are shielded from liability for the corporation's activities, can be held responsible for certain actions.

Piggyback
Dependent upon usage, can mean: 1. On the back or shoulder or astraddle on the hip; 2. Two lenders participating in the same loan (piggyback loan); 3. Unauthorized access to a data processing system via an authorized user's legitimate connection (piggyback entry); 4. Haul by railroad car; 5. SEC registration of existing holdings of shares in a corporation combined with an offering of new public shares (piggyback registration); 6. Rights that entitle an investor to register and sell his or her stock whenever the company conducts a public offering (piggyback rights).

Piscan Document
A precursor of double entry bookkeeping, dates from the early 12th century. Records indicate that primitive bookkeeping with sequential transactions using Roman numerals was presented in paragraph form. Some of the record fragments are from an unknown Florentine banking firm dated from 1211. It was not yet double entry bookkeeping, but advancing in that direction. Other fragments include the Castra Gualfred and the Borghesia Company from 1259-67; Gentile de' Sassetti and Sons, 1274-1310; and Bene Bencivenni, 1277-96. The most complete records are from Rinieri Fini & Brothers, 1296-1305, and Giovanni Farolfi & Co., 1299-1300.
 

Pledge
Placing property or collateral with a lender in order to secure a loan. For example, a watch left with a pawnbroker in return for a loan is a pledge.

Point
In stock prices, a point equals one dollar; in bond prices, a point equals ten dollars.

Points
Additional fee paid to a lender. Points are generally stated as a percent of the total amount borrowed and are in essence prepaid interest. Points paid can be deducted over the life of the loan.

Ponzi Scheme
To swindle by paying early investors with money from later investors, not with earned income. Eventually, the incoming investment money cannot keep up with payments to investors, and the whole deal collapses. Named for Charles A. Ponzi, a well-known swindler.

Portfolio
The term for the total assets and investments held by an individual, company, or institution. For reporting and tracking purposes, a portfolio can be divided into smaller portfolios, such as the loan portfolio, land portfolio, and so on.

Positive Accounting Theory
Where theorists tend to explain why some accounting practices are more popular than others (e.g., because they increase management compensation). They tend to support their conclusions with inductive theory and empirical evidence as opposed to deductive methods. Generally avoid advocacy of one accounting rule as being better or worse than its alternatives. Positivists are inspired by anecdotal evidence, but anecdotal evidence is never permitted without more rigorous and controlled scientific investigation.

Posting
In bookkeeping, is to list on the company's records, such as to list the detail of sales and purchases on the accounts receivable or payable records.

Preemptive Right
The right of a current stockholder to maintain the percentage ownership interest in the company by buying new shares on a pro rata basis before they are issued to the public.

Preferred Stock
The dividend-paying stock in a corporation that gives its holders advantages over holders of common stock. Preferred stockholders are paid before common stockholders. If the corporation goes bankrupt, preferred stockholders are paid from the assets of the corporation before common stockholders but after any creditors.

Premium
The sum above the face value of a bond when the bond is purchased at an above-par price. In insurance, the amount you pay for insurance coverage.

Prepaid Expenses
Amounts that are paid in advance to a vender or creditor for goods and services. Typically, insurance premiums are paid in advance of the coverage contained in the policy. Prepaid Expenses is a Current Asset for your business. This is because you have paid for something and someone owes you the service or the goods for which you prepaid.

Present Value
The current-day equivalent of some future amount, or future value. In converting future values to present values, one adjusts for compound interest and for inflation.

Price/Earnings (P/E) Ratio
A ratio that measures the relationship of the current market price of a stock to the earnings per share: used as a measure of investor confidence in a company and as a means of comparison among stocks.

Private Corporation
A corporation that ownership is held by the private sector, i.e. individuals or companies.

Private Placement
Selling the entire issue of a security to one group of investors.

Probate
When a court examines a will to determine if it is valid. During probate, the court also assigns an executor to the will.

Profit
The excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses).

Profit Margin
A measure of profitability; the percentage of each sales dollar that results in net income; net income divided by sales.

Profit-Sharing Plan
A plan by which employees share in the profits of a company, either by receiving bonuses or having their profit shares put in a trust. Profit-sharing plans encourage employees to be more productive and more loyal to their companies.

Promissory Note
A written promise to pay a sum of money at a future date to a specific person or to the bearer of the written promise. Also known as an IOU.

Proprietorship, Sole
When a business is owned by one person. Sole proprietorship is one of three types of business organizations; the other two are a partnership and a corporation.

Qualified Opinion
The auditor’s opinion accompanying a financial statement that calls attention to limitations in the audit or exceptions the auditor has taken with the audit of the statements.

Quantative Information
Information relating to, or expressible in, terms of quantity.

Quick Ratio
A ratio that measures the relationship of the more liquid current assets (cash, marketable securities, short-term investments, and receivables) to current liabilities; used as a measure of short-term liquidity.

Quorum
The minimum number of people who must be present at a corporate meeting to conduct business.

Quote To Cash
Covers the business process for creating a quote for a prospect or customer, order management, invoicing and cash receipt. The functionality is highly integrated with Supply Chain Management and Customer Management. In traditional systems, it is funded in modules like order entry and accounts receivable