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This is a good question, as a lot of people confuse expenses and liabilities.

Expenses and liabilities are not the same thing. A liability is a balance sheet account that represents a probable future sacrifice of economic benefits resulting from an obligation. For example, inventory purchased on credit represents a liability, because in the future you will need to sacrifice cash in order to satisfy a current obligation. Receiving cash in advance for services is also a liability, because in the future you will need to sacrifice labor hours in order to satisfy it. Since it is a balance sheet account, a liability will exist on your books until you have satisfied it.

An expense on the other hand is an income statement account. In accrual-based accounting, you deduct expenses against the revenues you generate in that period in order to arrive at your net income. In general, you try and match up your revenue and expenses as closely as you possibly can.

The main source of confusion is that usually when a company recognizes an expense, it also recognizes a corresponding liability that arose as a result. However, expenses and liabilities are two different things.

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14y ago

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