For other uses see Revenue (disambiguation). Accountancy Key concepts Accountant  Accounting period  Bookkeeping  Cash and accrual basis  Cash flow management  Chart of accounts  Constant Purchasing Power Accounting  Cost of goods sold  Credit terms  Debits and credits  Double-entry system  Fair value accounting  FIFO & LIFO  GAAP / IFRS  General ledger  Historical cost  Matching principle  Revenue recognition  Trial balance Fields of accounting Cost  Financial  Forensic  Fund  Management  Mergers and Acquisitions  Tax Financial statements Statement of Financial Position  Statement of cash flows  Statement of changes in equity  Statement of comprehensive income  Notes  MD&A  XBRL Auditing Auditor's report  Financial audit  GAAS / ISA  Internal audit  SarbanesOxley Act Accounting qualifications CA  CPA  CCA  CGA  CMA This box: view talk

In business revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries such as the United Kingdom revenue is referred to as turnover. Some companies receive revenue from interest dividends or royalties paid to them by other companies.1 Revenue may refer to business income in general or it may refer to the amount in a monetary unit received during a period of time as in "Last year Company X had revenue of $42 million." Profits or net income generally imply total revenue minus total expenses in a given period. In accounting revenue is often referred to as the "top line" due to its position on the income statement at the very top. This is to be contrasted with the "bottom line" which denotes net income.2

For non-profit organizations annual revenue may be referred to as gross receipts.3 This revenue includes donations from individuals and corporations support from government agencies income from activities related to the organization's mission and income from fundraising activities membership dues and financial investments such as stock shares in companies.

In general usage revenue is income received by an organization in the form of cash or cash equivalents. Sales revenue or revenues is income received from selling goods or services over a period of time. Tax revenue is income that a government receives from taxpayers.

In more formal usage revenue is a calculation or estimation of periodic income based on a particular standard accounting practice or the rules established by a government or government agency. Two common accounting methods cash basis accounting and accrual basis accounting do not use the same process for measuring revenue. Corporations that offer shares for sale to the public are usually required by law to report revenue based on generally accepted accounting principles or International Financial Reporting Standards.

In a double-entry bookkeeping system revenue accounts are general ledger accounts that are summarized periodically under the heading Revenue or Revenues on an income statement. Revenue account names describe the type of revenue such as "Repair service revenue" "Rent revenue earned" or "Sales".4 Contents 1 Business revenue 1.1 Financial statement analysis 2 Government revenue 3 See also 4 Notes and references Business revenue

Business revenue is income from activities that are ordinary for a particular corporation company partnership or sole-proprietorship. For some businesses such as manufacturing and/or grocery most revenue is from the sale of goods. Service businesses such as law firms and barber shops receive most of their revenue from rendering services. Lending businesses such as car rentals and banks receive most of their revenue from fees and interest generated by lending assets to other organizations or individuals.

Revenues from a business's primary activities are reported as sales sales revenue or net sales. This includes product returns and discounts for early payment of invoices. Most businesses also have revenue that is incidental to the business's primary activities such as interest earned on deposits in a demand account. This is included in revenue but not included in net sales.5 Sales revenue does not include sales tax collected by the business.

Other revenue (a.k.a. non-operating revenue) is revenue from peripheral (non-core) operations. For example a company that manufactures and sells automobiles would record the revenue from the sale of an automobile as "regular" revenue. If that same company also rented a portion of one of its buildings it would record that revenue as other revenue and disclose it separately on its income statement to show that it is from something other than its core operations. Financial statement analysis Main article: Financial statement analysis

Revenue is a crucial part of financial statement analysis. A companys performance is measured to the extent to which its asset inflows (revenues) compare with its asset outflows (expenses). Net Income is the result of this equation but revenue typically enjoys equal attention during a standard earnings call. If a company displays solid top-line growth analysts could view the periods performance as positive even if earnings growth or bottom-line growth is stagnant. Conversely high income growth would be tainted if a company failed to produce significant revenue growth. Consistent revenue growth as well as income growth is considered essential for a company's publicly traded stock to be attractive to investors. Revenue is used as an indication of earnings quality. There are several financial ratios attached to it the most important being gross margin and profit margin. Also companies use revenue to determine bad debt expense using the income statement method. Price / Sales is sometimes used as a substitute for a Price to earnings ratio when earnings are negative and the P/E is meaningless. Though a company may have negative earnings it almost always has positive revenue. Gross Margin is a calculation of revenue less cost of goods sold and is used to determine how well sales cover direct variable costs relating to the production of goods. Net income/sales or profit margin is calculated by investors to determine how efficiently a company turns revenues into profits.... Government revenue Main article: Government revenue Government revenue includes all amounts of money received from sources outside the government entity. Large governments usually have an agency or department responsible for collecting government revenue from companies and individuals.6 Government revenue may also include reserve bank currency which is printed. This is recorded as an advance to the retail bank together with a corresponding currency in circulation expense entry. The income derives from the Official Cash rate payable by the retail banks for instruments such as 90 day bills.There is a question as to whether using generic business based accounting standards can give a fair and accurate picture of government accounts in that with a monetary policy statement to the reserve bank directing a positive inflation rate the expense provision for the return of currency to the reserve bank is largely symbolic in that to totally cancel the currency in circulation provision all currency would have to be returned to the reserve bank and cancelled. See also Look up revenue in Wiktionary the free dictionary. List of companies by revenue Micro-revenue Notes and references Williams Jan R.; Susan F. Haka Mark S. Bettner Joseph V. Carcello (2008). Financial & Managerial Accounting. McGraw-Hill Irwin. pp. 199. ISBN 9780072996500.  This definition is based on IAS 18. Williams p.51 2006 Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ US Department of the Treasury p. 22 Williams p. 196 Williams p. 647 HM Revenue & Customs (United Kingdom) Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Ireland) Internal Revenue Service bureau Department of the Treasury (United States) Missouri Department of Revenue Louisiana Department of Revenue