What Is Business Investment Accounting?

If you plan to make money, you probably plan to invest in business opportunities. There are many different types of investments and many ways to account for them. By learning more about the investment account types, you can make informed choices about the best type of investment to strengthen your business and maximize profits.

Investment Definition: Business Investment Accounting Explained

Before anyone makes a decision to invest in business, they should be able to answer the question, “What does it mean to invest?” Investments are assets or items that are purchased with the goal of creating more income or appreciating in value. They are a purchase made not for the present but to be useful in the future. An investment is always purchased with the hope that its future payoff will exceed its original cost.

Business investment specifically refers to accounting assets that are purchased in the hope of making money on their own, as opposed to something like a delivery car for a restaurant. The difference is that a delivery car will help make the business more profitable, but the restaurateur is unlikely to be paid back for the vehicle itself.

What Are the Types of Corporate Investment?

There are three main types of investment categories in accounting.

1. Ownership Investments: Referring largely to things like stocks, real estate, precious objects, and business investments, ownership investments refer to investments in which the buyer actually owns the asset. This is the most common type of investment. Accounting professionals can help to ensure that these investments are still producing income or appreciating.
2. Lending Investments: As a lending investor, you serve as a banker. You’re essentially buying debt in the hope and expectation that that debt will be repaid. Bonds, savings accounts, and Treasury inflation-protected securities (or TIPS) are all lending investments.
3. Cash Equivalents: These investments are “as good as cash.” It’s very simple to liquidate them, or convert them back to cash, if necessary. Money-market funds are cash equivalents.

A good portfolio should have a few of all three of these types of investments. While building a portfolio, an investor might also hear about mutual funds, which pool money from multiple investors together to make larger investments. An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, is similar to that concept but is traded like stock.

What Are the Best Business Investments?

In general, the best investments have these qualities:

• Businesses with high returns on capital
• Durable competitive advantages
• Excellent scalability
• Assets available for a good price that is likely to offer returns

The advisers and accountants at Ignite Spot can help you diversify your investment portfolio, assist you in getting started with investing, or teach you how to invest in a small business.

How Do Accountants Account for Investments?

The accounting experts at Ignite Spot handle three investment account types, and the balance sheets are accounted for in different ways depending on what kind of business investment account you used.

1. Held to Maturity: These are often lending investments with security held until a fixed date in the future.
2. Held for Trading: This type of investment is held in the hopes of future profit when it’s resold within a specific time frame.
3. Available for Sale: These are investments that can’t be held for trading or maturity.

For those with a robust portfolio full of many different investments, hiring an online or outsourced accounting firm may be the best choice. We can advise you whether you already have a diverse portfolio or you’re just starting out and want to know about the best small investment. Business owners can count on our reliable online bookkeeping and accounting services: Ignite Spot can help a small business keep investments accounted for. Contact us today or download our free pricing form.

Learn More About Similar Accounting Topics

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• Self-Employment and FICA
• Employer FICA Rates
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• Understanding Different Entity Types
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• What Is Business and Financial Leverage?

Written by Eddy Hood