British and American terminology

British and American english terminology has diverged from a common root.

British Terms	American Terms
Goods	Merchandise
Stock	Inventory
Purchases on Credit	Purchases on Account
Gross Profit	Gross Income
Net Profit	Net Income
Profit and Loss Account	Income Statement
Outstanding/Accrued Expenses	Payable Expenditure
Provision for Bad Debts	Allowance for Uncollectible
Bad Debts	Uncollectible
Income	Revenue
Ordinary Shares	Common Shares
Sundry Debtors / Trade Debtors	Accounts Receivable
Sundry Creditors / Trade Creditors	Accounts Payable
Bills Payable	Notes Payable
Bills Receivable	Notes Receivable
Accounting Period	Fiscal Period
Accounting Year	Fiscal Year
Capital	Owner’s Equity
Company	Corporation
Shareholder	Stockholder
Share	Stock
Bonus Share	Stock Dividend
Preference shares	Preferred stock
Paid-up Capital	Paid in Capital
Profit and Loss Appropriation A/C	Retained Earnings
Credit Note	Credit Memo

Note the different meanings of stock in British and American terminology.

There are some common terms: