Notes payable is accounting-speak for promissory notes, written commitments that say you've borrowed money and have to pay it back. Like other outstanding debts, notes payable affect your bottom line.

T-accounts are one of accounting's most useful visual tools, and they've stuck around for good reason. Named for their simple T shape, these diagrams split a ledger account into two sides. Debits go ...

Companies often raise funding by selling debt, such as bonds and notes, or written agreements to borrow and pay back certain amounts at certain times. When you borrow money through a note, you enter ...