Bookkeeping Ontology for Historical Accounts
Base-URL: https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:depcha.bookkeeping#
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Version 1.2 by Christopher Pollin / Georg Vogeler. 2022.
The "Bookkeeping Ontology", a conceptual model being based on the REA model and CIDOC CRM, is developed in an ontology engineering process in which historians, software developers and digital humanists were involved. It formalizes the interpretation of a transaction (bk:Transaction) as combination of transfers (bk:Transfer) of measurable objects (bk:Measurable) from one accounting object (bk:EconomicAgent) to another. bk:EconomicAgent defines an abstract class which unites bookkeeping categories (bk:Account, e.g. a cash account) and actors (individual bk:Party, e.g. Washington or an unknown group of individuals bk:Group, e.g. four farmers). Its physical representation in a historical source is an entry in a written accounting record (bk:entry). The bk:Entry is an information fragment of a bk:Transaction often naming only one party, while the other party is implicit in the textual context of the entry. Further information on the temporal (bk:when), spatial (bk:where) dimension of a bk:Transaction as well as the status (bk:status) of it (e.g. "partly paid", "settled"), can be expressed optionally. In regard to a research question a bk:Transaction can be assigned to a specific context. Every transaction consists (bk:consistsOf) of at least one transfer (bk:Transfer). A single bk:Transfer describes the action of transferring a bk:Measurable in one direction (bk:from or bk:to). bk:Measurable is defined as everything that can be quantified. It has subclasses for economic goods (bk:EconomicGood, as labor: bk:Service or as physical things: bk:Commodity) and money (bk:Money). bk:Measurable is describe by its quantity (bk:quantity) and the unit of calculation (bk:unit). The bk:Entry is described by the transcription fragment of the original source (bk:text). bk:EconomicGoods can be categorized (what is measured) and can be assigned a price. A bk:Transfer can be carried out by (bk:by) someone who conducts the transfer process in place of the business partner (bk:Agent). When writing it down into the ledger, accounting categories (bk:debit and bk:credit) are coded optionally.
Classes
Account
Subclass of | |
Description | Comparison and accounting of incoming and outgoing payments. |
Domain | has accountHolder |
Booking
Subclass of | E28_Conceptual_Object |
Description | Booking of a transaction. |
Range | credit debit |
Commodity
Subclass of | E19_Physical_Object Economic Good |
Description | A commodity is an economic good. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Context
Subclass of | E28_Conceptual_Object |
Description | Transactions can be assigned to one or more contexts. |
Range | assigned |
Conversion
Subclass of | E28_Conceptual_Object |
Description | Defines the conversion from one unit of measurement to another. |
Domain | converts from converts to |
Date
Subclass of | E61_Time_Primitive |
Description | Date that is related to a transaction. |
Range | when |
Economic Agent
Subclass of | E39_Actor |
Description | An economic agent is an economically independent decision-maker. This can be, for example, a private household, a company, a city or an individual person. |
Range | from to has accountHolder |
Economic Asset
Subclass of | E71_Human-Made_Thing |
Description | Economic assets are goods and receivables. |
Domain | unit |
Range | transfers |
Economic Good
Subclass of | Economic Asset |
Description | An economic good is a good or service that has a benefit (utility) to society. |
Domain | classified has price |
Government Transfer
Subclass of | Monetary Value |
Description | A transfer payment is a redistribution of income and wealth by means of the government making a payment, without goods or services being received in return. |
Group
Subclass of | E74_Group Economic Agent |
Description | A group of agents involved together in a transaction. |
Individual
Subclass of | E21_Person Economic Agent |
Description | An individual actor in a transaction. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Monetary Unit
Subclass of | E98_Currency Unit |
Description | The monetary unit has the character of a unit of measurement. |
Monetary Value
Subclass of | E97_Monetary_Amount Economic Asset |
Description | The amount of value an item or a service has in relation to if it were sold for cash to a willing buyer. A Monetary Value can consist of subtotals, which are monetary values too. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Range | comprises |
Organisation
Subclass of | Economic Agent |
Description | An organisation acting in a transaction. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Price
Subclass of | Monetary Value |
Description | Price in this context refers to a price indication in the historic source |
Range | has price |
Right
Subclass of | E30_Right Economic Good |
Description | Right as an intangible good. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Service
Subclass of | E7_Activity Economic Good |
Description | A service is a transaction in which no physical goods are transferred from the seller to the buyer. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Subtotal Transaction
Subclass of | E28_Conceptual_Object Transaction |
Description | Subtotal Transactions are intermediate totals that add up to a Total Transaction. |
Domain | comprises |
Tax
Subclass of | Monetary Value |
Description | Financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a government or functional equivalent. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Total Transaction
Subclass of | E28_Conceptual_Object Transaction |
Description | Total Transaction means the total of transactions occurring in a time frame or context. |
Domain | comprises |
Transaction
Subclass of | E7_Activity |
Description | A transaction is an agreement, carried out between economic agents to exchange an asset. |
seeAlso | wikidata.org |
Domain | assigned consists of credit debit when where |
Transfer
Subclass of | E7_Activity |
Description | Transfer is the activity in which an economic object is transferred from one economic agent to another. |
Domain | by from to transfers |
Range | consists of |
Unit
Subclass of | E58_Measurement_Unit |
Description | Something is measured in a unit. |
Range | converts from converts to unit |
Unit of area
Subclass of | Unit |
Unit of length
Subclass of | Unit |
Unit of mass
Subclass of | Unit |
Unit of time
Subclass of | Unit |
Unit of volume
Subclass of | Unit |
Properties
Description | Assigns transactions to a specific context. This decision is made by a scholar. This can be done in the course of a specific research question. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Context |
Description | An economic good is assigned to a concept. |
Domain | Economic Good |
Range | Concept |
Description | Connects a subtotal or a total transaction with a monetary value. |
Domain | Subtotal Transaction Total Transaction |
Range | Monetary Value |
Description | A transaction consists of at least one transfer. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Transfer |
Description | A unit is converted from a unit. |
Domain | Conversion |
Range | Unit |
Description | A unit is converted to a unit. |
Domain | Conversion |
Range | Unit |
Description | Marks a transfer as a transfer on the credit account. The sources for spending money in transaction account is credit, like liabilities. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Booking |
Description | Marks a transfer as a transfer to a credit account. The money obtained with the credits is destined as debit in transaction accounts like assets. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Booking |
Description | A transfer has a physical representation (text) in a source. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Literal |
Description | An economic agent that provides/gives an economic asset to another economic agent. |
Domain | Transfer |
Range | Economic Agent |
Description | An account is assigned to a economic agent. |
Domain | Account |
Range | Economic Agent |
Description | A unit has a conversion formula to another unit |
Domain | Conversion |
Range | Literal |
Description | Connects an economic good with a price that is mention in the source. |
Domain | Economic Good |
Range | Price |
Description | An economic asset is countable. |
Domain | Economic Asset |
Range | float |
Description | Specifies the status of a transaction. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Literal |
Description | The economic agent receiving an economic asset. |
Domain | Transfer |
Range | Economic Agent |
Description | A transfer conveys something. |
Domain | Transfer |
Range | Economic Asset |
Description | An economic asset has a unit. |
Domain | Economic Asset |
Range | Unit |
Description | A transaction can be related to a date which is the date of the transaction. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Date |
Description | A Transaction can be related to a place. |
Domain | Transaction |
Range | Place |