i've read a lot where hosts say they "write off" bandwidth as advertising or "write off" fraudulent orders. What exactly does everyone mean when they write off. What exactly happens when you write off bandwidth as advertising..for example?

any responses would be great :)

That is, in your accounting reports/balance sheets, you transfer the cost of extra bandwidth to the advertising and then 'write off' the amount (i.e. remove the amount from your accounting balance).

Example : if you are writing off $150 worth of extra bandwidth, you transfer the $150 to your advertising costs on your balance sheets, then deduct that amount from your overall profit/costs/etc. Same thing happens with bad debts (debts that some ppl can't repay for whatever reason, length of time, etc.)

(Disclaimer : I'm not an accountant, and this should not be construed as accounting advice - someone can correct me if I'm wrong).

I write off my Camel Wides as it is needed to properly keep me from going flippy.

Basically, as BC said, you are just playing with your General Ledger accounts.

For example, if at the beginning of a new period you estimate that your "bad debts" will be $1000, you could set up an account called "Allowance for Doubtful Accounts" and just debit that account once it's a fact that money owed is not going to be paid.

That's what I thought Annette and Tabs, it's just that my accounting skills have some gaping holes in them (despite being forced to study it for a year and nearly failing the damn thing ;))