How is Black Friday related to accounting?

For many American consumers, it is the day after Thanksgiving when you can get great deals on goods that may eventually become Christmas presents. But why is it "black" Friday? There are a couple of stories. But the most commonly cited one has to do with ink, paper, and accounting. read more

Stores sell so much merchandise on that day that the day puts the business in the black. “In the black” is an accounting idiom for “being profitable.” Perhaps that is the derivation of the name Black Friday. read more

Common myth: The term Black Friday, stems from retailers using the day’s huge receipts as their opportunity to “get in the black” and become profitable for the year. read more

However, the earliest known use of this accounting-related explanation for the origins of the term “Black Friday” dates from 1981, many years after Philadelphia police had been using the phrase in reference to traffic issues. read more