Balance of Payments

An accounting record of transactions between one country and other countries during a specific period of time.

This term is used to refer to the levels of international trade between countries, tracking money in and money out. Say China is selling the U.S. a heap more lugnuts and t-shirts than we're selling them cars and iPhones; then the balance of payments would be unfavorable to the U.S. (and favorable toward China). In general, you want to be selling a lot more than you're buying.