to keep square

6.8

Make sure accounts have no debt or extra money

phrasal verb

: mantener las cuentas en orden

It's essential for small business owners to keep square with their finances.

Examples

The company relies on a good accountant to keep square every month.
After a rough year, she worked hard to keep square and avoid any debt.
We must keep square to avoid financial issues.
The accountant always keeps square with the budget.
To maintain financial balance, it is important for freelancers to keep square with all their invoices and expenses.
After reviewing her budget, she decided to keep square by tracking her spending closely.
To ensure there are no financial surprises, the team makes an effort to keep square at the end of each month.

Synonyms

to balance

vsto keep square

Specialized

511 3.5

To make the totals of payments and deposits in an account match

maintains ongoing financial stability rather than a single equality check

to balance the books

vsto keep square

1 3.7

To check and correct a business's money records so they show the right amounts

focuses on keeping finances stable over time rather than only correcting records

Antonyms

to overspend

7 4.4

To use more money than you can afford or planned to use

How Balanced

to keep square

6.8

to break even

27 3.3

Surface Forms

keep square infinitive

kept square past

kept square past participle

keeping square present participle

keeps square third person singular

Morphology

keep + square

The meaning is directly compositional: 'keep' (to maintain) combined with the verb 'square' (to bring accounts into agreement) yields 'maintain accounts balanced'. This follows a common keep + state/action pattern familiar to learners, so a B1 who knows both constituents can derive the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Keep square may come from old bookkeeping, where to square the books meant 'to balance' the accounts. So, keep square means to keep accounts even and avoid owing or being owed.