Definition (1):
Totaling a journal’s columns and verifying the equality of the totals is known as footing and cross-footing a journal.
Definition (2):
In accounting, summing a column of numbers is known as footing and cross-footing is ensuring that the sum of column totals is equal to the grand total.
Definition (3):
According to Barrons Dictionary, cross-footing is “in a spreadsheet, totaling rows and columns of numbers and comparing the sums. If the sums are in agreement, then the totals of each row and column are most likely correct.”
Accounting needs accurate arithmetic for providing reliable information. Accountants use footing and cross-footing for adding up and verifying that all the numbers are totaled accurately. Spreadsheets organize numbers in columns and rows, each of them can be totaled. Suppose, a spreadsheet shows monthly sales revenue for 5 products over the cycle of a year. Each of the 5 rows represents 1 product and 12 columns each represents 1 month. A 6th row totals the sales of the month and a 13th column adds up the annual sales per product. Cross-footing ensures that the sum of the monthly sales in the 6th row equals the sum of the annual sales per product in the 13th column.