on someone's books

Prepositional phrase

1. Contained in an official list (of members, employees, clients, projects etc.).
   • The research was carried out by studying the medical records of some 17m people on the books of GPs in England and the 5,683 covid-attributable deaths therein.2020 May 14, “The pandemic has spawned a new way to study medical records”, in The Economist
2. Recorded or registered, especially in an official or definitive manner.
   • The event was free, but there was a donation bowl for those who wanted to contribute and it was pretty packed with greenbacks. The first community soup event was on the books now.2010, Larry Stettner, Bill Morrison, Cooking for the Common Good: The Birth of a Natural Foods Soup Kitchen, Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, →ISBN, page 133
   1. Officially recorded in the financial records of a company or organization.
      • Promptly came the reply that there was no record on the books of father's owning any stock.1908 February 19, Jack London, chapter 11, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC
   2. Officially recorded in the lawbooks; having the force of enacted law.
      • The ban on interracial marriages remained on the books for nearly a century after its passage.2004 October 29, Peter Wong, “Interracial-marriage ban used in Measure 36 comparisons”, in Statesman Journal, volume 152, number 214, Salem, OR, page 2A