Accounts Receivable

Definition

Money owed by customers (individuals or corporations) to another entity in exchange for goods or services that have been delivered or used, but not yet paid for. Receivables usually come in the form of operating lines of credit and are usually due within a relatively short time period, ranging from a few days to a year.

Accounts receivable (A/R) is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with the billing of customers who owe money to a person, company or organization for goods and services that have been provided to the customer.

Accounts Receivable Overview

An accounts receivable department plays an important role in managing the cash flow of a business; it is responsible for processing invoices for goods and services sold to customers of an organization and applying payments from these same customers. In addition, the accounts receivable department might want to track payment information about their customers to gather statistical information about their paying habits. By understanding customers better, businesses can provide better customer support and manage their cash flow better.

Process of Accounts Receivable

The process of accounts receivable starts when products or services are provided to a customer on credit. The company that details the transaction including the total amount and duration of credit creates an invoice. The invoice is then recorded. If payment is on time the accounts receivable process ends there. However, often this is not the case. That's when the collection department takes over. First, the customer is afforded the opportunity to explain the delay. If there's a complaint regarding products or services, the matter is forwarded to the respective departments. Once the issue is resolved and payment is received the process is ended. Sometimes the process will end if the product is shown to be faulty or not up to the customer's expectations, at which point the debt may be expunged or reduced. This may or not be the case with your company or the company your represent.

Outsourcing

Some companies prefer to hire an accounts receivable outsourcing firm. These firms take over the process of collecting overdue payments in a professional manner. A certain amount of fee or commission is charged for successfully completing the process of collection. In some extreme instances, a customer goes bankrupt and simply can't pay in which case the debt is transferred to the bad debts account from accounts receivable.

Accounts Receivable Aging schedule

Accounts Receivable Aging Schedule is a classification process, as reported on a schedule by time intervals (30 day increments & current), 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 90+ days, used to analyze the amount of money owed to a business by its customers. Accounts receivable aging schedule is used by credit grantors (such as banks and factors) to determine the probability of collection, as it shows patterns of payment and delinquency.