Definition of Payables

Payables

Related: Accounts payable.

Related Terms:

Amounts owed by the company for goods and services that have been received, but have not yet been paid for. Usually Accounts payable involves the receipt of an invoice from the company providing the services or goods.

accounts payable

Short-term, non-interest-bearing liabilities of a business
that arise in the course of its activities and operations from purchases on
credit. A business buys many things on credit, whereby the purchase
cost of goods and services are not paid for immediately. This liability
account records the amounts owed for credit purchases that will be paid
in the short run, which generally means about one month.

Accounts payable

Acurrent liability on the balance sheet, representing short-term obligations
to pay suppliers.

Accounts Payable

Amounts due to vendors for purchases on open account, that is, not evidenced
by a signed note.

Accounts Payable Days (A/P Days)

The number of days it would take to pay the ending balance
in Accounts payable at the average rate of cost of goods sold per day. Calculated by dividing
Accounts payable by cost of goods sold per day, which is cost of goods sold divided by 365.

Accounts receivable

Money owed by customers.

Accounts receivable turnover

The ratio of net credit sales to average Accounts receivable, a measure of how
quickly customers pay their bills.

Average age of accounts receivable

The weighted-average age of all of the firm's outstanding invoices.

IRA/Keogh accounts

Special Accounts where you can save and invest, and the taxes are deferred until money
is withdrawn. These plans are subject to frequent changes in law with respect to the deductibility of
contributions. Withdrawals of tax deferred contributions are taxed as income, including the capital gains from
such Accounts.

Payable through drafts

A method of making payment that is used to maintain control over payments made
on behalf of the firm by personnel in noncentral locations. The payer's bank delivers the payable through draft
to the payer, which must approve it and return it to the bank before payment can be received.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Amounts owed to a company by customers that it sold to on credit. Total Accounts receivable are usually reduced by an allowance for doubtful Accounts.

Accounts

‘Buckets’ within the ledger, part of the accounting system. Each account contains similar transactions (line items) that are used for the production of financial statements. Or commonly used as an abbreviation for financial statements.

Accounts receivable

Amounts owed to the company, generally for sales that it has made.

Accrued expenses payable

Expenses that have to be recorded in order for the financial statements to be accurate. Accrued expenses usually do not involve the receipt of an invoice from the company providing the goods or services.

Allowance for doubtful accounts

A contra account related to Accounts receivable that represents the amounts that the company expects will not be collected.

Bonds payable

Amounts owed by the company that have been formalized by a legal document called a bond.

Interest payable

The amount of interest that is owed but has not been paid at the end of a period.

Loans payable

Amounts that have been loaned to the company and that it still owes.

Notes payable

Amounts owed by the company that have been formalized by a legal document called a note.

Payroll taxes payable

The amount of payroll taxes owed to the various governments at the end of a period.

Permanent accounts

The Accounts found on the Balance Sheet; these account balances are carried forward for the lifetime of the company.

Salaries payable

Salaries that are owed but have not been paid at the end of a period.

Temporary accounts

The Accounts found on the Income Statement and the Statement of Retained Earnings; these Accounts are reduced to zero at the end of every accounting period.

accounts receivable

Short-term, non-interest-bearing debts owed to a
business by its customers who bought goods and services from the business
on credit. Generally, these debts should be collected within a month
or so. In a balance sheet, this asset is listed immediately after cash.
(Actually the amount of short-term marketable investments, if the business
has any, is listed after cash and before Accounts receivable.)
Accounts receivable are viewed as a near-cash type of asset that will be
turned into cash in the short run. A business may not collect all of its
Accounts receivable. See also bad debts.

accounts receivable turnover ratio

A ratio computed by dividing annual
sales revenue by the year-end balance of Accounts receivable. Technically
speaking, to calculate this ratio the amount of annual credit sales should
be divided by the average Accounts receivable balance, but this information
is not readily available from external financial statements. For
reporting internally to managers, this ratio should be refined and finetuned
to be as accurate as possible.

accrued expenses payable

The account that records the short-term, noninterest-
bearing liabilities of a business that accumulate over time, such
as vacation pay owed to employees. This liability is different than
Accounts payable, which is the liability account for bills that have been
received by a business from purchases on credit.

Accounts receivable

A current asset on the balance sheet, representing short-term
amounts due from customers who have purchased on account.

Chart of accounts

A listing of all Accounts used in the general ledger, usually sorted in
order of account number.

Balance of Payments Accounts

A statement of a country's transactions with other countries.

National Income and Product Accounts

The national accounting system that records economic activity such as GDP and related measures.

Accounts Receivable

Amounts due from customers for sales on open account, not evidenced
by a signed note.

Accounts Receivable Days (A/R Days)

The number of days it would take to collect the ending
balance in Accounts receivable at the year's average rate of revenue per day. Calculated as
Accounts receivable divided by revenue per day (revenue divided by 365).

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

An estimate of the uncollectible portion of Accounts receivable
that is subtracted from the gross amount of Accounts receivable to arrive at the estimated collectible
amount.

Provision for Doubtful Accounts

An operating expense recorded when the allowance for
doubtful Accounts is increased to accommodate an increase in uncollectible Accounts receivable.

Unbilled Accounts Receivable

Revenue recognized under the percentage-of-completion
method in excess of amounts billed. Also known as cost plus estimated earnings in excess of
billings.

Accounts Receivable

Money owed to a business for merchandise or services sold on open account.

Discounting of Accounts Receivable

Short-term financing in which Accounts receivable are used as collateral to secure a loan. The lender does not buy the Accounts receivable but simply uses them as collateral for the loan. Also called pledging of Accounts receivable.

Cash cycle

In general, the time between cash disbursement and cash collection. In net working capital
management, it can be thought of as the operating cycle less the Accounts payable payment period.

Current liabilities

Amount owed for salaries, interest, Accounts payable and other debts due within 1 year.

Monetary / non-monetary method

Under this translation method, monetary items (e.g. cash, Accounts
payable and receivable, and long-term debt) are translated at the current rate while non-monetary items (e.g.
inventory, fixed assets, and long-term investments) are translated at historical rates.

Trade debt

Accounts payable.

Purchases journal

A journal used to record the transactions that result in a credit to Accounts payable.

current liabilities

Current means that these liabilities require payment in
the near term. Generally, these include Accounts payable, accrued
expenses payable, income tax payable, short-term notes payable, and
the portion of long-term debt that will come due during the coming year.
Keep in mind that a business may roll over its debt; the old, maturing
debt may be replaced in part or in whole by new borrowing.

operating leverage

A relatively small percent increase or decrease in
sales volume that causes a much larger percent increase or decrease in
profit because fixed expenses do not change with small changes in sales
volume. Sales volume changes have a lever effect on profit. This effect
should be called sales volume leverage, but in practice it is called operating
leverage.
operating liabilities
The short-term liabilities generated by the operating
(profit-making) activities of a business. Most businesses have three types
of operating liabilities: Accounts payable from inventory purchases and
from incurring expenses, accrued expenses payable for unpaid expenses,
and income tax payable. These short-term liabilities of a business are
non-interest-bearing, although if not paid on time a business may be
assessed a late-payment penalty that is in the nature of an interest
charge.

Current liability

This is typically the Accounts payable, short-term notes payable, and
accrued expense Accounts on the balance sheet, or any other liabilities that are
expected to be liquidated within a short time interval.

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	Financial Terms
	Payables