Accounts Receivable - Overview

Overview

Accounts receivable represents money owed by entities to the firm on the sale of products or services on credit. In most business entities, accounts receivable is typically executed by generating an invoice and either mailing or electronically delivering it to the customer, who, in turn, must pay it within an established timeframe, called credit terms or payment terms.

The accounts receivable departments use the sales ledger, this is because a sales ledger normally records :
- The sales a business has made.
- The amount of money received for goods or services.
- The amount of money owed at the end of each month varies (debtors).

The accounts receivable team is in charge of receiving funds on behalf of a company and applying it towards their current pending balances.
Collections and cashiering teams are part of the accounts receivable department. While the collection's department seeks the debtor, the cashiering team applies the monies received.