Accounts Receivable (AR)

应收账款

By Will Kenton

Reviewed By Margaret James

Updated Apr 28, 2020

作者：Will Kenton

审核人：Margaret James

更新时间：2020年4月28日

What Is Accounts Receivable (AR)? 

什么是应收账款？

Accounts receivable (AR) is the balance of money due to a firm for goods or services delivered or used but not yet paid for by customers. Accounts receivables are listed on the balance sheet as a current asset. AR is any amount of money owed by customers for purchases made on credit. 

应收账款指客户就企业已提供的或其使用的商品或服务而应向但尚未向企业支付的款项。应收账款在资产负债表中作为流动资产列示。应收账款是客户因赊购产品或服务而所欠的任何金额。

Accounts Receivable

应收账款

Key Takeaways

文章要点

Accounts receivable is an asset account on the balance sheet that represents money due to a company in the short-term.

应收账款属资产负债表中的资产类科目，代表短期内应向企业支付的款项。

Accounts receivables are created when a company lets a buyer purchase their goods or services on credit.

当企业允许买方赊购其产品或服务时，应收账款就产生了。

Accounts payable is similar to accounts receivable, but instead of money to be received, it’s money owed. 

应付账款与应收账款相似，只是并非企业应收的钱，而是企业应付的钱。

The strength of a company’s AR can be analyzed with the accounts receivable turnover ratio or days sales outstanding. 

企业应收账款的强弱可以通过应收账款周转率或应收账款周转天数分析。

A turnover ratio analysis can be completed to have an expectation when the AR will actually be received.

可以进行周转率分析，预测收回应收账款的时间。

Understanding Accounts Receivable (AR) 

了解应收账款

Accounts receivable refers to the outstanding invoices a company has or the money clients owe the company. The phrase refers to accounts a business has the right to receive because it has delivered a product or service. Accounts receivable, or receivables represent a line of credit extended by a company and normally have terms that require payments due within a relatively short time period. It typically ranges from a few days to a fiscal or calendar year. 

应收账款指企业拥有的未付发票或客户欠企业的款项。这一术语指的是企业因其提供产品或服务而有权收回的账款。应收账款代表企业提供的信贷额度，一般规定该等款项在相对较短的时期内到期。这一期间从几天到一个财年或日历年不等。

Companies record accounts receivable as assets on their balance sheets since there is a legal obligation for the customer to pay the debt. Furthermore, accounts receivable are current assets, meaning the account balance is due from the debtor in one year or less. If a company has receivables, this means it has made a sale on credit but has yet to collect the money from the purchaser. Essentially, the company has accepted a short-term IOU from its client. 

企业将应收账款计为资产负债表上的资产，因为客户有偿还债务的法律义务。此外，应收账款为流动资产，这就意味着应向债务人收取的应收账款于一年或更短的时间内到期。如若一家公司有应收账款，则意味着其已进行了赊销但尚未从买方手中收回款项。本质上讲，相当于客户接受了其客户的短期借条。

Many businesses use accounts receivable aging schedules to keep taps on the status and well-being of AR accounts.

许多企业使用应收账款账龄分析表了解应收账款的状态和健康状况。

Accounts Receivables vs. Accounts Payable 

应收账款VS应付账款

When a company owes debts to its suppliers or other parties, these are accounts payable. Accounts payable are the opposite of accounts receivable. To illustrate, imagine Company A cleans Company B's carpets and sends a bill for the services. Company B owes them money, so it records the invoice in its accounts payable column. Company A is waiting to receive the money, so it records the bill in its accounts receivable column. 

企业欠其供应商或其他方的债务就是应付账款。应付账款与应收账款相对。举例来说，A公司为B公司清洗地毯，并就这一服务向B公司发送一张账单。B公司欠A公司这笔钱，因此B公司将这笔款项计入其应付账款科目。A公司在等待收款，因此将这笔账计入其应收账款科目。

Benefits of Accounts Receivable 

应收账款的好处

Accounts receivable is an important aspect of a businesses' fundamental analysis. Accounts receivable is a current asset so it measures a company's liquidity or ability to cover short-term obligations without additional cash flows.  

应收账款是企业基本面分析的一个重要方面。作为一项流动资产，应收账款衡量的是公司的流动性或在没有额外现金流量的情况下的短期偿债能力。

Fundamental analysts often evaluate accounts receivable in the context of turnover, also known as accounts receivable turnover ratio, which measures the number of times a company has collected on its accounts receivable balance during an accounting period. Further analysis would include days sales outstanding analysis, which measures the average collection period for a firm's receivables balance over a specified period. 

基本分析师经常在周转率（亦称应收账款周转率）的背景下评估应收账款，应收账款周转率衡量的是企业在一个会计期间收回应收款项的次数。进一步的分析将包括应收账款周转天数分析，应收账款周转天数衡量的是特定期间内企业收回应收款项的平均时间。

Example of Accounts Receivable

应收账款示例

An example of accounts receivable includes an electric company that bills its clients after the clients received the electricity. The electric company records an account receivable for unpaid invoices as it waits for its customers to pay their bills.  

以下为应收账款的示例：一家电力公司，在客户用电后方向客户开账单，其将该等未付的发票计为应收账款，因为其在等待客户支付该等账单。

Most companies operate by allowing a portion of their sales to be on credit. Sometimes, businesses offer this credit to frequent or special customers that receive periodic invoices. The practice allows customers to avoid the hassle of physically making payments as each transaction occurs. In other cases, businesses routinely offer all of their clients the ability to pay after receiving the service

大多数的企业都允许一定比例的赊销。有时，企业会向接收定期发票的老客户或特殊客户提供此类信贷。这一做法可以让客户省去在每次交易时都亲自支付的麻烦。在其他情况下，企业通常会向其所有客户提供先享受服务、再进行支付的权利。