Money that customers owe your business for goods or services already delivered but not yet paid for.
Accounts receivable is the pile of unpaid invoices sitting in your business. You've done the work or delivered the product — now you're waiting for the money. Until it arrives, it sits in accounts receivable. It counts as an asset on your balance sheet, but it's not the same as cash in your account.
Large accounts receivable figures are a warning sign. It means your revenue is real but your cash isn't. The bigger the gap between your revenue and your cash, the more working capital pressure you face. Slow-paying customers can force you to borrow money to cover your own costs — paying interest on cash that's technically already yours.
Upload your sales and payment data. Ask "How is my accounts receivable performing?" AskBiz calculates average days to collect, identifies your oldest and largest unpaid invoices, and ranks your worst-paying customers by the cash they're holding.
Export a CSV or Excel file from your POS, accounting software, or spreadsheet and upload it to AskBiz.
Type your question in plain English. Try: "What is my accounts receivable?" or "What is Accounts Receivable? Plain English Guide"
AskBiz returns the calculation with a chart, KPI breakdown, and specific recommendations — in seconds.
A B2B services company has £220,000 in accounts receivable. AskBiz reveals the top 3 clients represent £140,000 of that, averaging 78 days to pay against 30-day terms. It calculates the cost of this slow payment at £8,400/year in financing and recommends immediate outreach to these accounts.
Upload your CSV or Excel file and ask "What is Accounts Receivable? Plain English Guide" — get the answer with a chart and recommendations in under 60 seconds.
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DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) is the average number of days it takes to collect payment after a sale. It's the speed measurement of your accounts receivable. High DSO = slow collections = cash flow pressure.