What is an Accounts Receivable Template?
An Accounts Receivable Template is a document that records any unpaid sales invoices of the company or amount of money owed by customers for purchases made through an installment plan. It may contain necessary information like:
- Invoice date
- Customer name
- Amount due
- Late fee
- Total paid
- Invoice number
- Dates of payments received
- Outstanding receivables
Some examples of Accounts Receivable are:
- An electricity provider that charges its customers after they have used the power.
- If a customer wants to buy a product but doesn't have the funds at the moment of purchase, the company will issue an invoice and give her 30 days to pay.
- After paying a downpayment, the remaining balance of a product or service will be recorded in the company’s account receivables book.
A bookkeeper or an accountant of a company is usually the one who writes and maintains an accounts receivable document.
How to fill out an Accounts Receivable Template?
For your convenience, PDFRun has an Accounts Receivable Template that you can use. It should be filled out with the following information:
Enter the full legal name of the vendor.
Enter the check number.
Enter the date of purchase.
Enter the amount due.
Enter the name of the department.
Enter the name of the account.
Enter the months of payment. You can select one through six.
Enter the total amount.
Add the total amount from each vendor then enter the sum on the last row of the last column.
Tips on writing an Accounts Receivable:
If you wish to modify the Accounts Receivable Template or write one on your own, here are a few suggestions that might help you in doing so:
- Make sure to keep and organize your company’s sales invoices.
The information from your company’s sales invoices is vital in filling out an accounts receivable book. Do not forget to keep it in a safe place, may it be digitally or physically. It also helps the process of encoding in accounts receivable if you’ll establish a format, strategy, or arrangement in sorting out the sales invoices.
- Ensure the accuracy of your customer’s data
Creating and maintaining an efficient accounts receivable process requires centralizing the master data process to assure the authenticity of client accounts and information. For example, an inaccurate amount of debt may negatively impact your company and your relationship with a customer.
- Include the date of payments.
The best way to see if an invoice has already been settled is by looking at the date of payment. Verify if the customer has paid and followed the date of payment and write him or her off the list.
Why should I use an Accounts Receivable Template?
Using an Accounts Receivable Template has its benefits, some of these are:
- It keeps track of all the money that your customers owe your company.
- It helps you manage the outstanding balances from your customers.
- It prepares precise invoices for the products or services you've provided.
- It verifies purchase orders and invoices.
- It guarantees that bills are collected in accordance with the payment conditions.
- It organizes settled invoices after they’ve been paid.
- It eases the process of the transactions and can establish a strong credit relationship between you and your customer.
- It assesses a company's capacity to meet short-term obligations without generating extra cash flows.
- It calculates the accounts receivable turnover ratio for your business. The accounts receivable turnover ratio is a measurement of a company's ability to collect money from its customers.
- The information recorded in accounts receivable will be used in your company’s balance sheet listed as current assets.
- It can be used as a basis in preparing an aging analysis report.
Tips on implementing the Accounts Receivable Processes:
- Establish credit options for the company.
Let your customers know what credit deals or offers that your company currently has. It is recommended to give them options like longer duration of payment, paying through online banking, and the likes. By implementing these practices, you can attract more customers to purchase your goods and services.
- Create a simple and clear credit approval process.
Make an easy-to-understand process for credit approval. It is important to give your customers a hassle-free and smooth transaction right from the start. Once they know that they can easily create an installment plan with your company, they will most likely come back for more.
- Send a complete invoice to the customer.
It is important that your customer knows the exact details that also reflect on your company’s accounts receivable. Provide them a complete invoice to avoid any misunderstanding. A complete invoice may include the following information:
- Invoice date
- Customer information
- Products purchased or services provided
- Amount due
- Due date
- Company’s contact information
- Payment terms
- Tax and discount details
- Create a manageable collection process.
It is imperative to design an effective and manageable collection process since it is an indicator of your account receivables turnover ratio. Ideally, you should intervene as soon as possible.
When an account falls into the past-due category, you can charge a late fee or penalize the customer in some way. You may also opt to reward good behavior by offering a discount or promo to those who pay quickly.
You must provide a payment receipt to the customer and record the payment entry in the system after you have received the money.
- Assess accounts receivable regularly.
Establish a regular plan for checking and analyzing your accounts receivable. It is recommended that you do it at least once a week. The sooner you spot faults or errors, the faster you can fix them, and the less likely they are to cause serious issues for your company.
What is the difference between Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable?
Accounts receivable is a current asset account that tracks money owed to you, whereas accounts payable is a current liability account that tracks money you owe.
To simply put, accounts payable are the opposite of accounts receivable.
You’ll record a transaction to the accounts receivable book if you are expecting to receive money from someone, while you’ll record it to the accounts payable if you have to pay someone else.