Accounts Receivable (AR) is the total money a business is owed by customers for goods or services delivered on credit but not yet paid. It appears as a current asset on the balance sheet and is one of the most important indicators of short-term cash flow health.
Accounts Receivable = money owed to you. Accounts Payable = money owed by you. Both are working-capital line items, but AR is usually riskier because you don't control when the customer pays.
When you send an invoice, you debit AR and credit Revenue. When the customer pays, you debit Cash and credit AR. Unpaid balances older than your terms become "overdue AR" and feed the aging report.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is the average number of days a business takes to collect payment after a sale on credit. It is calculated as (Accounts Receivable ÷ Total Credit Sales) × Number of Days. A lower DSO means faster cash collection and healthier working capital.
An accounts receivable (AR) aging report is a financial document that groups unpaid customer invoices by how long they have been outstanding — typically Current, 1–30, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ days. It is the primary tool for spotting collection risk and prioritizing follow-up.
Dunning is the structured process of communicating with customers to collect overdue invoices. It typically combines automated email reminders, phone calls, and escalation letters at fixed intervals (e.g., 3, 7, 14, and 30 days past due) before referring the debt to collections.
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