Title:Receivable
Assume that you have decided to sell your car to a neighbor for $7,500. Your neighbor agrees to pay you $1,500 immediately and the remaining $6,000 in a year. How much should you charge your neighbor for interest?
You could determine an appropriate interestrate by asking some financial institutions what they currently charge their customers.Using this information as a staring point,you could then negotiate with your neighbor and agree upon a rate.Assuming that the agreed-upon rate is 8%,you will receive interest totaling $480 for the one-year loan.
Objective 1: Classification of Receivables
Many companies sell on credit in order to sell more services or products. The receivables that result from such sales are normally classified as accounts receivable or notes receivable. The term receivables includes all money claims against other entities, including people, business firms, and other organizations. These receivables are usually a significant portion of the total current assets.
Accounts Receivable:
The most common transaction creating a receivable is selling merchandise or services on credit. The receivable is recorded as a debit to the accounts receivable account. Such accounts receivable are normally expected to be collected within a relatively short period, such as 30 or 60 days. They are classified on the balance sheet as a current asset.
Notes Receivable:
Notes receivable are amounts that customers owe, for which a formal, written instrument fo credit has been issued. As long as notes receivalbe are expected to be collected within a year, they are normally classified on the balance sheet as a current asset.
Notes are often used for credit periods of more than sixty days. For example,a dealer in automobiles or furniture may require a down payment at the time of sale and accept a note or a series of notes for the remainder. Such arrangements usually provide for monthly payments.
Notes may be used to settle a customer’s account receivable. Notes and accounts receivable that result from sales transactions are sometimes called trade receivable. Unless we indicate otherwise, we will assume that all notes and accounts receivable in this chapter are gome sales transactions.
Other Receivable:
Other receivables are normally listed separately on the balance sheet. If they are expected to be collected within one year, they are classified as current assets. If collection is expected beyond one year, they are classified as noncurrent assets and reported under the caption investments. Other receivables include interest receivable, taxes receivable, and receivables from officers or employees.