Accounts Receivable Journal Entries

The accounts receivable journal entries below act as a quick reference, and set out the most commonly encountered situations when dealing with the double entry posting of accounts receivable.

 

In each case the accounts receivable journal entries show the debit and credit account together with a brief narrative. For a fuller explanation of journal entries, view our examples section.

Typical Accounts Receivable Journal Entries


To record a sale to an account customer
AccountDebitCredit
Accounts receivableXXX
RevenueXXX

To receive a cash payment from an account customer
AccountDebitCredit
CashXXX
Accounts receivableXXX

 

 


To receive a cash payment from an account customer taking cash discount
AccountDebitCredit
CashXXX
Discount allowedXXX
Accounts receivableXXX

A credit note is issued to a customer
AccountDebitCredit
RevenueXXX
Accounts receivableXXX

To write off an accounts receivable as a bad debt
AccountDebitCredit
Bad debt expenseXXX
Accounts receivableXXX

To set up an allowance for doubtful debts
AccountDebitCredit
Bad debt expenseXXX
Allowance for doubtful debtsXXX

To use the allowance for doubtful debts to write off an accounts receivable
AccountDebitCredit
Allowance for doubtful debtsXXX
Accounts receivableXXX

To record cash received after an accounts receivable has been written off
AccountDebitCredit
CashXXX
Accounts receivableXXX
Accounts receivableXXX
Allowance for doubtful debtsXXX

 

 

 

Last modified November 13th, 2019 by Michael Brown

About the Author

Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Double Entry Bookkeeping. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own. He has been a manager and an auditor with Deloitte, a big 4 accountancy firm, and holds a degree from Loughborough University.

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