account payable

account payable
pl. accounts payable.
a liability to a creditor, carried on open account, usually for purchases of goods and services.
[1935-40]

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Any amount owed as the result of a purchase of goods or services on a credit basis.

Although a firm making a purchase issues no written promise of payment, it enters the amount owed as a current liability in its accounts. Companies often incur this type of short-term debt in order to finance their inventories, especially in industries where inventory turnover is rapid. See also account receivable.

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      any amount owed by a company as the result of a purchase of goods or services from another company on a credit basis. Under a trade-credit arrangement, the purchasing company, after placing its order with the seller, receives the goods and an invoice denoting the price of the goods and the terms for payment. The purchasing firm does not send a trade acceptance or promissory note for payment but enters the amount owed as a current liability in its accounts.

      Companies incur this type of short-term debt primarily to finance their inventories; if inventory turnover is rapid within an industry, a company may be expected to have large accounts payable. Within any given industry, smaller companies are more likely to make use of this type of trade credit because they are less able to pay cash and take advantage of discounts than larger companies and have fewer sources of credit open to them.

      Accounts payable are a customary means of conducting domestic trade in the United States. In international trade and in the domestic trade of many European countries, the use of the acceptance and promissory note is common. Compare account receivable.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • account payable — account pay·able / pā ə bəl/ n pl accounts payable: the balance due to a creditor on a current account Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. account payable …   Law dictionary

  • account payable — n. pl. accounts payable the amount owed by a business to a creditor, usually for goods or services …   English World dictionary

  • account payable — mokėtina suma statusas Aprobuotas sritis buhalterinė apskaita ir finansinė atskaitomybė apibrėžtis Suma, kurią mokėti įsipareigojama pagal sandorius arba teisės aktus. atitikmenys: angl. account payable šaltinis Lietuvos Respublikos finansų… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • account payable — account′ pay′able n. pl. accounts payable bus a liability to a creditor, usu. for purchases of goods and services • Etymology: 1935–40 …   From formal English to slang

  • account payable — noun a liability account showing how much is owed for goods and services purchased on credit the problem was to match receivables and payables in the same currency • Syn: ↑payable • Hypernyms: ↑indebtedness, ↑liability, ↑financial obligation * *… …   Useful english dictionary

  • account payable — A debt, owed by an enterprise, that arises in the normal course of business dealings and has not been replaced by a note payable of a debtor. For example, bills for materials received but not yet paid. Contract obligations owing by a person on… …   Black's law dictionary

  • account payable — A debt, owed by an enterprise, that arises in the normal course of business dealings and has not been replaced by a note payable of a debtor. For example, bills for materials received but not yet paid. Contract obligations owing by a person on… …   Black's law dictionary

  • account payable — noun (plural accounts payable) Date: circa 1936 the balance due to a creditor on a current account …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • account receivable — account re·ceiv·able / ri sē və bəl/ n pl accounts receivable: a balance due from a debtor on a current account Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. account receivable …   Law dictionary

  • payable — Capable of being paid; suitable to be paid; admitting or demanding payment; justly due; legally enforceable. A sum of money is said to be payable when a person is under an obligation to pay it. Payable may therefore signify an obligation to pay… …   Black's law dictionary

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