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How Businesses Handle Money Owed by Customers (and What Happens If It’s Not Paid)

Good accounting is not about wishful thinking, it is about planning for the real world.
Tea Nguyen

Tea Nguyen

full-stack problem-solver

When businesses sell products or services, sometimes customers do not pay right away: they promise to pay later. That unpaid money is called a receivable. In real life, not everyone who owes money will actually pay it back in full, so businesses must plan ahead by setting aside an amount they think they will not be able to collect. This way, their financial reports are more honest and realistic.

For example, imagine a company is owed 10 million. Based on experience, they estimate that about 1 million of that might never come in. Instead of pretending they have the full 10 million, they set aside 1 million as a "just-in-case" loss. They do not move this amount to the "money we owe others" side, known as liabilities: instead, they show it under assets, but as a negative adjustment, like a reminder that says, "this part might not happen.

It is easy to get confused and think missing money would turn into a debt, although it does not. It remains connected to what the company owns, not what it owes. This is similar to when you buy a car and over time, the car loses value: you still own it, but it is worth less. In the same way, missing payments reduce the value of expected income without creating a new debt.

Many people believe that if a company has cash in the bank, it can spend it freely. This is not entirely true, because some of that cash might be needed to pay suppliers or settle other bills. Just because money is present does not mean it belongs completely to the company’s owners. It remains part of the company’s resources, some of which may be committed elsewhere.

Another important point is how unpaid customer bills connect to a company's income. When a business makes a sale, it records the sale as income even if the customer has not paid yet. If the customer eventually does not pay, the company records that amount as an expense, which lowers profits. To be cautious, companies often predict how much they might lose and record that expected loss early, giving a more honest financial picture.

When businesses decide to increase the amount they expect not to collect, they adjust two parts of their reports. First, they lower the value of the receivables. Second, they show the amount as an expense. This process helps maintain balance: it ensures the company does not appear richer than it actually is.

Managing receivables is ultimately about balancing hope and realism. Every business hopes all customers will pay, yet it must prepare for the reality that some will not. By making these careful adjustments, businesses protect themselves from future financial surprises and show a more trustworthy and stable image to investors, employees, and partners. It is one small but powerful step toward long-term success.

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This article might've started as a scribble on the back of a receipt during a bus ride, a spark of something real after a conversation over a pint of Leffe, or notes from a Sunday afternoon client call that left me buzzing with ideas. However it came to be, I hope it found you at just the right moment.

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Thi Nguyen offers a wide range of marketing, automation consultancy for small, medium enterprises
Email: dakthi9@gmail.com
Telephone: +44 770 49 6246
She's currently based in London, UK.
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