Accounts Receivable Reports for Business (2025)

Every business, regardless of size or industry, relies on timely customer payments to keep operations running smoothly. But when invoices pile up unpaid, cash flow can take a serious hit. That’s where accounts receivable (AR) reports come in.

These reports clearly show what’s owed, who owes it, and how long payments have been overdue. With the right insights at your fingertips, you can take proactive steps to reduce late payments, prevent bad debt, and develop better customer relationships. This guide will walk you through the key AR reports every business should monitor to catch issues when they’re still building. A company that stays on top of its AR reports will likely reach its targets faster than those that don’t.

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What Are Accounts Receivable (AR) Reports?

An accounts receivable (AR) report is more than just a list of unpaid invoices. It’s a powerful snapshot of your business’s incoming cash and customer payment behavior. This report tracks how much money your customers owe you from credit sales and lets you stay atop the payments

Purpose of an AR Report

Reviewing your AR reports regularly, you can identify which customers are consistently late, who needs a reminder, and where your cash might get stuck. On the other hand, ignoring these core metrics can lead to mounting bad debt. And that’s a serious threat to any growing business.

It goes without saying that managing bad debt is crucial. Let’s take the example of an FTSE 100 company that had written off over £2 million due to complex, disputed invoices¹. After partnering with Flint Bishop to build a tailored debt recovery system, retrain staff, and revisit old accounts, they recovered £2.5 million in just 18 months and reduced their annual write-offs by £26 million within two years.

This shows how early action on late payments can protect your cash flow and lead to better credit decisions.

Types of Accounts Receivable Reports

Like any financial process, AR can also be reported from different perspectives. Several AR reports can help a business to make insightful decisions. These include:

Aging Reports

An aging report is one of the most commonly used tools in accounts receivable, and for good reason. It gives a good view of how much money is owed to your business and the duration each invoice has been outstanding. By organizing receivables into time-based categories, this report helps you sort your collections and spot potential issues before they get out of hand. Typically, invoices are grouped into aging buckets like:

• Not yet due
• 1 to 30 days past due
• 31 to 60 days past due
• 61 to 90 days past due
• Over 90 days past due

For example, if an invoice due on April 30 remains unpaid by July 31, it would appear in the “over 90 days” column. Seeing a large portion of receivables sitting in the 60+ day range is a clear sign that it’s time to reassess your collection strategy or tighten credit terms.

Aged Trial Balance (ATB)

An Aged Trial Balance (ATB) is a practical report that breaks down what your customers owe you based on the length of the outstanding payments. It organizes receivables into aging categories so you can easily see which invoices are overdue and by how much.

Instead of treating all unpaid invoices the same, the ATB lets you prioritize older debts and identify customers slipping into risky territory. It can also include details like credit balances, contact information, and customer codes, giving your team everything they need to follow up quickly.

Customer Reports

Customer reports in accounts receivable present a detailed picture of each customer’s financial relationship with your business. It often works as a go-to tool to understand how much business a customer brings in and whether they’re a credit risk. These reports can include:

• Customer details: It gives you a thorough view of customers, like credit limits, payment terms, currency preferences, and even the assigned salesperson.
• Revenue by customer: This helps you identify your top customers by segmenting them based on how much revenue they generate (e.g., under £1M, £1M–£5M). It gets easier to decide if they need personalized service or extra attention.
• Customer Transaction Analysis: It sums up all the invoices in a given period. Typically, this covers sent invoices, overdue payments, and unapplied cash.

Together, these reports allow you to stay ahead of potential risks. You can keep collections on track and cut down the risks as much as possible.

Monthly Sales-based DSO

A Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) report created monthly provides insight into how the company converts credit sales into cash. It is calculated by dividing accounts receivable by average monthly sales.

Tracking DSO every month helps businesses spot trends early. For example, if DSO starts to rise, it could mean customers are taking longer to pay, which may signal the need to revisit credit terms or strengthen collection efforts.

On the other hand, a lower DSO often points to healthier cash flow and more reliable receivables management. Timely evaluation of this metric can help businesses stay financially agile and avoid potential cash crunches.

According to Corcentric, the average DSO for UK companies is around 31 days. It is noticeably better than the European average of 44 days². This benchmark highlights that when your DSO hovers around 30 days, you’re only slightly delayed past standard payment terms. But your cash flow could quickly crash into trouble if it begins creeping up toward the European average (or beyond).

Period-wise Transaction Summary

This report details the AR tasks performed within a given time frame. It includes pointers like journal entries, batch listings, and errors. This report is another crucial fragment you need when conducting an audit trail for AR transactions.

Cash Reconciliation Summary

Cash reconciliation report gives you a clear vision of the money coming in and compares it against your accounting records to make sure everything matches up. These reports help you spot discrepancies, track down unapplied cash, and ensure you’re not missing out on any income.

This report often includes:

• Cash received
• Outstanding invoices
• Unapplied cash
• Refunds and credits
• Reconciliation differences

Using these reports regularly gives you an accurate snapshot of your cash position. It also allows your team to act quickly when something doesn’t add up.

Customer Credit Reports

Customer credit reports give you a clear picture of how trustworthy a customer is when paying their bills. These reports pull data from credit agencies like Experian and Dun & Bradstreet to help you confidently assess credit risk. When updated regularly, they allow you to stay ahead of changes in a customer’s financial standing. As a result, you’re not caught off guard by delayed payments or defaults.

This report usually helps with:

• Evaluating creditworthiness before providing or increasing credit
• Spotting red flags that signal potential payment issues
• Fixing or adjusting credit limits based on risk level

Integrating the right tools, like AR automation, can help update these reports in real time. You can get a revised view of your credit exposure, which will allow you to make the right decisions to safeguard your cash flow.

Sales Reports

Sales reports in Accounts Receivable do more than just track how much you’ve sold. They give you a deeper look into what’s driving your revenue and where improvements are needed. These reports can show which products are bringing in the most profit. You can focus on the ones leading to returns or complaints, and also revive the performance of your sales team.

Further, monitoring key metrics like total sales, revenue generated, and even customer lifetime value (CLV) is easier. When all the cards are played right, a sales report lets businesses improve their offerings and uncover new growth opportunities.

Payment Details

Payment reports are like your AR department’s scoreboard. They show who’s paid, how much, when, and how. These reports capture all the details: fully paid invoices, partial payments, open invoices, payment dates, and even the methods used (like bank transfer or card). You can filter them by invoice number, date range, or currency to get the exact view you need.

They help keep records tidy, highlighting your best payers and flagging those who might need a nudge.

Productivity Metrics

Productivity reports give AR managers a clear look at how well their teams and processes are performing. These reports track everything from how much time users spend on tasks to how effectively collectors turn promises into payments.

They can include metrics like:

• Exception handling productivity
• Collection effectiveness index (CEI)
• Comparison of payments committed vs. payments actually collected.

A look at these insights lets managers spot inefficiencies and make informed decisions to fine-tune their operations. It’s like having a performance dashboard that keeps your AR team running at its best.

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FAQs – Accounts Receivable Reports

Here are some of the top questions answered:

How can I classify accounts receivable?

Accounts receivable are considered assets because they represent money owed to a company, adding value to the business.

Which documents are essential for accounts receivable?

AR documents are records tied to Accounts Receivable. It notes invoices, credit memos, payment receipts, customer statements, and aging reports. They play a key role in keeping track of what customers owe, managing collections, and documenting sales and payments for accurate accounting and tax reporting.

How can I monitor accounts receivable?

You can monitor accounts receivable by reviewing key reports like aging reports, customer summaries, and payment records. Tracking metrics like Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) helps spot delays early. In fact, you can also consider investing in an AR automation tool. It streamlines the process with real-time updates and alerts.

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Sources used:

1. Debt recovery from Flint Bishop supported a FTSE 100 company to recover £2.5m from bad debts that had been written off.
2. Metrics to analyse Accounts Receivable performance

Sources last checked on date: 30-Jun-2025