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What is Accounts Payable?

What does 'Accounts Payable' mean?

The overall accounts payable (AP) balance of a corporation at a given moment in time will appear in the current liabilities column of its balance sheet. Accounts payable are debts that must be paid in a certain amount of time in order to avoid default. AP refers to short-term debt payments payable to suppliers at the business level. The payable is effectively a short-term IOU between two businesses or entities. The opposite party would record the transaction as a corresponding increase in its accounts receivable. In a company's balance sheet, accounts payable (AP) is a critical item. If AP increases over time, it indicates that the company is purchasing more things or services on credit rather than paying cash. When a company's AP drops, it suggests it is paying off previous period loans quicker than it is buying new things on credit. Accounts payable management is crucial to a company's cash flow management.

List of software with Accounts Payable functionality

About the reviewer

Rajat Gupta is the founder of Spotsaas. Over the past two years, he has reviewed 2,000+ tools across CRM, HR, AI, and finance — applying hands-on product research and a background in commerce and the CFA program to evaluate software through a business and ROI lens. His goal: help teams make software decisions they won't regret.

Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].

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