Money customers owe you for work already delivered.
Example
Three enterprise invoices worth $60,000 sitting on 60-day payment terms.
Important
Receivables are not cash. A big receivable balance and an empty bank account is the classic way a growing B2B startup dies.
Related terms
Cash flow — The actual movement of money in and out of your bank account, as distinct from revenue you have earned but not been paid.
Accounts payable — Money you owe suppliers for things already received.
Balance sheet — A snapshot at one moment of what you own (assets), what you owe (liabilities), and the difference (equity).
Lessons that explain it
Business banking and payments — Bank accounts, payment processors, invoicing and reconciliation. Unglamorous, and it decides whether you can actually collect money. (12 min)
Debt and non-dilutive funding — Venture debt, revenue-based financing, grants and invoice finance. Money that does not cost equity — and does cost something else. (12 min)
The month-end close — The two-hour routine that turns bookkeeping into a decision tool. A checklist you can run on the first working day of every month. (12 min)
Profit is not cash — Profitable companies go bankrupt. This is the single most important idea in company finance and almost nobody explains it to founders. (12 min)
Reading a balance sheet — What you own, what you owe, and what is left. A snapshot rather than a period — and the one that has to balance. (10 min)