Accounts Receivable
Quicken Business & Personal only.
Accounts Receivable is the money customers owe you for products or services you’ve already delivered but haven’t been paid for yet. It represents income you’ve earned—but haven’t collected—and plays a key role in managing cash flow and avoiding surprises.
Accounts Receivable is made up of outstanding invoices: work you’ve completed or goods you’ve sold on credit that you expect to turn into cash. You can think of it as an IOU from your customers that should eventually be paid.
Why It Matters
Accounts Receivable shows how much money you’ve earned but don’t yet have in the bank.
Understanding and tracking Accounts Receivable helps you:
Know exactly who owes you money and how much
Follow up on unpaid invoices before they become problems
See the difference between earned income and available cash
Make realistic spending decisions based on expected payments
Generate accurate financial reports that reflect earned revenue
Ignoring Accounts Receivable can make your finances misleading—you may appear profitable on paper while cash is tight, or lose track of customers who haven’t paid.
How to Use Accounts Receivable
Accounts Receivable isn’t just something you record—it’s something you actively monitor.
Use Accounts Receivable to:
Keep an eye on money that should be coming in soon
Identify unpaid invoices that may need follow-up
Understand whether upcoming income will cover near-term expenses
Regularly reviewing what you’re owed helps you spot cash-flow gaps early—even during months that look profitable on paper.
Example
You complete a $2,500 website design project in January and send an invoice with Net 30 payment terms.
Until the client pays, that $2,500 appears in Accounts Receivable (Client Invoices). When payment arrives in February, the Accounts Receivable balance decreases by $2,500 and your bank account increases by $2,500.
If several clients are late paying invoices, your Accounts Receivable balance grows—but your bank balance doesn’t. Monitoring unpaid invoices helps you catch this gap before cash becomes tight.
Seeing Accounts Receivable (What You’re Owed)
Accounts Receivable is shown through one core account—called Client Invoices—and several supporting views.
Each view shows the same information, just organized to answer different questions.
Start Here: Client Invoices = Accounts Receivable
In Accounts, The Client Invoices account under Business Payments is your Accounts Receivable account.
The balance shows the total amount your clients owe you right now
This is not a bank account
It represents money you’ve earned but haven’t received yet
If you want to know “How much am I owed right now?”, this balance is the answer.
Clicking Client Invoices: What Makes Up That Balance
When you click Client Invoices, you see the invoice activity behind the balance.
This list includes:
Unpaid invoices (these add to Accounts Receivable)
Paid invoices (shown for history)
Payments applied to invoices
Only unpaid invoices affect the balance.
Paid invoices remain visible so you can see how the balance changed over time.
This view answers: “Which invoices make up my Accounts Receivable?”
Other Ways to Look at What You’re Owed
These views show the same data, organized differently depending on what you need to do next.
Sales & Billing > Invoices (Filtered to Unpaid)
Use this when you want to:
See specific invoices that still need payment
Follow up with individual customers
Clients & Projects
Use this when you want to:
See who owes you money, grouped by customer
Spot clients with multiple unpaid invoices
How the Views Work Together (This Is the Key)
Think of it like this:
Client Invoices (balance) = How much you’re owed
Client Invoices (list) = Which invoices create that total
Unpaid Invoices = What needs follow-up
Clients & Projects = Who owes you money
Same data. Different questions.
About Aging Reports
Quicken Business & Personal does not include a traditional Accounts Receivable aging report.
Instead, these views let you track what you’re owed and decide when follow-up is needed without formal aging buckets.
Guidelines for Managing Accounts Receivable
Good Accounts Receivable habits help keep cash moving and reduce surprises.
As a general guideline:
Review unpaid invoices at least once a week
Follow up shortly after payment terms are missed
Avoid taking on major expenses if a large portion of income is still unpaid
Use invoices (not sales receipts) whenever payment will happen later
If unpaid invoices continue to grow, it may signal a cash-flow issue—even if your business appears profitable.
Related Topics: