Bad Debt Expense
Bad debt expense is the loss the business has when it doesn't collect on goods or services it sold. This is included as a reduction on the accounts receivable sheet.
There are two ways to calculate and record it. The first is the direct write off method, where the business writes off the amount owed as soon as it becomes uncollectible. The other is allowance method. This method records an estimated dollar amount that was lost in the period.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What are Collection Agencies?12 Views
Finance, a la shmoop. What are collection agencies?
All right so sometimes when a man and a woman have trouble getting pregnant well [A couple kissing]
the guy has to go to one of these places, oh wait that's a different kind of [Stop sign appears]
collection agency, sorry just kidding. All right well a collection agency in the finance world
is seeking a different form of currency that is literal currency, greenbacks [Lots of money being counted]
cashola, whose money are they after exactly? Deadbeats, anyone who made a
promise to remit payments to pay back a mortgage, to pay off a credit card, to pay [Wads of money]
out for a jewelry thing at the mall, to pay for a tattoo down there as well. [Someone getting a tattoo]
You name it and then they defaulted on that promise to pay back the vendor, yeah
because when you sign your name on the dotted line and agree to pay back a
lender for their generous loan or extension of credit or agree to buy [Someone signing a contract]
something and pay someone 30 days later for it, paying them back is really not a
suggestion... Once you fall behind enough in your [Woman who is owed money does not look happy]
payments and you're a real deadbeat well they call a collection agency who then
tracks you down delivers nasty threatening letters to your mailbox and [Letter being posted]
if it's a New Jersey collection agency well they usually send someone to break
your kneecaps with a billy club, yeah they still do that... If the message still [Guy opens his door to find a man in a suit with a bat]
isn't getting through to you well the next step is for the agency to set the [Truck wheels]
wheels in motion that will result in the repossession of your home, your car, your [Repossessed notice being nailed to a house]
treasured signed set of Big Bang Theory trading cards you swore would be buried [Gravestone with the trading cards sticking out of the ground]
with you. So yeah if you choose not to make good on your obligations well you
shouldn't expect the people you owe to forget about you, or to go easy on you
like why should they would you do that for them, because they will stick a
collection agency on you, which is not a good feeling when you're up to your [Guy stood in a pile of bills]
knees in debt, or if you live in New Jersey up to your thighs... [Guy who has had his legs beat off in a pile of bills]
Up Next
What are Aging Receivables/an Allowance for Doubtful Accounts? The allowance for doubtful accounts subtracts those receivables that are not going t...
What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is the set of rules that debt collectors follow. These rules...
What is Days Sales Outstanding? Days sales outstanding is a figure that looks at how long it takes a company to get their money after they’ve mad...
What is the student loan crisis? The student loan crisis describes the situation that faces our country; namely the fact that there is over a trill...