Debtor
A receivable is the customer who has not yet paid an issued invoice; accounts receivable is the part of the software that maintains, monitors and chases these open claims per customer.
Definition
In bookkeeping terms a receivable arises on the invoice date and not on payment: turnover is booked, the money is not yet there. That very gap is why a separate receivables ledger exists — it answers who owes how much and for how long.
In practice more than a list hangs on it: partial payments, cash discounts, credit notes, foreign currencies and reconciliation with the bank account all run through the receivable. Software that writes invoices but keeps no open items shifts that work into a spreadsheet alongside.
Where to read it
What the software must be able to do
Three things test it: is there a list of open items per customer with due dates? Can a payment be allocated to an invoice even when amount and invoice do not match exactly? And does bank reconciliation run automatically via the QR reference, or does every payment have to be allocated by hand?
Checked Aug 2026
More terms under Invoicing, payment and banking: Advance payment Allowance for doubtful debts Bad debt camt.053 Cancellation invoice Cash discount Certificate of shortfall Credit note Creditor Current account Debt enforcement Default interest Delivery note Dunning eBill Final invoice IBAN Invoice number ISO 20022 / camt Open items pain.001 Part payment Payment term Pro forma invoice QR reference QR-bill QR-IBAN Quotation Receipt Tips TWINT as a payment method Visitor taxes