The total amount of interest on a loan is calculated as Principal X Rate X Time. Before moving on to the next topic, consider the entry that will be needed on the next payday (January 9, 20X9). Suppose the total payroll on that date is $10,000 ($3,000 relating to the prior year (20X8) and another $7,000 for an additional seven work days in 20X9). Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked making a payment as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years. Our writing and editorial staff are a team of experts holding advanced financial designations and have written for most major financial media publications. Our work has been directly cited by organizations including Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Investopedia, Forbes, CNBC, and many others.

This makes the accounting easier, but isn’t so great for matching income and expenses. Learn more about choosing the accrual vs. cash basis method for income and expenses. However, a business owner must ensure the timely delivery of products to its consumers to keep transactions steady and drive customer retention. This is why it is crucial to recognize unearned revenue as a liability, not as revenue.

Criteria for Unearned Revenue

By the end of the fiscal year, the entire deferred revenue balance of $1,200 has been gradually booked as revenue on the income statement at the rate of $100 per month. The balance is now $0 in the deferred revenue account until next year’s prepayment is made. Consider a media company that receives $1,200 in advance payment at the beginning of its fiscal year from a customer for an annual newspaper subscription. Upon receipt of the payment, the company’s accountant records a debit entry to the cash and cash equivalent account and a credit entry to the deferred revenue account for $1,200.

Or, rent on a building may be paid ahead of its intended use (e.g., most landlords require monthly rent to be paid at the beginning of each month). Another example of prepaid expense relates to supplies that are purchased and stored in advance of actually needing them. At the time of purchase, such prepaid amounts represent future economic benefits that are acquired in exchange for cash payments. This means that adjustments are needed to reduce the asset account and transfer the consumption of the asset’s cost to an appropriate expense account. For example, Green Widget Company receives $10,000 from a customer for a customized purple widget.

IFRIC 23 — Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments

As these assets are used they are expended and recorded on the income statement for the period in which they are incurred. Insurance is a common prepaid asset, which will only be a prepaid asset because it is a proactive measure to protect business from unforeseen events. Deferred revenue, also known as unearned revenue, refers to advance payments a company receives for products or services that are to be delivered or performed in the future. The company that receives the prepayment records the amount as deferred revenue, a liability, on its balance sheet. There is no difference between unearned revenue and deferred revenue because they both refer to advance payments a business receives for its products or services it’s yet to deliver or perform.

Deferred revenue is a liability because it reflects revenue that has not been earned and represents products or services that are owed to a customer. As the product or service is delivered over time, it is recognized proportionally as revenue on the income statement. There are three important financial statements that are usually prepared by any firm for a given accounting year, namely, cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet. The income statement shows earnings and expenses, the cash flow statement shows net cashflows from various activities, and the balance sheet shows financial position in terms of sources and applications of funds. As the amount received in advance is earned, the liability account should be debited for the amount earned and a revenue account should be credited. Under the cash basis of accounting, deferred revenue and expenses are not recorded because income and expenses are recorded as the cash comes in or goes out.

Definition of Revenue Received in Advance

Unearned revenue is reported as a liability, reflecting the company’s obligation to deliver product in the future. Remember, revenue cannot be recognized in the income statement until the earnings process is complete. An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid or received in advance for goods or services, while the balance included in the invoice will only follow the delivery. Advance payments are recorded as a prepaid expense in accrual accounting for the entity issuing the advance.

What was not stated in the first illustration was an assumption that financial statements were only being prepared at the end of the year, in which case the adjustments were only needed at that time. In the second illustration, it was explicitly stated that financial statements were to be prepared at the end of March, and that necessitated an end of March adjustment. A customer may pay in advance for goods being delivered or services being provided. The sum will be taken out of the Rent received account and recorded as a liability in the profit and loss account.

Example of Deferred Revenue

Ex- If the Commission for the month of July is received in the month of June, that commission will be termed as Unearned Commission. It is a personal account and is shown on the liability side of a balance sheet. After Jones Corporation delivers the goods or services, it will debit Deferred Revenue for $10,000 and will credit Sales Revenues or Service Revenues for $10,000. For items like these, a customer pays outright before the revenue-producing event occurs.

• Accordingly, a taxable temporary difference arises in respect of the entire carrying amount of the goodwill.
• The sum will be taken out of the Rent received account and recorded as a liability in the profit and loss account.
• All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

Another type of adjusting journal entry pertains to the accrual of unrecorded expenses and revenues. Accruals are expenses and revenues that gradually accumulate throughout an accounting period. Accrued expenses relate to such things as salaries, interest, rent, utilities, and so forth. Accrued revenues might relate to such events as client services that are based on hours worked. Sometimes earned revenue that belongs to a future accounting period is received in the current accounting period, such income is considered as income received in advance. It is also known as Unearned Revenue, Unearned Income, Income Received but not Earned because it is received before the related benefits are provided.

Unearned Revenues

Because it is technically for goods or services still owed to your customers. For example, if rent has been collected in january 2020 but still to be used by december 2019, then it should be recorded as income in the year 2020. In contrast, accrued rent relates to rent that has not yet been paid, even though utilization of the asset has already occurred. Advance income should be shown as a current liability on the balance sheet.

The mechanics of accounting for prepaid expenses and unearned revenues can be carried out in several ways. The expenditure was initially recorded into a prepaid account on the balance sheet. The alternative approach is the “income statement approach,” wherein the Expense account is debited at the time of purchase. The appropriate end-of-period adjusting entry establishes the Prepaid Expense account with a debit for the amount relating to future periods. The offsetting credit reduces the expense to an amount equal to the amount consumed during the period. Note that Insurance Expense and Prepaid Insurance accounts have identical balances at December 31 under either approach.