Invoice Discounting vs. Factoring: Who Collects, Who Knows, and What Each Costs
Factoring sells your invoices and outsources collections; discounting borrows against them while you keep collecting — confidentially and cheaper.
#bad-debt
Bad Debt
Estimate, write off, and recover uncollectible accounts receivable
Allowance Method vs. Direct Write-Off for Bad Debts: Why Your Books and Your Tax Return Disagree
GAAP books bad-debt expense up front through the allowance method; IRS Section 166 deducts only specific worthless debts. How the timing gap works.
Write-Off vs. Write-Down: When an Asset Loses All Its Value and When It Loses Only Some
A write-down cuts an asset to recoverable value; a write-off removes it entirely. The IRS deducts only specific worthless debts under Section 166.
Accounting Conservatism, Explained: Why Your Books Recognize Losses Early and Gains Late
GAAP books losses now, gains only when realized: allowance reserves, inventory write-downs, ASC 450 contingencies, and where prudence becomes manipulation.
Contra Accounts, Explained: Why Your Lender Reads the Net Number, Not the Gross One
Contra accounts offset their parents without erasing them: lenders underwrite net receivables, net equipment value, and net sales — not gross.
How to Handle Bad Debt Loops in QuickBooks: Write-Off, Recovery, and the Allowance That Never Clears
Book allowance estimates monthly, write off dead invoices with a Bad Debt credit memo, and reinstate before logging recoveries, or the allowance never clears.
Subscription Billing Reconciliation and Churn Accounting: Taming Upgrades, Downgrades, and Mid-Cycle Prorations
Upgrades and downgrades reallocate future revenue, never the past — reconcile billing to books monthly with a deferred-revenue rollforward.
Contra Accounts Explained: The Offsets That Keep Your Financial Statements Honest
A contra account offsets its parent without erasing it: accumulated depreciation, allowance for doubtful accounts, and sales returns show gross and net.
Chasing Unpaid Invoices Without Hiring a Collector: The 7/15/30-Day Dunning Playbook
A 7/15/30-day dunning cadence with aging reviews, written payment plans, and credit holds recovers overdue balances without paying an agency 15–30 percent.
How to Write a Customer Credit Policy: Credit Limits, Payment Terms, and Collection Triggers
Set who gets credit, how much, and what happens when payment is late: approval tiers, credit limits, deposits, late fees, and a day-triggered collection ladder.
How to Write a Collections Policy That Gets Invoices Paid Faster Without Losing Customers
A written collections policy with a dated follow-up schedule gets invoices paid sooner — set terms, automate reminders, call at day 15, hold credit at day 45.
Bounced Checks and NSF Fees: How to Book Returned Checks, Bank Charges, and Redeposits Without Double-Counting Revenue
A bounced check reverses the deposit and reopens the receivable — book the NSF fee as its own expense and apply the redeposit to the invoice, never to revenue.