--- type: Resource Guide title: Is Accounts Receivable a Debit or Credit? description: Accounts receivable is a debit. See why, the journal entry for AR, how it appears in a trial balance, and a T-account walkthrough of the full life cycle. resource: https://accounting.events/resources/is-accounts-receivable-a-debit-or-credit/ tags: [is accounts receivable a debit or credit, accounts receivable debit or credit, AR normal balance, accounts receivable journal entry, AR trial balance] timestamp: 2026-09-28 --- Debit or Credit? # Is accounts receivable a debit or credit? AR is a debit. Here is the normal balance rule, the journal entry, how it shows in a trial balance, and a T-account that follows one invoice from sale to collection. By [**Accounting.Events editorial team**](/about/)Updated **September 28, 2026****8 min read** Summary - Accounts receivable is a debit: it is an asset account with a normal debit balance. - A credit sale debits Accounts Receivable and credits Sales Revenue; collection debits Cash and credits Accounts Receivable. - AR shows a credit balance only when a customer overpays or pays in advance. Quick answer **Accounts receivable is a debit.** AR is an asset account, and asset accounts carry a normal debit balance: they increase with debits and decrease with credits. You debit Accounts Receivable when you make a credit sale, and you credit it when the customer pays or when you write the balance off as uncollectible. Because of that normal debit balance, accounts receivable always appears in the debit column of a trial balance. The standard journal entry on a credit sale is to debit Accounts Receivable and credit Sales Revenue; on collection you debit Cash and credit Accounts Receivable, which clears the receivable back to zero. The one exception is a customer overpayment or prepayment, which can briefly push AR into a credit balance because you then owe the customer money back. This trips people up because "credit sale" contains the word credit, yet the receivable it creates is a debit. The two uses of the word are different: a credit sale describes the terms, while debit and credit describe which side of the ledger an entry lands on. Assets like AR sit on the debit side. ## The AR life cycle in a T-account One invoice, followed from sale to collection, shows every debit and credit AR touches. Debits sit on the left, credits on the right. Watch the account open with a debit and close with a credit. Accounts Receivable Debit (increase) Credit (decrease) 1. Credit sale $1,000 2. Customer pays $1,000 Balance $0 Opens with a debit, clears with a credit A receivable is created with a debit and settled with a credit; if unpaid, the closing credit is a write-off instead. | Event | Entry | Debit | Credit | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **1. Credit sale** | Accounts receivable | $1,000 | | | | Sales revenue | | $1,000 | | **2a. Customer pays** | Cash | $1,000 | | | | Accounts receivable | | $1,000 | | **2b. Or written off** | Allowance for doubtful accounts | $1,000 | | | | Accounts receivable | | $1,000 | Normal balance Accounts receivable has a **normal debit balance** because it is an asset. In a trial balance it sits in the debit column. The only time you see a credit balance in AR is when a customer overpays or pays in advance, which temporarily makes the account a liability (money you owe back). Source: [Cornell University Division of Financial Services, accounts receivable](https://finance.cornell.edu/accounting/topics/accountsreceivable) ## Are accounts receivable debit or credit? Debit. Accounts receivable is an asset, so its normal balance is a debit; it increases with debits and decreases with credits. Every time you raise an invoice on credit terms you debit AR, and every time a customer settles you credit it. ## Is accounts payable a debit or credit? Credit. Accounts payable is a liability, so its normal balance is a credit. AP increases with credits when you receive a bill and owe more, and decreases with debits when you pay it down. It is the mirror of AR, which is why the two sit on opposite sides of the ledger. See [accounts receivable vs accounts payable](/resources/accounts-receivable-vs-accounts-payable/). ## Is accounts receivable a debit or credit in a trial balance? Debit. Because AR carries a normal debit balance, it appears in the debit column of the trial balance alongside other assets such as cash and inventory. If your trial balance shows AR as a credit, it usually means customers have overpaid or you have a posting error worth investigating. ## Is income receivable a debit or credit account? Debit. Income receivable, also called accrued revenue, is revenue you have earned but not yet billed or collected. It is an asset, so it is recorded with a debit, just like accounts receivable. The matching credit goes to a revenue account when the income is recognized. ## Is accounts receivable an asset? Yes, a current asset. It represents cash owed to you by customers and expected within a year, usually 30 to 90 days. Its status as an asset is exactly why it carries a debit balance. We cover the full reasoning in [is accounts receivable an asset](/resources/is-accounts-receivable-an-asset/). ## What are the 4 types of credit? In a consumer-finance sense, the four commonly cited types are **revolving credit** (credit cards, lines of credit), **installment credit** (auto and personal loans repaid in fixed amounts), **open credit** (accounts like utilities paid in full each cycle), and **service credit** (agreements with service providers). Note this is a lending classification and is separate from "credit" as a bookkeeping entry; sources vary slightly on the exact four. ## What is the entry for accounts receivable? On a credit sale: **debit Accounts Receivable and credit Sales Revenue**. When the customer pays: **debit Cash and credit Accounts Receivable**. If the debt becomes uncollectible, you debit the allowance for doubtful accounts (or bad debt expense) and credit Accounts Receivable to remove it. ## What are the 3 types of account? Under the traditional golden-rules approach: **personal** accounts (people and entities), **real** accounts (assets and property), and **nominal** accounts (income, expenses, gains, and losses). Accounts receivable is treated as a personal or real account in this system. ## What are the 5 types of accounts? Under the modern approach used in most US teaching, the five account types are **assets**, **liabilities**, **equity**, **revenue**, and **expenses**. Accounts receivable is an asset; accounts payable is a liability. Assets and expenses normally carry debit balances, while liabilities, equity, and revenue normally carry credit balances. ## What is the 3 golden rule? The three golden rules of accounting tell you which account to debit and credit: for **personal accounts**, debit the receiver and credit the giver; for **real accounts**, debit what comes in and credit what goes out; for **nominal accounts**, debit expenses and losses and credit income and gains. Applying the first rule, when a customer receives goods on credit you debit their (receivable) account. Source: [Patriot Software, three golden rules of accounting](https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/accounting/three-golden-rules-accounting/) ## Related reading Independent software reviews and guides from Accounting.Events. [Resource ### Is accounts receivable an asset? Why AR is a current asset, with the entry and balance-sheet placement. Read more →](/resources/is-accounts-receivable-an-asset/)[Resource ### Accounts receivable vs accounts payable The mirror pair, debit versus credit, asset versus liability. Read more →](/resources/accounts-receivable-vs-accounts-payable/)[Buyer's guide ### Best accounts receivable software in 2026 Software that posts AR entries and chases invoices automatically. Read more →](/reviews/best-accounts-receivable-software/) AE [Accounting.Events editorial team](/about/) The Accounting.Events editorial team researches and maintains the software comparisons on this site. Rankings are built from published vendor pricing, verified third-party reviews on the Xero App Store, G2 and Capterra, and primary-source statistics. Every guide carries the date it was last checked. Figures here are drawn from public sources; always confirm with your accountant or the linked source before acting. Last updated September 28, 2026. This guide is general information, not accounting, tax, or financial advice.