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Glite Dictionary
accounts payable

accounts payable

1 3.7
Money a company owes suppliers for goods or services bought on credit
  • noun
  • /əˈkaʊnts ˈpeɪəbl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cuentas por pagar
  • In accounting, accounts payable refers to the money owed to suppliers for goods purchased on credit.
  • accounts payable clerk
  • Accounts Payable system
  • Accounts Payable processing

And we've got one here at the Late Show, our accounts payable guy, Andy, super sweet guy.

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Examples

  • Also, according to the software vendors, the most common TPAS module is the General Ledger, closely followed by the Accounts Payable system.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The ordering office must send a copy of the PO to the accounts payable clerk at the regional office.

    Academic text (1999)

  • We're looking at the, the accounts payable process here.

  • Do you handle the accounts payable too, or is that someone different?

    Blog text (21)

  • You learn about supply chain and accounts payable and balance sheets and all those kind of things.

    Bedros Keuilian

  • Finally, accounts payable cut a check, which was mailed to the employee.

    Academic text (1996)

  • We're talking about improving the accounts payable process at Rockwell Collins.

  • The company has some accounts payable; that's it, no other liabilities.

    Blog text (8)

  • For example, Ford is reported to have significantly improved its accounts payable operations after benchmarking its procedures to those of Mazda.

    Academic text (1995)

  • At NYCCC, the Input/Output Control (LOC) Group is responsible for company-wide Accounts Payable processing and check printing.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

debt
vsaccounts payable
∞ 2.6

An amount of money that you owe to someone

is the company-specific supplier liability concept used in accounting records
payable
vsaccounts payable
  • Specialized
4 5.3

An amount of money a business owes for goods or services bought on credit

is used for supplier debts shown as liabilities on financial statements
account payable
vsaccounts payable
  • Specialized
4.4

Money a company owes for goods or services it has received but not paid for

is specific to supplier liabilities recorded on the company's balance sheet
payables
vsaccounts payable
  • Specialized
4.7

Money a company owes to people or companies that it must pay soon

is the general ledger category for these supplier obligations

Antonyms

accounts receivable
  • Specialized
4 5.2

Money that customers owe a business for goods or services not yet paid for

Surface Forms

accounts payable singular
accounts payables plural

Morphology

account + payable

The noun phrase is directly compositional: a learner who knows 'account' (records of transactions) and 'payable' (amounts owed) will readily infer this refers to amounts/records that must be paid by the company. Although financial jargon, the structure and meaning map transparently onto similar constructions in other languages (e.g. comptes à payer), so the sense is predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Accounts payable comes from plain bookkeeping words: accounts are the company's records and payable means 'to be paid', so it is the list of bills and money the company owes to suppliers.