The various creditors they are varied small or infrequent providers, with whom they have contracted debts, who are not assigned individual accounting accounts, but are classified as a single group. They are also known as miscellaneous accounts payable.
They are the suppliers to whom the company owes funds. The company has purchased goods from them on credit and the payments have not yet been made. As with debtors, it is not practical to keep separate ledger accounts for each infrequent small-scale provider. Therefore, these records are collectively kept in a single account called sundry creditors..
The various creditors are liabilities of the company. This is because it is assumed that the company must pay the outstanding amount owed in the future, according to the terms and conditions agreed by both parties..
Miscellaneous accounts payable is a type of short-term debt. Other short-term business debts include expenses such as payroll costs, taxes payable on business profits, and short-term loans..
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Sundry creditors refer to a company's suppliers from whom purchases are rarely made on credit and the amounts purchased from them are not significant. These are usually small-scale providers. Diverse can also mean several or miscellaneous.
The term sundry creditors was more common when accounting was a manual task. In other words, before the low cost of computers and accounting software came along. At that time, for each new supplier the accountant had to add a page to the company's ledger..
If a new page has to be added for every occasional vendor, the ledger will become unwieldy. It was much more practical to have a page titled "Miscellaneous." Small transactions from sporadic providers were entered there..
With the efficiency and low cost of today's accounting systems, the need to classify vendors and accounts as diverse has been significantly reduced..
To record miscellaneous creditors, the accountant credits the miscellaneous creditors account when he receives the invoice. Then, when the invoice is paid, this account is debited from various creditors.
For example, suppose a business receives a bill for $ 500 for miscellaneous office supplies. When the Accounts Payable department receives the invoice, it records a credit of $ 500 in the sundry creditors field and a debit of $ 500 in office supply expenses..
As a result, if someone looks at the balance in the category of diverse creditors, they will see the total amount that the company owes in the short term to all its suppliers that fall into this category..
The company then writes a check to pay the bill, so the accountant enters a credit of $ 500 in the checking account and enters a debit of $ 500 in the sundry creditors column..
Why Are Accounts Payable From Sundry Creditors Important? The reasons are simple, but equally important.
First, it is very important to keep track of the money the business owes to suppliers and independent contractors. The company needs their goods or services, and it is fair that they be paid fairly for what they already provided.
Second, responsible monitoring of accounts payable ensures that businesses can avoid late penalties and get positive results on their credit score..
Best of all, responsible accounting prevents overpayment, prevents fraud, and ensures that companies retain the credibility necessary to maintain professional working relationships with suppliers and contractors..
This is a very important duty of the finance department, to organize money on time for suppliers. If they cannot be paid on time, supplies of goods will suffer and it will be very difficult to meet customer demand as well..
Therefore, great care must be taken when dealing with payment from providers. The following points should be kept in mind when dealing with suppliers:
- Payment of fees should be made on time, as much as possible, to maintain the goodwill and credibility of the company.
- The purchasing department must ensure that the goods are not purchased in a quantity greater than required..
- There must be adequate coordination between the purchasing department and the finance department.
Accounts payable from sundry creditors work better on accrual-based accounting systems than on a strictly cash basis..
Many medium and large companies negotiate at a level where there is a constant flow of goods, services and payments. All three don't always coincide at the same time.
Goods received on credit are lines in the accounts payable register. A payment made to a supplier represents the reduction of the obligation. This is at least until new goods or services are received and the obligation grows again..
Accounts payable is more of a term seen in medium and large businesses than in small businesses. Many companies have teams of accountants who work daily to maintain and resolve accounts payable balances..
Although some people use the phrases "miscellaneous creditors" and "trade accounts payable" interchangeably, the phrases refer to similar but slightly different things..
Trade accounts payable is the money a business owes suppliers for inventory-related goods. For example, business supplies or materials that are part of inventory. Sundry creditors include all short-term debts or obligations.
For example, if a restaurant owes money to a food or beverage company, since these items it supplies are part of the inventory, therefore, it is part of its commercial accounts payable..
Meanwhile, obligations to other companies, such as the company that cleans the restaurant staff uniforms or the vendor that supplies the kitchen trays, fall into the category of miscellaneous accounts payable, or miscellaneous creditors..
Some accounting methods integrate both categories into the category of miscellaneous accounts payable..
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