What are non trade receivables?

Non trade receivables are amounts due for payment to an entity other than its normal customer invoices for merchandise shipped or services performed. Examples of non trade receivables are amounts owed to a company by its employees for loans or wage advances, tax refunds owed to it by taxing authorities, or insurance claims owed to it by an insurance company.

Non trade receivables are usually classified as current assets on the balance sheet, since there is typically an expectation that they will be paid within one year. If you anticipate that payment will be over a longer period of time, then you should classify it as a non-current asset.

If there is a large amount of interest receivable from a third party, you might consider recording it in a separate interest receivable account.

In all of the examples, the non trade items are typically not billed using the company's invoicing software; instead, they are recorded as journal entries. This is a key distinction, since there should be few (if any) journal entries impacting the accounts receivable account, while usually journal entries are the only form of transaction to be used in the non trade receivables account. Indeed, the use of a journal entry to record a transaction can be considered a key indicator that a receivable should be treated as a non trade receivable.

You should periodically evaluate the individual items recorded in the non trade receivables account to see if the company is still likely to receive full payment. If not, you should reduce the amount in the account to the level you expect to receive, and charge the difference to expense in the period in which you make this determination.

Related Topics

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