What are notes payable?

A note payable is a written promissory note, in which a borrower borrows a specific amount of money from a lender, and promises to pay it back with interest over a predetermined time period. The interest rate may be fixed over the life of the note, or vary in conjunction with the interest rate charged by the lender to its best customers (known as the prime rate). This differs from an account payable, where there is no promissory note, nor is there an interest rate to be paid (though a penalty may be assessed if payment is made after a designated due date).

A note payable is classified in the balance sheet as a short-term liability if it is due within the next 12 months, or as a long-term liability if it is due at a later date.

When a company borrows money under a note payable, it debits a cash account for the amount of cash received, and credits a notes payable account to record the liability. For example, a bank loans ABC Company $1,000,000; ABC records the entry as follows:

	Debit	Credit
Cash	1,000,000
Notes payable		1,000,000

 
The note has a 5% interest rate, payable quarterly to the bank. ABC Company records the quarterly accrual of the interest expense as follows:

	Debit	Credit
Interest expense	12,500
Interest payable		12,500

ABC wires funds to the bank to pay for the interest expense, and records the following entry:

	Debit	Credit
Interest payable	12,500
Cash		12,500

On the date specified in the agreement, ABC pays the $1,000,000 loan back to the lender, and records the following entry:

	Debit	Credit
Notes payable	1,000,000
Cash		1,000,000

The lender may require restrictive covenants as part of the note payable agreement, such as not paying dividends to investors while any part of the loan is still unpaid. The agreement may also require collateral, such as a company-owned building, or a guarantee by either an individual or another entity. Many notes payable require formal approval by a company’s board of directors.

An example of a notes payable is a loan issued to a company by a bank.

Similar Terms

A note payable is also known as a loan or a promissory note.

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