Ghana power producers threaten outage over non-payment of arrears

Seeing “arrears” in a contract or agreement simply indicates that the payment will not be made in advance. The two most popular types of billing processes conducted by small businesses are billing in advance and billing in arrears. Simply put, billing in advance is collecting payments before delivering a product or service. Billing in arrears is collecting payments after providing a product or service. The payment may also be referred to as a singular arrear not classified as a late payment. Other examples of payments in arrears include postpaid phone service, postpaid water bills, postpaid electricity bills, property taxes, etc.

• Doing so will help you manage cash flow and look at what payments are owed to you and what payments you owe to creditors.
• This allows the company to borrow the money and not make any payments until the maturity date.
• It’s a helpful system for owners since paying in arrears gives them the time to factor in extra calculations such as overtime or tips before they run their final payroll numbers.
• An account can also be said to be in arrears if the service has already been rendered, and the payment is due to be made at the end of the agreed period.
• However, payment in arrears can also be agreed between two contracting parties, for example if a company has provided a delivery or service to a customer and then issues an invoice for it.

When it comes to paying in arrears and payroll, using payroll software lets you set a payment schedule that works for your business. Not only will you be able to set payroll to run automatically, but you’ll also be able to calculate and file payroll taxes, manage HR and employee benefits, and more. QuickBooks is your all-in-one solution for your accounting, payment, and payroll needs. It only becomes a late payment if you fail to make the payment by your payment contract’s due date. While it does include overdue and missed payments, it also encompasses paying a bill after a service has been rendered.

What Is Arrears?

Arrears also applies to the financial industry in the case of annuity payments. An annuity is a transaction of equal amounts occurring at equal intervals over a certain period of time. Employees generally understand that in order to receive their agreed-upon salary, there will be a lapse between the work being done and actually getting paid for it.

The word is most commonly used to describe an obligation or liability that has not received payment by its due date. Arrears accounting provides you with what you need now while allowing you breathing space to meet your obligations later. Typically, the monthly sales mix payments required for automobile and real estate loans are annuities in arrears. For example, if a company borrows $50,000 on September 30, the first of the monthly payments will be due on October 31, the second payment will be due on November 30, and so on.

Business

It’s also important to comply with local, state, and federal labor laws when processing payroll. Billing in arrears is often preferred over billing in advance because it can help businesses avoid certain miscalculations. For example, billing in arrears can prevent you from overcharging customers and having to issue refunds, or undercharging customers and having to process multiple payments. For example, if you’re a plumber, you will most likely ask for payment after you’ve fixed a clogged pipe or a broken faucet. Another instance in the finance sector is dividend in arrears, which is when a company delays paying its preferred shareholders the dividends they are owed.

When this happens, it can be easy to fall behind on your payments and make errors on your financial records. Below are some common questions covering arrears payments, why companies might pay in arrears, and the problems with overdue payments. The largest benefit businesses reap from paying in arrears is maintaining accurate payroll and bookkeeping numbers. Before issuing paychecks, accounting departments are able to factor in employee circumstances such as paid and unpaid time off, tips, commissions and overtime.

Disadvantages of billing in arrears

An arrears swap is preferred by speculators who predict the yield curve and receive interest payments at the end of the coupon period. The interest reflects the timeliness of the predictions they made at the start of the coupon period. Arrears also apply in the financial industry when making annuity payments.

A payment is made later than the agreed-upon terms of an arrangement or contract, which means a business has fallen behind on its payments. While some companies require full or partial payment up front, a good deal of businesses operate by invoicing once a job is completed, which may be listed in documentation as arrears. The term can have many different applications depending on the industry and context in which it is used. The power producers said critical operational costs and their own overdue debt service meant they required interim payment of 30% of arrears by June 30. You’ve probably already come across terms like “arrears” or “payment in arrears”.