• What the Report Shows
  • Step 1: List Every Unpaid Bill

An accounts payable aging report lists the bills your business still owes suppliers, grouped by how far each one is from its due date: not yet due, then 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days overdue. To prepare one, list every unpaid bill, pick a report date, work out each bill's days past due, put it in a group, total the groups, and check that the total matches the accounts payable balance in your books. Then use it to decide what to pay first.

Billed publishes this page. Accounting definitions are quoted from OpenStax, Principles of Accounting, Volume 1: Financial Accounting, opened on October 30, 2026. For what accounts payable is and how it's recorded, see what is accounts payable. For the same report on money customers owe you, see how to track invoices effectively.

What the Report Shows

OpenStax's chapter 12 key terms define an account payable as an "account for financial obligations to suppliers after purchasing products or services on credit". The aging report breaks that balance down by bill, so you can see:

  • what's due soon and what's already late;
  • how much you owe each supplier, and for how long;
  • which bills still qualify for an early-payment discount.

Step 1: List Every Unpaid Bill

For each bill, record the supplier, the bill or invoice number, the invoice date, the credit terms, the due date and the amount still owed. Include partly paid bills at the balance left, and any supplier credit notes you haven't used.

Step 2: Pick a Report Date

Choose the date you're measuring from, such as the last day of the month. Every bill's age is counted from its due date to this date.

Step 3: Work Out Each Bill's Due Date and Days Past Due

The credit terms set the due date. OpenStax's section 6.3 explains two kinds:

  • Net terms: "The credit terms were n/15, which is net due in 15 days."
  • Discount terms: "These credit terms include a discount opportunity (5/10), meaning, CBS has 10 days from the invoice date to pay on their account to receive a 5% discount on their purchase."

Days past due = the report date minus the due date. A bill whose due date is after the report date isn't due yet.

Step 4: Put Each Bill in an Age Group

  • Not yet due
  • 1 to 30 days overdue
  • 31 to 60 days overdue
  • 61 to 90 days overdue
  • Over 90 days overdue

Step 5: Total by Group and by Supplier

Add up each group, then each supplier's total across the groups. The two ways of adding up should reach the same grand total.

Step 6: Tie the Total to Your Books

The grand total should equal the accounts payable balance in your accounting records on the report date. If it doesn't, look for a bill that was paid but not recorded, a bill entered twice, or a supplier credit that hasn't been applied.

Step 7: Decide What to Pay

  • Discounts first, if the cash allows: a bill with discount terms costs less if it's paid within the discount period. OpenStax's chapter 6 key terms say purchase discounts "provide an incentive for the retailer to pay early on their accounts, by issuing a reduced rate on their final purchase cost".
  • Then overdue bills, in order of how long they've been overdue, and talk to any supplier you can't pay in full.
  • Then bills coming due, in due-date order.

For timing payments against the cash you expect to have, see how to manage cash flow.

Worked Example: A Month-End Aging Report (sample figures)

These are sample figures for a fictional business, invented for this example. The report date is July 31, and it has five unpaid bills:

  • Paper supplier: $1,400.00, invoice dated July 25, terms 2/10, n/30. Due August 24: not yet due. The 2% discount applies if it's paid by August 4.
  • Courier: $350.00, due August 10: not yet due.
  • Print shop: $900.00, due July 15: 31 − 15 = 16 days, 1 to 30 days overdue.
  • Software vendor: $1,200.00, due June 20: 10 + 31 = 41 days, 31 to 60 days overdue.
  • Equipment rental: $2,000.00, due May 31: 30 + 31 = 61 days, 61 to 90 days overdue.

Totals by group:

  • Not yet due: $1,400.00 + $350.00 = $1,750.00
  • 1 to 30 days: $900.00
  • 31 to 60 days: $1,200.00
  • 61 to 90 days: $2,000.00
  • Over 90 days: $0.00
  • Grand total: $1,750.00 + $900.00 + $1,200.00 + $2,000.00 = $5,850.00

Tie-out: the accounts payable balance in the books on July 31 is $5,850.00, so the report matches.

What to pay: paying the paper supplier by August 4 saves 2% × $1,400.00 = $28.00, so the payment is $1,400.00 − $28.00 = $1,372.00. Of the overdue bills, the equipment rental comes first, at 61 days overdue.

Where Billed Fits

Billed's expense tracking page says: "Save the vendors you buy from so repeat purchases take less typing, record expenses in more than one currency when you pay suppliers abroad, and edit an expense if you entered something wrong." Billed's expense tracking, financial reporting, features, invoice software and mobile app pages don't describe tracking unpaid supplier bills or an accounts payable aging report, so keep your unpaid bills in your accounting system or with your bookkeeper.

When This Guide Isn't for You

If you have suppliers in several currencies, disputed bills, or supplier terms set out in contracts with penalties, ask your accountant how to report and prioritize them.

Related Guides

FAQ

What is an accounts payable aging report?

A list of the bills your business owes suppliers, grouped by how far each is from its due date: not yet due, then 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days overdue.

How is it different from an accounts receivable aging report?

An accounts payable aging report shows money your business owes suppliers. An accounts receivable aging report shows money your customers owe you.

How do I check that the report is right?

Its grand total should equal the accounts payable balance in your books on the report date. In this page's sample, both are $5,850.00.

Which bills should I pay first?

Bills that still qualify for an early-payment discount, if your cash allows, then overdue bills in order of how long they've been overdue, then bills coming due. In this page's sample, paying the paper supplier by August 4 saves $28.00.

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