In short: Accounts receivable are the amounts customers owe your shop for goods they took but have not fully paid for yet.
The full guide: Daily cash control
Use the tool: Debt reminder
Accounts receivable are every amount a customer owes your shop. In Jordan most people simply call it the tab: a customer takes goods today and pays at the end of the month. That money is recorded as a sale but it is not in the drawer yet. Customer balance = total credit purchases - total payments. Add every customer's balance together and you have your shop's total receivables.
Groceries and neighbourhood shops rely heavily on selling on credit, and the paper notebook is the old way of tracking it. Notebooks get lost, and the owner's figure and the customer's rarely match. In Ghalleh you choose Debt at payment and the amount goes on the customer's page, you record part payments and print a payment receipt, send a reminder of what is due on WhatsApp or a PDF statement, and a credit limit stops selling on credit once the customer reaches it.
Receivables vs payables
| Accounts receivable | Accounts payable | |
|---|---|---|
| In Arabic | الذمم المدينة | الذمم الدائنة |
| Meaning | What customers owe you | What you owe suppliers |
| Effect on cash | Money coming in | Money going out |
| Example | A customer who took goods on the tab | A supplier invoice you have not fully paid |
How to manage customer debts
- Set a limit for each customer and stick to it, especially with new ones.
- Watch older balances: a debt from three months ago is harder to collect than one from this week.
- Make selling on credit a specific permission, not something every employee can do.
- Remember that too much credit can make a shop profitable on paper and still unable to pay its suppliers.
A shop example
A grocery in Jabal Al-Hussein has 35 customers on credit owing JOD 1,260 in total, an average of JOD 36 each. Abu Khaled owes JOD 48 and pays JOD 20 today, leaving JOD 28 on his account, and total receivables drop to JOD 1,240.
Common questions
What are accounts receivable in Arabic?
الذمم المدينة. In shops people usually say ديون الزبائن, customer debts, or simply الحساب, the tab.
Should I record debts even for customers I know well?
Yes. Knowing someone does not protect against forgetting. A record protects both you and the customer and avoids arguments about the amount later.
What is the difference between receivables and payables?
Receivables are what customers owe you. Payables are what you owe suppliers. The first is money coming in, the second is money going out.