Accruals & Prepayments
Convert a period's cash payments into the correct accruals-basis charge to profit and loss, tracking the opening and closing prepayment asset and accrual liability.
Données vérifiées · juillet 2026
Why is the accruals-basis charge sometimes lower than cash paid?
If the closing prepayment is higher than the opening prepayment, more cash was paid in advance for future periods than was released this period — the excess stays on the balance sheet as an asset rather than hitting profit and loss.
Source : FRC — FRS 102 Section 2 (Concepts and Pervasive Principles, accruals basis); ACCA Financial Accounting (FA), accruals and prepayments adjustments. · mise à jour 2026
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Tout savoir sur Accruals & Prepayments
📋Présentation+
Accruals accounting matches expenses to the period they relate to, not the period cash is paid or received. A prepayment arises when cash has been paid in advance of the period it covers (recorded as an asset until the period arrives), while an accrual arises when a cost has been incurred but not yet invoiced or paid (recorded as a liability). Adjusting cash paid in the period for the opening and closing prepayment and accrual balances gives the correct charge to the profit and loss account.
💡 Bonnes pratiques
- A rising prepayment balance year on year without explanation can indicate advance payments aren't being released to profit and loss on schedule — check the amortisation.
- Common accruals to check at each period end: unbilled utilities, unbilled professional fees, and any bonus or commission earned but not yet paid.
- The adjustment to cash paid can be a large positive or negative swing when opening and closing balances move a lot — don't assume the cash figure is the true expense.
🔢 Exemple concret
£24,000 cash paid for insurance, with £6,000 opening prepayment and £8,000 closing prepayment: the period charge to profit and loss is £22,000, £2,000 less than cash paid.
📖Guide d'utilisation+
Comment utiliser ce calculateur
- 1
Enter the cash paid for the expense during the period.
- 2
Enter the opening and closing prepayment balances (amounts paid in advance).
- 3
Enter the opening and closing accrual balances (amounts owed but not yet paid).
- 4
Read the adjusted charge to profit and loss, and the resulting balance sheet asset and liability.
📚Glossaire+
- Prepayment
- An amount paid in the current period that relates to a future period — recorded as a current asset on the balance sheet until the period it relates to arrives, at which point it is released to profit and loss.
- Accrual
- A cost that has been incurred in the current period but not yet invoiced or paid — recorded as a current liability so the expense is matched to the correct period under accruals accounting.
ℹ️Sources & MAJ+
Dernière mise à jour des données
7 juillet 2026
Sources et références
FRC — FRS 102 Section 2 (Concepts and Pervasive Principles, accruals basis); ACCA Financial Accounting (FA), accruals and prepayments adjustments.
Les données de ce calculateur sont mises à jour régulièrement pour refléter les derniers barèmes officiels. En cas de doute, consultez les sources officielles mentionnées ci-dessus.
FAQ — Accruals & Prepayments
Why is the accruals-basis charge sometimes lower than cash paid?+
If the closing prepayment is higher than the opening prepayment, more cash was paid in advance for future periods than was released this period — the excess stays on the balance sheet as an asset rather than hitting profit and loss.
What happens if I only have accrual movements, no prepayments?+
Leave the prepayment fields at zero — the calculator adjusts cash paid only for the accrual movements you enter, giving the correct accruals-basis charge from those figures alone.