Bad debt expense is an important concept that businesses must account for when it comes to their financial reporting. Regardless of the timeframe a company accounts for, it helps companies determine what portion of their receivables are collectible and what portion are not – and therefore, a bad debt expense. Depending on the receivables’ amount, this bad debt expense can take the form of either the allowance method or the direct write-off method.
Direct Write-Off Method Explained
While a company can see its receivables increase quickly, collections of these receivables might not be possible in the future due to client defaults. The direct write-off method is recommended for accounts with nominal amounts in question. A company’s receivables account sees an immediate write-off with this method. This lowers a company’s revenue, reducing net income. When it comes to accounting for it properly, the journal entry for the direct write-off method is as follows:
| Description | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Debt Expense | $500 | |
| Accounts Receivable – ABC Business | $500 |
Description: Uncollectible ABC Account
Therefore, the journal entry would debit $500 to the Bad Debt Expense and credit $500 to the Accounts Receivable for the ABC Account.
Allowance Method
When it comes to more substantive or material amounts, businesses are inclined to use the Allowance Method because it’s set up to interact well with contra asset accounts that offset accounts receivable. Reported on the balance sheet, a contra asset account has an opposite balance to accounts receivable, and the journal entry is as follows:
Assets
Cash: $500,000
Accounts receivable: $300,000
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts: $25,000
Equipment: $200,000
Less Accumulated Depreciation: $5,000
Building: $100,000
Less Accumulated Depreciation: $15,000
Since there’s zero impact on income statement accounts, contra accounts are advantageous for companies to use since the revenues aren’t lowered from a direct loss that bad debt expenses can cause with other methods.
When it comes to the Allowance Method in action, the three components are as follows:
First Step: Assess the uncollectible receivables
This is done by either determining the percentage of sales or by the percentage of receivables.
Percentage of Sales Method
This is usually determined by taking a percentage of either net or total credit sales. It’s generally dictated by past trends (both internal and macro economy forecast). For example, 2 percent of $10,000,000 = $200,000.
Percentage of Receivables
This method works by looking at the aging schedule for receivables, including those that are due but not yet late. For example, the receivables that are not late but not yet paid can have a low percentage for the particular bucket. Each successive and later bucket of unpaid receivables would require a higher percentage estimated as uncollectible.
Second Step: Journal entries are notated by entering the bad debt expense as a debit and the allowance for doubtful accounts as a credit.
Third Step: After an account is considered permanently uncollectible, the last two entries are as follows:
| Description | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Debt Expense | $250 | |
| Allowance for Doubtful Accounts | $250 | |
| Description | Debit | Credit |
| Allowance for Doubtful Accounts | $250 | |
| Accounts Receivable – ABC Business | $250 |
Conclusion: The Importance of Calculating Bad Debt Expense
When it comes to determining a company’s results, it is required in their financial statements. If a company does not include this information, their assets could be inflated, potentially leading to overstating their net income. Calculating bad debt expense also helps companies determine which customers have defaulted on past bills, while at the same time highlighting customers that pay on time.
When it comes to accounting for bad debt expense, businesses that are experts at the two methods can effectively navigate the needs of internal and external audiences.
When it comes to the risk of default, Moody’s found that during COVID-19, American businesses had a 7.8 percent chance of defaulting. This is compared to a low of 4 percent in 2021, but lower than the current 9.2 percent risk of default, according to a March 2025 report by the rating agency.
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