Accounts Receivable Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 10 sourced statistics
Accounts receivable is the money customers owe you for work already invoiced. Across the US economy it is a very large number: nonfinancial businesses held $7.93 trillion in trade receivables at the end of Q2 2026, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts. For individual companies, the Credit Research Foundation's median days sales outstanding (DSO) was 37.5 days in Q2 2026, with 87.9% of receivables current. Atradius found that US businesses sell about 45% of their B2B volume on credit and that late payment affects 22% of B2B receivables, while US companies often lose 1% to 2% of B2B invoices to bad debt. On the buying side, 19% of US small employer firms regularly buy on supplier payment terms, according to the Federal Reserve Banks. Every figure below links to the publisher's own page.
Key takeaways
- US nonfinancial businesses held $7.93 trillion in trade receivables in Q2 2026, up from $7.16 trillion a year earlier (Federal Reserve, Z.1).
- Median DSO in the Credit Research Foundation survey was 37.5 days in Q2 2026, with 87.92% of receivables current and 0.40% more than 91 days past due.
- US businesses sell about 45% of their B2B volume on credit, late payment affects 22% of B2B receivables, and companies often lose 1% to 2% of B2B invoices to bad debt (Atradius, 240 firms).
- 19% of US small employer firms buy on supplier payment terms (trade credit) regularly, the other side of a supplier's receivables (Federal Reserve Banks).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $7.93T | US nonfinancial businesses held $7.93 trillion ($7,929,167 million) in trade receivables at the end of Q2 2026, up from $7.16 trillion a year earlier. | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States (series BOGZ1FL143070005Q, released September 11, 2026) | 2026 |
| 37.5 days | Median days sales outstanding (DSO) was 37.50 days in Q2 2026, down from 40.12 in the previous quarter and up from 36.70 a year earlier. | Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 2026 | 2026 |
| 87.92% | 87.92% of receivables were current (not yet past due) in Q2 2026, compared with 82.79% a year earlier. | Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 2026 | 2026 |
| 0.40% | Only 0.40% of receivables were more than 91 days past due in Q2 2026, and the median average days delinquent was 3.70. | Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 2026 | 2026 |
| 45% | US businesses conduct on average 45% of their B2B sales on credit, with the rest paid upfront. | Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 2026 (survey of 240 businesses) | 2026 |
| 3 in 5 | About three out of five US suppliers let business customers pay within 30 days of invoicing, and about half that many give one to two months. | Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 2026 | 2026 |
| ~7 in 10 | About seven out of ten US companies still face late payments from business customers. | Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 2026 | 2026 |
| 22% | Late payments affect an average of 22% of US B2B receivables, broadly in line with the rest of North America. | Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 2026 | 2026 |
| 1% to 2% | US companies often report losing 1% to 2% of their B2B invoices as bad debt, most often because invoices stay unpaid for a long time. | Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 2026 | 2026 |
| 19% | 19% of US small employer firms use trade credit (buying on supplier payment terms) on a regular basis, the other side of a supplier's receivables. | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms | 2026 |
The statistics
US nonfinancial businesses held $7.93 trillion ($7,929,167 million) in trade receivables at the end of Q2 2026, up from $7.16 trillion a year earlier.
Median days sales outstanding (DSO) was 37.50 days in Q2 2026, down from 40.12 in the previous quarter and up from 36.70 a year earlier.
Source:Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 20262026
87.92% of receivables were current (not yet past due) in Q2 2026, compared with 82.79% a year earlier.
Source:Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 20262026
Only 0.40% of receivables were more than 91 days past due in Q2 2026, and the median average days delinquent was 3.70.
Source:Credit Research Foundation, National Summary of Domestic Trade Receivables, Q2 20262026
US businesses conduct on average 45% of their B2B sales on credit, with the rest paid upfront.
About three out of five US suppliers let business customers pay within 30 days of invoicing, and about half that many give one to two months.
Source:Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 20262026
About seven out of ten US companies still face late payments from business customers.
Source:Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 20262026
Late payments affect an average of 22% of US B2B receivables, broadly in line with the rest of North America.
Source:Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 20262026
US companies often report losing 1% to 2% of their B2B invoices as bad debt, most often because invoices stay unpaid for a long time.
Source:Atradius, Payment Practices Barometer: B2B payment practices trends in the US 20262026
19% of US small employer firms use trade credit (buying on supplier payment terms) on a regular basis, the other side of a supplier's receivables.
Source:Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms2026
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- The Federal Reserve figure is a national balance-sheet total for all US nonfinancial businesses. It shows the scale of money owed between businesses, not how quickly any one firm collects.
- Credit Research Foundation figures are medians from its quarterly survey of member credit departments, which skew toward larger B2B companies. The public summary does not state the number of respondents.
- Atradius is a trade credit insurer. Its 2026 US barometer surveyed 240 businesses online (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) between the end of Q2 and mid Q3 2026, with quotas by company size and sectors in industry, construction and trade. Atradius says this edition cannot be compared with its previous reports because the panel changed.
- The Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey uses a convenience sample of employer firms, weighted to the US population. Its trade credit figure counts firms that buy on supplier terms, so it describes the payer's side of receivables, not how quickly suppliers are paid.
- Large-company medians can hide the experience of a small supplier selling to a large buyer, which often waits longer than the median suggests.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. Every figure was re-read on the publisher's own page or report that day: the Federal Reserve's Z.1 Financial Accounts series via FRED (released September 11, 2026), the Credit Research Foundation's public Q2 2026 summary, the Atradius US 2026 barometer page and PDF (published September 17, 2026) and the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms (published March 3, 2026; survey fielded September to November 2025). Figures that could not be traced to a primary page were removed, including a Hackett Group DSO average linked to a homepage, 2025 Atradius overdue-value ranges, a 5% write-off figure and an Ardent Partners accounts payable cycle-time figure that does not measure receivables. Large-company DSO trends from The Hackett Group are covered on the days sales outstanding statistics page. On 2026-10-28 we moved the Intuit QuickBooks small-business overdue-invoice figures to the late payment statistics page so they appear only once, and removed the Federal Reserve Banks' uneven cash flow figure (50% of employer firms), which now appears only on the cash flow statistics page.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do US businesses have tied up in accounts receivable?
The Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts put trade receivables held by US nonfinancial businesses at $7.93 trillion at the end of Q2 2026, up from $7.16 trillion a year earlier. That is money owed for goods and services already delivered.
What is a typical DSO?
The Credit Research Foundation's median DSO was 37.5 days in Q2 2026, against 36.7 days a year earlier. Its members are mostly larger B2B credit departments, so compare yourself with businesses of a similar size and industry before treating that as a target.
How much of accounts receivable is paid late?
Atradius found that late payments affect an average of 22% of US B2B receivables and that about seven in ten US companies face late payments. In the Credit Research Foundation's Q2 2026 summary, 87.92% of receivables were current.
How much accounts receivable ends up as bad debt?
US companies in the Atradius 2026 survey often reported losing 1% to 2% of their B2B invoices as bad debt, mainly when invoices stay unpaid for a long time. Only 0.40% of receivables in the Credit Research Foundation summary were more than 91 days past due.
Are small businesses hit harder by slow receivables?
The figures on this page do not isolate small firms: the Credit Research Foundation's members are mostly larger credit departments, and Atradius surveyed 240 businesses of mixed sizes. For small-business evidence, the cash flow statistics page covers the Federal Reserve Banks' survey data on uneven cash flow, and the late payment statistics page has small-business overdue-invoice survey figures.
Why do accounts receivable statistics disagree?
They measure different things. The Federal Reserve reports a national balance-sheet total, the Credit Research Foundation reports medians from large credit departments, and Atradius and the Federal Reserve Banks report survey answers from businesses of different sizes. Check who was surveyed and what was measured before comparing figures.
Put these figures to use
- Invoicing hub: A step-by-step path through invoicing: what to include, numbering, terms, sending and payments.
- Late fee calculator: Work out a late fee on an overdue invoice from the amount, rate and days late.
- Automatic payment reminders: how to set up a schedule: When to send each invoice reminder before and after the due date, and when to stop.
- How to write a payment reminder email: Subject lines, structure and five example reminder emails for overdue invoices.
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