D.B. The distinction between revenues and cash receipts relates...

D.B. The distinction between revenues and cash receipts relates to payment timing.

Revenue is the contracted value of the sold product when it has been invoiced and delivered to the customer. It can be included as an amount in a financial statement once that has occurred.

Cash Receipts are the amounts paid by the customers for their delivered product. They are recorded in a financial statement once they appear in the Company’s bank account.

The delay between recording the two amounts is determined by the terms of payment, and if the customer is a distributor rather than a retail customer there could be months involved.

The ‘Receivables’ item that appears in financial statements is the amount of revenue recorded for that period but not yet received as cash. It should appear as such in the next period. Revenue recorded late in one quarter therefore will likely not appear in a 4C report until the next quarter.

Since they are distinguished only by the time delay, revenue and cash receipts should indicate the same trend for sales growth.