Summary
An accounts receivable aging report is a document that lists every unpaid customer invoice and groups them by how long each has been outstanding, usually in 30-day buckets (current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 90+ days). It shows who owes you money, how much, and how late it is.
- What it shows: Customer name, invoice amount and days overdue for every unpaid invoice, plus a total per age bucket and a grand total.
- Why it matters: It is the standard tool for deciding which invoices to follow up first and spotting which customers are becoming a credit risk.
- How to run one: Xero and QuickBooks both generate the report from a built-in template; Paidnice sends the reminders and statements once the report flags an overdue balance.
What is an accounts receivable aging report?
An accounts receivable aging report is a list of every unpaid customer invoice, sorted into bands by the number of days since the invoice was issued or fell due. Most accounting software uses 30-day bands, so the report shows how much of your money is current, a month late, two months late, or older.
Each row is one customer or one invoice, with the invoice date, the amount owed and the number of days outstanding. The columns are the age buckets, and the bottom row totals each bucket.
A metric needs an outside reference. Xero Small Business Insights measures payment times across five markets.
| Country | Days to be paid | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 20.3 days | -4.3 days |
| New Zealand | 23.2 days | -0.9 days |
| US | 29.1 days | +1.6 days |
| UK | 29.3 days | -0.3 days |
| Canada | 29.5 days | +1.9 days |
Source: Xero Small Business Insights, June 2026. See the full data on the Paidnice accounts receivable statistics dashboard.
Compare your own figure with the market before setting a target.
What are the standard aging buckets?
The standard aging buckets on an accounts receivable aging report are current, 1 to 30 days, 31 to 60 days, 61 to 90 days and over 90 days past due. Xero and QuickBooks group by month by default, which gives the same five bands; Paidnice's Aged Receivables by Contact report uses 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 90+ days.
| Bucket | What it means | Usual action |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Invoiced but not yet due | Nothing beyond a pre-due reminder |
| 1 to 30 days | Up to a month past due | Automated email and SMS reminders |
| 31 to 60 days | One to two months past due | Statement, phone call, late fee if your terms allow it |
| 61 to 90 days | Two to three months past due | Escalate to a senior contact, pause further credit |
| 90+ days | More than three months past due | Payment plan, final notice, or a decision to write off |
What information is included in an accounts receivable aging report?
An accounts receivable aging report includes the customer name, each unpaid invoice's number, date and amount, the days outstanding, a subtotal per customer and a total per age bucket.
- The name of each customer who owes you money
- The invoice number, date and amount for every unpaid invoice
- The number of days each invoice has been outstanding
- The total owed per customer and per age bucket
- The grand total, and the percentage of it that is past due
A summary version shows one line per customer; a detail version lists every invoice.
Why is an accounts receivable aging report important?
An accounts receivable aging report matters because it turns a single "outstanding" figure into a ranked list of who to follow up first, and it is the earliest warning that a customer's payment habits are changing. In the Federal Reserve's 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, 51% of employer firms named uneven cash flow as a challenge and 56% named paying operating expenses; the aging report is where both problems first show. In the UK, GOV.UK counts 38 business closures a day caused by late payment.
It sets the order of collections: the 90+ column gets a call today, the 1 to 30 column gets an automated reminder. It shows payment patterns over time, so a customer who drifts from current into 31 to 60 every month is flagged before the balance becomes a bad debt. It also feeds cash flow forecasting, because the current and 1 to 30 buckets are the cash most likely to arrive next month.
How do you run an accounts receivable aging report in Xero or QuickBooks?
In Xero, open Reports and choose Aged Receivables Summary or Aged Receivables Detail, then set the date. In QuickBooks Online, open Reports and choose Accounts Receivable Aging Summary or Detail. Both default to 30-day buckets and both export to CSV or PDF.
If you invoice outside accounting software, the report can be built by hand: list every unpaid invoice with its date and amount, add a column for days outstanding, then sort into the five buckets. A ready-made version of that layout is on our sister site, the accounts receivable aging report template (XLSX and CSV), with a filled-in accounts receivable report example next to it.
How do you act on an accounts receivable aging report?
Acting on an accounts receivable aging report means attaching a follow-up action to each bucket, so a reminder, statement or late fee goes out as soon as an invoice moves right, without anyone re-reading the report.
Paidnice does this for Xero and QuickBooks organisations. Its Aged Receivables by Contact report uses the same 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 90+ day buckets, across multiple entities and currencies, and each bucket can trigger its own reminder, statement or fee. Customers cut their average wait for payment in half within 30 days of switching on automated reminders, and cut overdue invoices by 70% in the same period. Paidnice provides accounts receivable automation for Xero and accounts receivable automation for QuickBooks.
For the broader picture, including accounts payable aging and the AU/NZ "aged debtor report" wording, see the guide to aging reports.
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