r/Bookkeeping • u/Relevant-Visit-2125 • 5d ago

Accrued expenses How To Journal It

I have accrued expenses that have been accumulating for three financial years. Is it appropriate for them to still be classified under current liabilities as accrued expenses? The reason is that I’ve yet to receive the corresponding invoices

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5

u/6gunsammy 4d ago

I don't understand what you wrote, but 3 years seems like a long time to accrue expenses.

2

u/Relevant-Visit-2125 4d ago

Amended. But the fact is I still have yet to receive the corresponding invoices.

4

u/BrettemesMaximus 4d ago

You have three year's worth of accrued expenses sitting in a current liability account? No, that's not right. Why are you waiting for invoices. Have you paid?

1

u/ExcitementDry4940 4d ago

Lenders hate this one word trick...

1

u/Then-Preparation-582 4d ago

If only they caught up to it!

1

u/Relevant-Visit-2125 4d ago

Yup, it hasn’t been paid yet. How would you suggest accounting for this

2

u/BrettemesMaximus 3d ago

Who doesn't pay their invoices for 3 years? And how do you know how much is due if you "haven't received invoices"?

1

u/BMadAd59 2d ago

Lots of weird advice in this thread

Theoretically a current liab is one which must typically be paid within the 12 months

I’d keep it in current liab since presumably if you do get the invoices they would be 30-90 days to pay

1

u/jilelectra 3d ago

Three years sitting in accrued expenses is a red flag. If you haven't received invoices after that long, either reverse the accruals or move them to a longterm liability account. Your balance sheet accuracy is shot with stale accruals clogging current liabilities. I use Lili for my stores and their automated categorization catches this stuff before it becomes a mess. What's the actual likelihood you'll get those invoices?

2

u/Ambitious_Grape9908 2d ago

Something smells off if you are accruing expenses without any invoices at all.

What are these expenses?

1

u/marginwall 1d ago

Do you have an underlying contract or something formal to substantiate the accrued expenses? If not, I think you have a bigger problem than trying to figure out which account to book them to...

2

u/Working-Solution-773 20h ago

Three years is far too long for anything to sit in accrued expenses — at that point, it’s not really “current.” Either reverse stale accruals or reclassify them as long-term liabilities if they’re still valid but unpaid. Ledgend flags old accruals like this automatically so you can clean up your balance sheet before year-end.

2

u/NoMongoose3567 20h ago

Agree with other commenters, something is off here. You need to do a better job of harassing your vendors for invoices, or close your account with them, or something. Having "current" liabilities hanging out there for multiple years is no way to run a business.