The right to receive payment in the future, created when a vendor allows a customer to purchase goods or services on open account. That is, the vendor, or trade creditor, delivers the goods or performs the services without receiving immediate payment, thereby extending trade credit to the customer. The customer is then expected to make payment in the ordinary course of business, usually within 7 to 90 days. The obligation to pay is an account receivable on the books of the trade creditor, and is an account payable on the books of the customer.

Accounts receivable are the type of asset most commonly used in asset-based lending. The revenue streams generated by accounts receivable are often securitized and used as collateral for asset-backed securities.