---
title: "Accounts payable"
description: "What is accounts payable (AP)? Money a business owes suppliers for goods or services received on credit. Learn how AP works and how it differs from GRNI."
url: https://1flux.ai/glossary/accounts-payable
last_updated: 2026-10-11
---

[Accounting](https://1flux.ai/glossary#accounting)

# Accounts payable

What is accounts payable, and why aren't goods received but not yet invoiced part of it?

Glossary Updated 11 October 2026

Definition

Accounts payable (AP) is the money a business owes its suppliers for goods or services received on credit and invoiced but not yet paid.

## What is accounts payable in practice?

AP is a liability. It increases when a supplier invoice is recorded and decreases when the supplier is paid. Good AP control means recording invoices only for goods actually received at agreed prices, paying on time to protect supplier terms, and never paying the same invoice twice.

Example: a trader records a supplier invoice for GBP 11,340 including VAT on 30-day terms, and it sits in AP until paid.

AP aging, like [AR aging](https://1flux.ai/glossary/accounts-receivable-aging), groups unpaid bills by due date. Goods received but not yet invoiced aren’t in AP; they sit in a separate accrual account, [goods received not invoiced](https://1flux.ai/glossary/goods-received-not-invoiced).

In 1flux

Posting a purchase invoice credits accounts payable. Pay suppliers and allocate each payment to purchase invoices; payments post to the ledger. The Accounting overview shows what’s owed to suppliers at a glance. [See 1flux Accounting](https://1flux.ai/products/accounting)

Related

## Keep exploring

### [Purchase invoice](https://1flux.ai/glossary/purchase-invoice)

A supplier's bill as recorded in your books.

### [Goods received not invoiced](https://1flux.ai/glossary/goods-received-not-invoiced)

A liability for goods received but not yet billed by the supplier.

### [Accounts receivable](https://1flux.ai/glossary/accounts-receivable)

Money customers owe you for goods or services invoiced on credit.

### [1flux Accounting](https://1flux.ai/products/accounting)

Books that keep themselves: every receipt, delivery, invoice and payment posts its own journal.

Last updated 11 October 2026