Understanding the Outstanding A/P Report

The Outstanding A/P Report gives your organization a snapshot of all unpaid bills as of a specific month. It is one of the most commonly used reports for fiscal year end and auditing purposes.

This article explains how the report works, how to read your results, and what to expect when you run it.

How the Report Works

The Outstanding A/P Report does not show transactions from just the month you select. It looks at the entire fiscal year up to and including the month you choose.

A transaction appears on this report when both of these conditions are true:

• It was incurred on or before the month you selected
• It was either unpaid or paid after the month you selected

Think of it like a running tab. Any bill that was not fully paid by the selected month will continue to show on the report until it is paid.

How Fiscal Year Affects Your Results

The report is based on your organization's fiscal year, not the calendar year. This is an important distinction.

Every organization may have a different fiscal year start date. Here are two examples:

• A Florida city with a fiscal year starting in October: Fiscal Year 2026, February includes all months from October 2025 through February 2026.
• An organization on a calendar year: Fiscal Year 2026, February includes only January and February 2026.

Always keep your fiscal year in mind when running and reading this report. The month you select does not represent just that one month. It represents everything from the start of your fiscal year through that month.

What the Report Is Showing You

When you select a fiscal year and month, the report is answering one question:

What did our organization owe as of this date that was not yet paid?

This includes:

• Transactions incurred earlier in the fiscal year that are still unpaid
• Transactions that were paid after the selected month
• Transactions carried forward from a prior fiscal year that were never paid

If you see transactions from months earlier than the one you selected, this is expected. Those transactions were incurred earlier and either paid late or not yet paid at all.

Prior Fiscal Year Transactions

If a transaction was incurred in a prior fiscal year and was never paid, it will carry forward and appear on the current year report. It will continue to appear until it is paid.

An unpaid bill does not disappear when the fiscal year changes. It stays outstanding until payment is recorded.

How This Report Relates to the Trial Balance

The Accounts Payable balance on your Trial Balance report should match your Outstanding A/P Report total for the same fiscal year and month.

If you notice a difference between the two, contact the Aclarian Client Support team for assistance.

When to Run This Report

Most organizations run the Outstanding A/P Report at fiscal year end. Auditors commonly request it to review all outstanding payables as of that date.

In most cases, you should not see items outstanding for more than a few months. If you see something older, it may mean:

• An invoice was entered late
• A payment has not yet been processed

If an auditor questions an older item, you can reference the invoice date and any notes entered on the payment form to provide context on when the invoice was received.