Accounts receivables, often abbreviated as AR, refer to the outstanding balances a company has the right to receive from its customers. These receivables are recorded as assets on the company's balance sheet because they are essentially promises by customers to pay an assumed value in the future for goods or services already provided.

Managing accounts receivables plays a crucial role in cash flow management, as collecting these dues in a timely manner ensures the company has funds available for operations. Terms of payments such as net 30 or net 60 define the timeframe within which these amounts should be paid to avoid them becoming overdue or written off as bad debt.

For instance, if a company delivers goods to a customer on credit with a due payment term of 30 days, the amount owed until it is paid is booked into accounts receivable.