accrued income
C1/C2Formal, technical, business, finance
Definition
Meaning
Income that has been earned but not yet received or paid.
Income that is recognized in accounting records before the cash is actually received, representing a right to receive payment for goods delivered or services rendered. In investment contexts, it can also refer to interest or dividends earned on securities between payment dates.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The phrase is primarily used in financial and accounting contexts. 'Accrued' implies a gradual accumulation over time, contrasting with one-time payments. It often appears as a balance sheet line item. The meaning is purely financial/accounting, not used metaphorically.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Spelling conventions apply to the word 'accrued' (identical) but might affect related terms in example sentences.
Connotations
Neutral technical term in both varieties.
Frequency
Identical frequency within business and financial contexts. Rare to non-existent in general discourse in both regions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
The company has £X in accrued income.They recognised accrued income from the contract.Accrued income must be recorded as an asset.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None. It is a technical term.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Standard term. 'The balance sheet shows £50,000 in accrued income from consulting services provided last quarter.'
Academic
Used in economics, finance, and accounting papers. 'The study examined the correlation between reported accrued income and subsequent cash flow volatility.'
Everyday
Virtually never used. A person would say 'money I'm owed' or 'payments due'.
Technical
Core term in accounting (accruals accounting). Defined in IAS/IFRS and GAAP standards.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The interest accrues daily and is recorded as accrued income.
- Income from the licence fee accrues to the company monthly.
American English
- The revenue accrues over the life of the contract.
- We accrue income for services performed but not yet billed.
adverb
British English
- Income is accrued daily. (rare as a standalone adverb form)
- The revenue is recognised accrually, not upon cash receipt.
American English
- The interest accumulates accruedly over time. (highly formal/rare)
- Income is accounted for on an accrual basis.
adjective
British English
- The accrued income figure requires careful audit.
- They submitted a report on accrued income tax.
American English
- The accrued income balance is listed under current assets.
- Review the schedule of accrued income items.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- N/A - Too advanced for A2.
- The company has some accrued income from work done last month.
- My invoice shows accrued income that I will receive next week.
- For the year-end accounts, the accountant calculated all accrued income from pending client invoices.
- Under the accrual method, you must record accrued income when you earn it, not when you get paid.
- The auditor's primary concern was the valuation and recoverability of the substantial accrued income listed as a current asset.
- Discrepancies between accrued income and subsequent cash receipts can be an early indicator of revenue recognition issues or customer credit problems.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a snowball ACCRUING (gathering) more snow as it rolls. ACCRUED INCOME is the snow (money) your work has gathered over time, even though you haven't caught the snowball in your hands (received the cash) yet.
Conceptual Metaphor
INCOME IS A FLOW (that accumulates in a reservoir before being collected). TIME IS A PATH (along which income accumulates).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not translate 'accrued' literally as 'начисленный' if the context is about simple ownership of unpaid money; it implies an accounting recognition event. The phrase 'accrued income' is best translated as 'начисленный доход' or 'накопленный доход'. Beware of false friends: 'аккруэд' does not exist in Russian.
- Avoid confusing with 'полученный доход' (received income) or 'наличный доход' (cash income).
Common Mistakes
- Using 'accrued income' to mean saved money or cash in hand. Misspelling as 'acrued' or 'acrewed'. Confusing with 'accrued expense' (a liability). Using in everyday contexts where 'money owed' is sufficient.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following best describes 'accrued income'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is recorded as a current asset on the balance sheet because it represents an economic resource (a right to receive cash) from past events.
They are very similar. 'Accounts receivable' typically refers to amounts billed to customers. 'Accrued income' is broader and can include earned income for which an invoice has not yet been issued.
Yes, a freelancer who has done work but hasn't yet sent an invoice has accrued income. However, the term is most formally used in business accounting.
It provides a more accurate picture of a company's financial performance during a specific period (matching income with the expenses incurred to generate it), regardless of cash flow timing, which is the core principle of accrual accounting.