Do you put unearned revenue on an income statement?
Matthew Harrington
Updated on December 31, 2025
Income that has been generated but not earned, aka unearned revenue, is not included on the income statement and is considered a liability.
How do you record unearned revenue?
Unearned revenue should be entered into your journal as a credit to the unearned revenue account, and a debit to the cash account. This journal entry illustrates that the business has received cash for a service, but it has been earned on credit, a prepayment for future goods or services rendered.
What should be recorded on an income statement?
The income statement accounts most commonly used are as follows:
- Revenue. Contains revenue from the sale of products and services.
- Sales discounts.
- Cost of goods sold.
- Compensation expense.
- Depreciation and amortization expense.
- Employee benefits.
- Insurance expense.
- Marketing expenses.
Which of the following is an example of unearned income?
Unearned income is income from investments and other sources unrelated to employment. Examples of unearned income include interest from savings accounts, bond interest, alimony, and dividends from stock.
What is the double entry for unearned revenue?
Unearned revenue is a liability for the recipient of the payment, so the initial entry is a debit to the cash account and a credit to the unearned revenue account.
Is accounts payable on the income statement?
expenses. The chief practical difference between accounts payable and expenses is where they appear in a company’s financial statements. Accounts payable is located on the balance sheet, and expenses are recorded on the income statement.
What is account payable with example?
Accounts payable include all of the company’s short-term debts or obligations. For example, if a restaurant owes money to a food or beverage company, those items are part of the inventory, and thus part of its trade payables.
What are limitations of the income statement?
One of the limitations of the income statement is that income is reported based on accounting rules and often does not reflect cash changing hands. This could be due to the matching principle, which is the accounting principle that requires expenses to be matched to revenues and reported at the same time.
What are the limitations of the financial statement?
Limitations of financial statements
- Financial Statements Are Derived from Historical Costs.
- Financial Statements Are Not Adjusted for Inflation.
- Financial Statements Do Not Contain Some Intangible Assets.
- Financial Statements Only Cover a Specific Period of Time.
- Financial Statements May Not Be Comparable.