Is Unearned Rent an Asset?

Cash is the asset that is recorded upon receipt of funds, and since assets must equal liabilities plus equity, the other side of the journal entry must be a liability account. When the last month of the lease is over, for example, the unearned rent credit balance is debited, and the rental revenue account is credited, essentially moving it from the balance sheet to the income statement. As the obligation related to the unearned revenue is delivered over time, the liability decreases as the amount is transferred to revenue on the income statement.

• Hence, unearned revenue is not initially recorded as revenue, but as a current liability until the revenue is earned.
• Generally it may refer to windfall profits, such as when population growth increases the value of a plot of land.
• Unearned revenue is typically recognized as a current liability on the balance sheet.
• Rent payments received in advance or annual subscription payments received at the beginning of the year are common examples of deferred revenue.
• Businesses sometimes need to make an unearned revenue adjusting entry to their balance sheet.
• However, since the business is yet to provide actual goods or services, it considers unearned revenue as liabilities, as explained further below.
• Such an unearned revenue example is when a customer pays for a good or service in advance to a company or individual.

Therefore, it is treated as a current liabilityCurrent LiabilityCurrent Liabilities are the payables which are likely to settled within twelve months of reporting. They’re usually is unearned revenue a current liability salaries payable, expense payable, short term loans etc.read more. The recording of business transactions is guided by the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP).

What type of account is unearned revenue?

However, a different way to view the same transaction is by accounting for it as deferred revenue. Upon moving into an office, warehouse or apartment, a new tenant would typically pay the landlord the first and last months’ rent. Deferred revenue is money received in advance for products or services that are going to be performed in the future.

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What Happens to the Balance Sheet When Accounts Receivable Is Collected?

It is when unearned revenue has been earned that it is converted from a current liability on the balance sheet to an actual revenue that is recorded on the income statement. Under the accrual basis of accounting, revenue should only be recognized when it is earned. Likewise, when the company receives the early cash payment for https://www.bookstime.com/blog/how-to-start-bookkeeping-business the rental service, it should record the cash received as unearned rent revenue in the journal entry. Unearned rent, or deferred revenue as it may be called, is an account for landlords only, not tenants. Tenants’ balance sheets will often have a prepaid rent asset account, and rarely an unearned rent liability account.