To forecast accounts receivable, divide DSO by 365 for a daily collection rate. Multiply this rate by your sales forecast to estimate future accounts receivable. This method helps predict the amount you can expect to receive over a specific period.
The accounts receivable turnover ratio is a simple metric used to measure a business's effectiveness at collecting debt and extending credit. It is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable. The higher the ratio, the better the business manages customer credit.
The pro forma accounts receivable (A/R) balance can be determined by rearranging the formula from earlier. The forecasted accounts receivable balance is equal to the days sales outstanding (DSO) assumption divided by 365 days, multiplied by 365 days.
Here's a common formula for forecasting sales: Sales Forecast = (Last Month Revenue + Expected Growth – Expected Churn) DSO = (Accounts Receivable / Total Credit Sales) x Number of Days in the Period. Accounts Receivable Forecast = Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) x (Sales Forecast / Time)
An autoregressive (AR) model forecasts future behavior based on past behavior data. This type of analysis is used when there is a correlation between the time series values and their preceding and succeeding values. Autoregressive modeling uses only past data to predict future behavior.
You can find the AR aging percentage by dividing the total amount of receivables that are over 90 days past due by the total amount of receivables outstanding.
Forecasting the AR(1) Time Series Model ˆβ1=∑i=1(xi−ˉx)(yi−ˉy)√∑ni=1(xi−ˉx)∑ni=1(yi−ˉy). In the AR(1) model we may set yt−1=zt,t=2,…,T, xt=zt,t=1,…,T−1 and n=T−1 and plug-in the above formula to obtain an efficient estimate of β1.
The pro forma accounts receivable (A/R) balance can be determined by rearranging the formula from earlier. The forecasted accounts receivable balance is equal to the days sales outstanding (DSO) assumption divided by 365 days, multiplied by 365 days.