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DEFINITION of 'Accounts Receivable - AR'

Money owed by customers (individuals or corporations) to another entity in exchange for goods or services that have been delivered or used, but not yet paid for. Receivables usually come in the form of operating lines of credit and are usually due within a relatively short time period, ranging from a few days to a year. (Investopedia)

Accounts payable is money owed by a business to its suppliers shown as a liability on a company's balance sheet. (Wikipedia)

A collection agency also known as a debt collector, is a business that pursues payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed. (Wikipedia)

Debt collection and debt recovery sound like they have the same meaning, but there is a subtle difference. Debt collection involves general measures taken to recover money owed by late payers. This might include telephone calls, reminder statements, specific ‘collection’ letters that request payment, or a pre-court ‘Letter Before Action.’

Debt recovery, on the other hand, is the recovery of a debt after it has been written off in a company’s accounts. So let us take a closer look at each of these terms. (http://collectionagencies.expertmarket.co.uk/What-is-the-Difference-Between-Debt-Collection-Debt-Recovery)