The AP ageing report is where duplicate payments, lost credit notes and unhappy suppliers all show up first.
An accounts payable ageing report lists what you owe each supplier, grouped by how long each invoice has been outstanding. Reconcile its total to the general ledger every month, then act on three things: overdue invoices, debit balances, which usually mean an overpayment or duplicate, and old unapproved or disputed items.
Each supplier is a row, and each column is an age band, usually current, 1 to 30 days, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days, measured either from invoice date or from due date. Check which one your report uses: ageing from invoice date makes everything look older than it is.
The report total must equal the accounts payable control account in the general ledger at the same date. If it does not, the usual causes are a manual journal posted to the control account, invoices posted after the report date, or a timing difference between the subledger and the ledger. Find and fix the difference before using the report for anything else.
A supplier with a debit balance means you have paid more than you owe. Common reasons:
Debit balances are cash you can recover. Ask the supplier for a refund or a credit against the next invoice, and do it quickly: the older the balance, the harder it is to recover. See how to run a duplicate payment audit.
Overdue invoices cost money in late fees, interest and lost discounts, and they damage supplier relationships. For each one, find out why: missing approval, a missing goods receipt, a dispute, or cash. Fix the process cause, not only the invoice.
Invoices over 90 days old that nobody is chasing usually belong to one of three groups: disputed, duplicated by a later invoice, or never valid. Each needs an owner and a decision, with evidence, rather than sitting in the ledger.
In the US the report is usually called the AP aging report. Large UK companies must publish their payment practices, including average days to pay and the percentage of invoices paid late, under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations, so the ageing report feeds a public number there.
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Because you have paid them more than you owe, usually through a duplicate payment, a credit note not taken into account, or a payment posted to the wrong supplier account.
Due date shows what is actually late, which is what you need for managing payments. Invoice date is useful for spotting invoices stuck in approval.
Reconcile and review it every month as part of the close, and look at overdue and debit balances weekly if you run weekly payment runs.
Last updated 18 October 2026. General guidance for finance teams; check it against your own policies, systems and local rules.