Days in Accounts Receivable (A/R Days)
The average number of days it takes a practice to collect payment after a service is billed.
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Days in Accounts Receivable (A/R days) is a metric that estimates, on average, how long it takes a practice to get paid after billing. It is calculated from total outstanding receivables relative to average daily charges, giving a single number that summarizes collection speed.
Practices also watch aged A/R — how much of what is owed falls into buckets like 0–30, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ days — because older receivables are progressively harder to collect.
Why it matters for billing
A/R days is a headline measure of revenue-cycle health and cash flow. Rising A/R days, or a growing share of receivables past 90 days, points to problems in submission, follow-up, or denial management that are tying up money the practice has already earned.
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Request a free billing reviewDays in Accounts Receivable (A/R Days) — frequently asked questions
Targets vary by specialty and payer mix, so A/R days is most useful tracked as a trend for a given practice rather than against a single universal number.
The longer a receivable goes unpaid, the less likely it is to be collected, so the balance sitting past 90 days is a key risk signal.