What is the difference between Payable and Expense?

There are some people who may get confused between payables and expenses. When you say payables, you are referring to some of the liabilities that would need to be paid for at a specific date. When you say expenses, you are referring to some of the things that you have already paid for. Expenses may be things that you may or may not need.

There are also instances when payable refers to the accounts where the expenses will be paid. It will depend on what type of payables you are referring to. Another thing that you should remember is that payables may refer to things that you need to pay for a specific period of time. Expenses may be for long−term periods.

A payable is a debt that is paid by the buyer to the seller as decided between them. A payable refers to a current liability or current obligation that must be paid. Some examples include electric, cable, and telephone bills that consumers have already applied to the service and are given a bill to be paid back another time.

In business, payables consist of invoices, checks, and the keeping of books. When a payable is paid, it is included in a person’s expense. Expenses are the payment of money or other materials in exchange for goods and services.

Business expenses include salaries of employees, payments for utilities, capital assets, deprecation, interest paid for loans, and payments to suppliers. Other expenses also include cash purchases of food and other various items.