Cash Discount

Cash discount refers to the foregoing of a certain amount from the seller to the buyer for settling the transaction before the scheduled due date. It is also referred to as an early payment discount or prompt payment discount. The early payment ensures better cash flow for the seller. Therefore, to motivate them to continue making early payments, these discounts are provided.

Cash discount terms are set by the seller based on the product, payment schedule, their profit margins. These rates can be different for different sellers of the same product or service. The discount can be foregoing a certain percentage or a fixed sum from the total amount due. The cash flow generated through early payments can help the business grow at a faster pace.

• Cash discounts are incentives or discounts provided by the seller to the buyer for making timely payments by the terms and conditions of the business.
• Cash discounts lessen the likelihood of bad debts developing from consumers who fail to pay their bills. As a result, the corporation often receives more money when the discount is computed for the entire firm.
• When clients pay on time or early, the business has quicker access to cash flow, which it may utilize for other essential tasks like paying bills on time or taking advantage of supplier discounts by paying them on time, among other things.
• The monetary discount provided by the vendor reduces the profit margin needlessly. The company unit with adequate cash reserves generates lower earnings since the seller will not profit from the earlier cash recovery. However, the company's profits might rise even if a cash discount is not offered.

Cash Discounts are the discounts or incentives the seller gives to the customer for paying dues on or before the due date as per the company's terms and conditions.

From the point of view of the company, a cash discount entry saves time, effort, and money for the company. They might have to spend on the collection process for collecting the due amount from the customers on time and the point of view of the customers it will save money of the customer as they will get the discount for early payment. Although the cash discounts given to the customers can improve the cash flow of the business along with reducing its bad debts, it might lead to a reduction in the profit margin of the seller unnecessarily.

• The company offers it to its customers to make the early payment in cash. It is known as a sales discount from the perspective of the company selling the goods and a purchase discount from the buyer's perspective.
• Cash discount reduces the chances of bad debts that might arise due to non-payment of dues by the company's customers. Thus with such a discount, the company generally gets more money when calculated for the overall business.
• In the case of a business unit where a sufficient amount of the cash reserves is available in the company, they only lead to fewer profits because the earlier recovery of cash is of no use and will not benefit the seller when checked on an overall basis.

Let us understand the concept of having a cash discount entry with the help of examples as discussed below:

Example #1

A ltd, which deals with mobile phones and related accessories. It allows cash discounts and adopts the policy that if the buyer pays within ten days of the purchase date, the buyer will be given a discount of 1% of the invoice value. Now suppose a customer purchases a mobile phone worth $500 on 16th April 2019 on a credit basis and is given a 30 days credit period.

Now, if the customer discharges his dues by 25th April 2019, he has the liability to pay only $495 as 1% of $500, i.e., $5 is given as a discount for prepayment of dues. However, if the customer pays later than ten days, then no cash discount will be provided, and he is liable to pay the full amount of $500 to the company.

Example #2

Groupe Renault, the French automobile maker has been one of the most prominent names in the industry since 1899. In January 2023, to increase their presence in eastern countries, a major cash discounts and corporate benefits were declared.

The cash discounts for a few models from their wide range were close to 5-7% of the car’s sale value.

When two parties decide on the cash discount terms for a particular transaction, it brings a set of circumstances for both the parties. These circumstances can be beneficial or filled with hassle depending on the situation. Let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages through the points below:

Advantages

• It is an incentive given by the company to its customers if they make the payment on or before the due date as per the company's terms and conditions. To benefit from the discount, many customers pay right away to the company. So, it will save the company's time, effort, and money, which it might have to spend on the collection process for collecting the due amount from the customers on time.
• When the customers pay on or before the due date, it results in faster access of cash flow to the company, which the company can use for other necessary activities like paying bills on time, getting the benefit of discounts given by their supplier by paying them on time, etc.
• Due to cash discounts, many customers pay their dues on time. It reduces the company's bad debts due to the non-payment of dues by the customers in the future. Thus with such a discount, the company generally gets more money when calculated for the overall business.

Disadvantages

• The profit margin is reduced unnecessarily due to the cash discount given by the seller. In the case of the business unit with satisfactory cash reserves, it only leads to fewer profits because the earlier recovery of cash is of no use and will not benefit the seller. Still, if the cash discount is not given, then obviously, the business's earnings can be increased.
• The policy of cash discounts will lead to time-consuming bookkeeping basics of accounts for the organizations as they are required to create cash discount allowances for which well-skilled staff is needed to be employed, and it involves a lot of time and estimations.
• Sometimes the cash discount policy may lead to the loss of customers as many people think that a small delay in discharging dues may result in the loss of the discount. Now there is a possibility that they may get opposed to not being given a discount, and they may prefer to walk out without making any purchase.
• It will lead to a reduction in the sales value or turnover of the business. Turnover is the main criterion that the investor evaluates before investing in the business. There are chances that less turnover may stop an investor from investing their funds in that business.

This has been a guide to what is Cash Discount and its meaning. Here we discuss the examples of a cash discount with advantages and disadvantages. You can learn more from the following articles –

• Trade Discount vs Cash Discount
• Trade Discount Definition
• Accounting for Sales Discounts
• Discounting Formula