Course Outline
Join PRO

What is net sales?

Author:
Harold Averkamp, CPA, MBA

Definition of Net Sales

Under the accrual basis of accounting, net sales is the total amount of goods shipped/delivered to customers during a specified period of time minus any early payment discounts (if offered by the seller) and minus allowances for goods returned by customers, adjustments to the sales invoice amounts, etc.

Does Sales Include Sales Tax?

The amount of a company’s sales does not include the sales taxes collected by the seller. The reason is that the sales taxes included in the sales invoices are not revenues earned by the seller. Instead, the sales taxes are the state/local government’s revenues. The seller is merely acting as an agent that is required to collect and remit the sales taxes to the government.

As a result, the sales taxes included in a company’s sales invoices are recorded in a current liability account such as Sales Taxes Payable. When the company remits the sales taxes to the state or local government, the balance in Sales Taxes Payable is reduced. Any unremitted balance in Sales Taxes Payable is reported in the current liability section of the company’s balance sheet.

Sales vs Net Sales

Assume that a company has sales invoices for the month amounting to $63,000. The sales invoices represent the goods shipped to customers and includes $1,000 of sales taxes pertaining to its retail customers. The company offers credit terms of 1/10, net 30 days and some customers paid within 10 days and were granted early payment discounts of $300. The company also granted allowances of $200 to customers who received damaged goods or had been given a price adjustment.

Given the above information, the company’s sales are calculated as follows:
Sales invoices with a total of $63,000 minus $1,000 of sales taxes that were included as required by the state/local government = the company’s sales of $62,000. Sales are also referred to as gross sales.

The company’s net sales are calculated as follows:
Sales (or gross sales) of $62,000 minus early payment discounts of $300 and sales allowances of $200 = the company’s net sales of $61,500.

Join PRO to Track Progress

Advance Your Accounting and Bookkeeping Career

Must Watch image

  • Perform better at your job
  • Get hired for a new position
  • Understand your small business
  • Pass your accounting class
Watch the Video
Certificates of Achievement

Earn Our Certificates of Achievement

Certificates of Achievement
  • Debits and Credits
  • Adjusting Entries
  • Financial Statements
  • Balance Sheet
  • Income Statement
  • Cash Flow Statement
  • Working Capital and Liquidity
  • Financial Ratios
  • Bank Reconciliation
  • Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense
  • Depreciation
  • Payroll Accounting
View PRO Plus Features

Join PRO or PRO Plus and Get Lifetime Access to Our Premium Materials

Read all 2,651 reviews

Features

PRO

PRO Plus

Features
Lifetime Access (One-Time Fee)
Explanations
Quizzes
Q&A
Word Scrambles
Crosswords
Bookkeeping Video Training
Financial Statements Video Training
Flashcards
Visual Tutorials
Quick Tests
Quick Tests with Coaching
Cheat Sheets
Bookkeeping Study Guide
Managerial Study Guide
Business Forms
All PDF Files
Progress Tracking
Earn Badges and Points
Certificate - Debits and Credits
Certificate - Adjusting Entries
Certificate - Financial Statements
Certificate - Balance Sheet
Certificate - Income Statement
Certificate - Cash Flow Statement
Certificate - Working Capital
Certificate - Financial Ratios
Certificate - Bank Reconciliation
Certificate - Accounts Receivable and Bad Debts Expense
Certificate - Depreciation
Certificate - Payroll Accounting

About the Author

Harold Averkamp

For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has
worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.

Learn More About Harold

Read 2,651 Testimonials

Take the Tour Join Pro Upgrade to Pro Plus