Discount notes are fixed-income securities that do not make interest payments for the duration of the note. Since investors don’t get the added advantage of periodic interest income, the notes are offered at a discount to par. A promissory note is an unconditional promise to repay a pre-defined sum of money at a future point in time or on demand. The maker of the note (borrower) is charged interest for the use of that money. On November 1, 2018, National Company obtains a loan of $100,000 from City Bank by signing a $102,250, 3 month, zero-interest-bearing note.

1. Unlike accounts payable, which is considered a short-term liability, notes payable can be classified as either a short-term or long-term liability, depending on the repayment terms indicated in the promissory note.
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4. Accounts payable on the other hand is less formal and is a result of the credit that has been extended to your business from suppliers and vendors.

A note payable has a par or face value, which is the amount the borrower must repay when the note matures. Only interest payments are typically due on notes payable until maturity, as is the case with the bonds used as examples here. Interest must be calculated (imputed) using an estimate of the interest rate at which discount on notes payable the company could have borrowed and the present value tables. The present value of the note on the day of signing represents the amount of cash received by the borrower. The total interest expense (cost of borrowing) is the difference between the present value of the note and the maturity value of the note.

Notes payable vs. accounts payable: What’s the difference?

Of course, you will need to be using double-entry accounting in order to record the loan properly. If a note is issued for less than its face value, the difference is recorded as a “Discount on Notes Payable”. This is a contra liability account, meaning it reduces the balance of the Notes Payable account when both are presented together on the balance sheet.

The financial accounting term discounts on notes payable is used to describe a contra liability account that holds future interest charges that are included on the face value of a promissory note. Notes payable is a formal contract which contains a written promise to repay a loan. Purchasing a company vehicle, a building, or obtaining a loan from a bank for your business are all considered notes payable. Notes payable can be classified as either a short-term liability, if due within a year, or a long-term liability, if the due date is longer than one year from the date the note was issued. The note payable is a written promissory note in which the maker of the note makes an unconditional promise to pay a certain amount of money after a certain predetermined period of time or on demand.

Calculating Discounts on Notes Payable

Notes payable is a formal agreement, or promissory note, between your business and a bank, financial institution, or other lender. A contra liability account arising when the proceeds of a note payable is less than the face amount of the note. The debit balance in this account will be amortized to interest expense over the life of the note. The extra $1,000 that XYZ has recognized as interest expense over the term of the note effectively brings the cost of borrowing up to the market rate. Accounts payable is an obligation that a business owes to creditors for buying goods or services. Accounts payable do not involve a promissory note, usually do not carry interest, and are a short-term liability (usually paid within a month).

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Short-term and long-term notes payable:

The size of this discount is especially large when the stated interest rate on a note is well below the market rate of interest. Over time, interest will accrue to the note, thereby lowering the balance of the discounts on accounts payable and increasing the balance of notes payable. The following is an example of notes payable and the corresponding interest, and how each is recorded as a journal entry.