What is wages outstanding?

[riya]

I’m trying to understand the term “wages outstanding” that I came across in accounting. From what I gather, it seems to relate to salaries or wages that a company still owes to its employees but hasn’t paid yet. Can someone explain it in simple terms, maybe with an example of how it’s recorded in the books?

 

[Rick_Grimes]

From my experience running a small business, wages outstanding refers to the money owed to employees for work they’ve already done but haven’t been paid for yet. It usually comes up at the end of an accounting period when payroll hasn’t been processed but the work was completed—like if your pay cycle ends mid-week, and you owe your team for those last few days. It’s recorded as a liability on the balance sheet since it’s an obligation you’ll settle soon. For example, last year, we had about $2,000 in wages outstanding for a week’s work before payday hit. It’s just part of keeping the books straight!

 

[peterkavinsky]

Wages outstanding are the unpaid salaries or wages that a company owes to its employees for work already performed but not yet paid by the end of an accounting period.

 

[Olivia]

Wages outstanding means:

Money that a company still owes to its workers for work already done, but not yet paid.

Example:
If employees worked this week but get paid next week, those are wages outstanding.

 

[nikhilrajoria]

It is salaries or wages owed to employees but not remitted at the end of an accounting period. Accounted for and thought of as a current liability.