# Dating terms

A term used when buying electrical supply house.

Extended payment dates a manufacturer grants on a seasonal or project order, ahead of the sale.

Dating is how a distributor stocks for a season it has not sold yet, and it is a quiet form of supplier finance. It also distorts a balance sheet read at the wrong moment: a house that has just taken a dated order looks heavy on inventory and heavy on payables at the same time, and one that has just paid looks thin on cash. Ask which lines carry dating, what the terms are, and where in the year the balance sheet you are reading actually sits.

Part of: Buying an Electrical Supply House (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-electrical-supply-house)

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-electrical-supply-house/terms/dating-terms