Accrued expenses and accrued income in Morocco: the closing method

An invoice not yet received eventually arrives. But some debts will never be invoiced by anyone: the leave an employee has earned without taking it, the bonus owed for the year, the interest accrued on a loan, the rebate promised to a customer. They still belong to the year that is ending, and they are the most commonly forgotten, precisely because no document turns up to claim them.

1. Placing the family and its two cases already covered

Accrued expenses and accrued income cover everything belonging to the year without having been invoiced. Two members of the family follow an invoice that will eventually arrive, and are treated separately.

Case	Will an invoice come?	Where it is covered
Goods received, invoice pending	Yes, from the supplier	Invoice not yet received
Goods delivered, invoice to issue	Yes, from you	Invoice to be issued
Leave earned but not taken	No, never	Here
Bonus owed for the year	No	Here
Interest accrued, not yet due	No, the schedule is enough	Here
Annual rebate promised	No, it will be calculated later	Here

The distinction is practical rather than theoretical: when an invoice is expected, you have a document to check against and an amount still to come. When there is none, the obligation only exists if someone thinks to calculate it, and that is the whole subject of this guide.

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2. Paid leave and everything attached to it

This is the most significant accrued expense in a small business, and the one most often missing. An employee who has earned days without taking them holds a claim on the business.

1. Record, employee by employee, the days earned and untaken at the closing date.
2. The labour code gives a day and a half of working days per month of actual work, after six months of continuous service.
3. Value those days on the pay that would be due at the time the leave is taken.
4. Add the corresponding employer social charges: the debt is not the salary alone.
5. Do the same for bonuses and gratuities owed for the year but paid afterwards.
6. Document the calculation per employee, and keep the statement of leave balances.

Forgetting the social charges is the most common error on this line: it understates the debt by a far from trivial percentage. The accrual covers the full cost to the employer, not the net pay nor even the gross alone.

3. The other accrued expenses, and accrued income

Beyond payroll, a few items come up regularly, in both directions. The reasoning is symmetrical: an obligation arising on one side is a right earned on the other.

• Interest accrued but not yet due: A loan whose instalment falls after the closing date has produced interest over the elapsed period. The repayment schedule is enough to prorate it.
• Rebates and discounts to be granted: A year-end rebate promised contractually to a customer is a cost of the year, even though it will be calculated and invoiced later.
• Rebates to be obtained from a supplier: Symmetrically, a rebate earned on volumes already achieved is accrued income, not a pleasant surprise in the following year.
• Financial income accrued: Interest on a deposit earned over the period attaches to the year, regardless of the date it is actually paid.

Rebates to be obtained are the most commonly forgotten line on the income side, for a simple reason: it works in your favour and nobody claims what you owe yourself. It is found in the commercial terms negotiated with your suppliers.

4. The common method, and the second tax test

Whatever the item, the approach is the same in four steps, and it ends with a question that is not an accounting one.

1. Identify the obligation or right arising before the close, from a contract, a payslip or a repayment schedule.
2. Put a figure on it, even approximately, documenting the basis used.
3. Record the cost or the income, against an accruals account.
4. Reverse at opening, like any adjusting entry.
5. Then check, item by item, whether the cost is deductible for tax.

That last step deserves to be raised explicitly with your accountant. An accrued expense correctly recorded in the accounts may follow a particular tax treatment depending on its nature, and the conclusion can be: accounting cost justified, added back for tax. The two lines of reasoning are distinct, as with provisions.

Mistakes to avoid

• Not keeping a statement of leave balances per employee.
• Accruing leave without the employer social charges.
• Forgetting bonuses owed for the year and paid afterwards.
• Ignoring interest accrued on outstanding loans.
• Leaving out rebates to be obtained, which work in your favour.
• Inferring an automatic tax conclusion from the accounting treatment.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference from an invoice not yet received?

An invoice not yet received awaits a document from the supplier that will eventually arrive. A strict accrued expense will never be invoiced by anyone: earned leave, bonuses, accrued interest. The estimation method is close; the origin is not.

How is earned leave valued?

On the pay that would be due at the time the leave is taken, plus employer social charges. The calculation is done employee by employee from the statement of balances at the closing date.

Are these costs deductible for tax?

The accounting entry does not settle deductibility, which is assessed item by item under the tax code’s conditions. Have your accountant confirm the tax treatment of each type of cost rather than inferring it from the chart of accounts.

Should a bonus not yet decided be accrued?

Only where the obligation arose before the close: a contractual commitment, a constant practice, a decision already taken. A purely discretionary bonus, not committed at the closing date, is not a debt.

Does BelloPOS handle leave and bonuses?

The payroll module is part of BelloPOS Pro and carries the pay components. Calculating the closing accrual and its tax treatment remain your accountant’s responsibility.

What to take away

Accrued expenses are the only closing entries that nothing turns up to claim. Keep the statement of leave balances all year, add the social charges, do not forget accrued interest and rebates in both directions, then ask the tax question separately. It is the line where omission is easiest and most expensive.

Sources

The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.

• Ministry of Economy and Finance, General Code of Accounting Standardisation, read 1 September 2026
• Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code
• Ministry of Justice, Labour Code, read 31 August 2026

Read next

Other practical guides on the same subject:

• Invoices not yet received in Morocco: how to identify and record them
• Invoices to be issued in Morocco: recording sales not yet billed
• Accounting provisions in Morocco: when and how to record them
• Closing the books in Morocco: the order the steps have to follow