In credit and collections work, after how much time without payment is an accounts receivable (A/R) balance typically considered delinquent for standard reporting purposes?

Introduction / Context:
Ageing of accounts receivable is a key concept in credit control and collections. Businesses classify unpaid invoices into age buckets such as current, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and more than 90 days. Interviewers often ask when an account is considered delinquent to test familiarity with standard credit practices.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The question refers to a typical commercial environment with standard credit terms, often 30 days from invoice date.
- Delinquent here means significantly overdue and in need of stronger collection efforts, not just a few days late.
- Exact definitions can vary by company and industry, but 90 days is a widely used threshold in many policies and reports.

Concept / Approach:
Most companies treat invoices as current until the due date. Once past due, they may classify them into ageing buckets. Many organisations consider accounts that are more than 90 days past due as seriously delinquent or doubtful. This does not mean that earlier late payments are ignored, but the 90 day point often triggers escalated collection steps and higher provisioning for bad debts in financial reporting.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that normal credit terms are around 30 days, so an invoice unpaid at 30 days is simply past due.
Step 2: Companies then monitor buckets such as 31 to 60 days, 61 to 90 days and more than 90 days.
Step 3: Many credit policies classify accounts in the more than 90 days bucket as delinquent or high risk, leading to stronger collection and possible suspension of further credit.
Step 4: Therefore, among the options, 90 days without payment is the most appropriate standard threshold for a delinquent balance.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can cross check by thinking about bad debt provisioning. Financial statements often pay special attention to receivables that are overdue for more than 90 days, and auditors frequently focus on this group. This supports the idea that 90 days is a widely recognised delinquency mark, even though internal details vary.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, 15 days, is usually too short, as many customers pay close to due dates and minor administrative delays are common. Option B, 30 days, is often just the end of normal credit terms, not yet a severe delinquency classification. Option D, 365 days, would be far too late and most such accounts would be treated as bad debts long before that time.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates think there is a single legal definition of delinquency for all businesses, which is not correct. Policies can differ, but for general interview purposes using 90 days as the point at which an account is viewed as seriously delinquent is acceptable. Another mistake is to confuse an ageing bucket label with actual legal default or write off, which are policy and contract specific decisions.

Final Answer:
Correct option: After 90 days with no payment activity on the outstanding balance.