Under the accrual basis of accounting, unpaid wages that have been earned by employees should be entered as 1) Wages Expense and 2) Wages Payable or Accrued Wages Payable. Wages Expense is an income statement account. Wages Payable is a current liability account that is reported on the balance sheet.

The recording of wages that have been earned but not yet paid or processed through the routine payroll entries is referred to as accruing wages. This is done through an accrual-type adjusting entry.

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