[martin_bech]

Well dosent Apple usually prepay? Thats normally why they get preferential treatment.

[ralph84]

In accrual accounting payment has very little connection to when revenue is recognized. In order for revenue to be recognized the product has to ship.

[refulgentis]

It's more complicated than this, accounting as a field exists pretty much because there's intricate sets of rules and ways to interpret them. Here, my understanding is a good accountant would say not to recognize the revenue until you consider it shipped -

i.e. if you agree to pay me a bajillion dollars for a time machine with an out clause of no cash if no delivery, that doesn't mean I get to book a bajillion dollars in revenue

over the top example, but this was the general shape of much Enron chicanery, booking speculative revenue based on coming to terms on projects they were in no shape to deliver, so its very much an accounting 'code smell' if 'code smell' meant 'attracts regulators attention'

[bombcar]

I think this case is how do you book you paying one billion cash today for a time machine sometime next Tuesday of next year?

Accrual accounting says even if you have the money it’s not “yours” until the product ships.