# Quick Ratio Formula With Examples, Pros and Cons

> **Definition**
>
> The quick ratio evaluates a company's ability to meet its current obligations using its most liquid assets.

## What Is the Quick Ratio?

The quick ratio measures a company’s ability to immediately meet its short-term obligations using its most liquid assets. The quick ratio is used to evaluate the strength of a company's cash position.

The quick ratio is sometimes called the [acid test ratio](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/acidtest.asp).

### Key Takeaways

*   The quick ratio measures a company’s capacity to pay its current liabilities without borrowing money.
*   The quick ratio is considered a more conservative measure than the current ratio, which includes all current assets as coverage for current liabilities.
*   The quick ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s most liquid assets like cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and accounts receivables by its total current liabilities.
*   The higher the ratio, the better a company’s financial health; the lower the ratio, the more likely the company will struggle with paying debts.

![Quick Ratio](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/1QY-6T7LSux-36yCHR4nfBb7Pec=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/terms-q-quickratio-2629d7a6437841dc8f5c482c0c3f8a57.jpg)

*The ideal quick ratio is 1 or higher, although it can vary by industry. — Madelyn Goodnight / Investopedia*

## Formula for the Quick Ratio

There are a few different ways to calculate the quick ratio. The most common approach is to add the most liquid assets and divide the total by current liabilities:

$\begin{aligned}&\textbf{Quick Ratio}\mathbf{=}\frac{\textbf{``Quick Assets''}}{\textbf{Current Liabilities}}\end{aligned} $

Quick assets are defined as the most liquid current assets that can easily be exchanged for cash. For most companies, quick assets are limited to just a few types of assets:

$\begin{aligned}&\textbf{Quick Assets}\mathbf{=}\textbf{Cash}\mathbf{+}\textbf{CE}\mathbf{+}\textbf{MS}\mathbf{+}\textbf{NAR}\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\text{CE}=\text{Cash equivalents}\\&\text{MS}=\text{Marketable securities}\\&\text{NAR}=\text{Net accounts receivable}\end{aligned}$

Depending on what type of current assets a company has on its balance sheet, a company may also calculate quick assets by deducting illiquid current assets from its [balance sheet](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/balancesheet.asp). For example, consider that inventory and prepaid expenses may not be easily or quickly converted to cash; a company may calculate quick assets as follows:

$\begin{aligned}&\textbf{Quick Assets}\mathbf{=}\textbf{TCA}\mathbf{-}\textbf{Inventory}\mathbf{-}\textbf{PE}\\&\textbf{where:}\\&\textbf{TCA}=\text{Total current assets}\\&\textbf{PE}=\text{Prepaid expenses}\end{aligned}$

Regardless of which method is used to calculate quick assets, the calculation for current liabilities is the same, as all current liabilities are included in the formula.  

## What the Quick Ratio Can Tell You

The quick ratio measures the dollar amount of liquid assets available against the dollar amount of current liabilities of a company.

[Liquid assets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liquidasset.asp) are those [current assets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentassets.asp) that can be quickly converted into cash with minimal impact on the price received in the open market, while [current liabilities](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentliabilities.asp) are a company’s debts or obligations that are due to be paid to creditors within one year.

A company that has a quick ratio of less than one may not be able to fully pay off its current liabilities in the short term, while a company having a quick ratio higher than one can instantly get rid of its current liabilities.

For instance, a quick ratio of 1.5 indicates that a company has $1.50 of liquid assets available to cover each $1 of its current liabilities.

While such [numbers-based ratios](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/defensive-interval-ratio.asp) offer insight into the viability and certain aspects of a business, they may not provide a complete picture of the overall health of the business. It is important to look at other associated measures to assess the true picture of a company’s financial health.

> **Important**
>
> The higher the quick ratio, the better a company’s liquidity and financial health, but it is important to look at other related measures to assess the whole picture of a company’s financial health.

## Components of the Quick Ratio

### Cash

Cash is among the more straightforward pieces of the quick ratio. A company should strive to reconcile its cash balance to monthly bank statements received from its financial institutions. This cash component may include cash from foreign countries translated to a single denomination.

### Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents are often an extension of cash, as this account often houses investments with very low risk and high liquidity. Cash equivalents often include but may not necessarily be limited to Treasury bills, certificates of deposits (being mindful of options/fees to break the CD), bankers’ acceptances, corporate commercial paper, or other money market instruments.

In a publication by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), digital assets such as cryptocurrency or digital tokens may not be reported as cash or cash equivalents.  

### Marketable Securities

[Marketable securities](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketablesecurities.asp) are usually free from such time-bound dependencies. However, to maintain precision in the calculation, one should consider only the amount to be actually received in 90 days or less under normal terms. Early liquidation or premature withdrawal of assets like interest-bearing securities may lead to penalties or discounted book value.

### Net Accounts Receivable

Whether [accounts receivable](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accountsreceivable.asp) is a source of quick, ready cash remains a debatable topic, and it depends on the credit terms that the company extends to its customers. A company that needs advance payments or allows only 30 days for customers to pay will be in a better liquidity position than a company that gives 90 days.

On the other hand, a company could negotiate the rapid receipt of payments from its customers and secure longer terms of payment from its suppliers, which would keep liabilities on the books longer. By converting accounts receivable to cash faster, it may have a healthier quick ratio and be fully equipped to pay off its current liabilities.  

The total accounts receivable balance should be reduced by the estimated amount of uncollectible receivables. As the quick ratio only wants to reflect the cash that could be on hand, the formula should not include any receivables that a company does not expect to receive.

### Current Liabilities

The quick ratio pulls all current liabilities from a company’s balance sheet, as it does not attempt to distinguish between when payments may be due. The quick ratio assumes that all current liabilities have a near-term due date.

Total current liabilities are often calculated as the sum of various accounts, including accounts payable, wages payable, current portions of long-term debt, and taxes payable.  

> **Fast Fact**
>
> Because prepaid expenses may not be refundable and inventory may be difficult to convert to cash quickly without severe product discounts, both are excluded from the asset portion of the quick ratio.

## Quick Ratio vs. Current Ratio

The quick ratio is more conservative than the [current ratio](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentratio.asp) because it excludes inventory and other current assets, which are generally more difficult to turn into cash. 

The quick ratio considers only assets that can be converted to cash in a short period of time. The current ratio, on the other hand, considers inventory and prepaid expense assets.

In most companies, [inventory](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inventory.asp) takes time to liquidate, although a few rare companies can turn their inventory fast enough to consider it a quick asset. [Prepaid expenses](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prepaidexpense.asp), though an asset, cannot be used to pay for current liabilities, so they’re omitted from the quick ratio.

## Advantages and Disadvantages of the Quick Ratio

### Advantages

The quick ratio has the advantage of being a more conservative estimate of how liquid a company is. Compared to other calculations that include potentially illiquid assets, the quick ratio is often a better true indicator of short-term cash capabilities.

The quick ratio is also fairly easy and straightforward to calculate. It’s relatively easy to understand, especially when comparing a company’s liquidity against a target calculation such as 1.0. The quick ratio can be used to analyze a single company over a period of time or can be used to compare similar companies.

### Disadvantages

There are several downsides to the quick ratio. The financial metric does not give any indication of a company’s future cash flow activity. Though a company may be sitting on $1 million today, the company may not be selling a profitable product and may struggle to maintain its cash balance in the future.

There are also considerations to make regarding the true liquidity of accounts receivable as well as marketable securities in some situations.

Pros

*   Conservative approach to estimating a company’s liquidity
    
*   Relatively straightforward to calculate
    
*   All components are reported on a company’s balance sheet
    
*   Can be used to compare companies across time periods or sectors
    

Cons

*   Does not consider future cash flow capabilities of the company
    
*   Does not consider long-term liabilities (some of which may be due as early as 12 months from now)
    
*   May overstate the true collectability of accounts receivable
    
*   May overstate the true liquidity of marketable securities during economic downturns
    

## Example of How to Use the Quick Ratio

Publicly traded companies may report the quick ratio figure under the “Liquidity/Financial Health” heading in the “Key Ratios” section of their quarterly reports.

Below is the calculation of the quick ratio based on the figures that appear on the balance sheets of two leading competitors operating in the personal care industrial sector, ABC and XYZ.

With a quick ratio of over 1.0, XYZ appears to be in a decent position to cover its current liabilities, as its liquid assets are greater than the total of its short-term debt obligations. ABC, on the other hand, may not be able to pay off its current obligations using only quick assets, as its quick ratio is well below 1, at 0.45.

This shows that, disregarding profitability or income, XYZ appears to be in better short-term financial health regarding its ability to meet its short-term debt requirements.

### Explain Like I'm 5

The quick ratio is a way to check if a company has enough cash and other easily accessible money to pay its short-term bills. It looks at only the most liquid assets—things that can be quickly turned into cash—like money in the bank and payments from customers that will arrive soon.

By comparing these quick assets to the company's short-term debts, the quick ratio shows whether the company can pay what it owes without selling anything extra, like inventory.

A higher quick ratio means the company is in a stronger financial position, while a lower ratio could mean it might have a hard time covering its immediate expenses.

  

## Why Is It Called the Quick Ratio?

The quick ratio looks at only the most liquid assets that a company has available to service short-term debts and obligations. Liquid assets are those that can quickly and easily be converted into cash in order to pay those bills.

## Why Is the Quick Ratio Important?

The quick ratio communicates how well a company will be able to pay its short-term debts using only the most liquid of assets. The ratio is important because it signals to internal management and external investors whether the company will run out of cash. The quick ratio also holds more value than other liquidity ratios, such as the current ratio, because it has the most conservative approach to reflecting how a company can raise cash.

## Is a Higher Quick Ratio Better?

In general, a higher quick ratio is better. This is because the formula’s numerator (the most liquid current assets) will be higher than the formula’s denominator (the company’s current liabilities). A higher quick ratio signals that a company can be more liquid and generate cash quickly in case of an emergency.

Keep in mind that a very high quick ratio may not be better. For example, a company may be sitting on a very large cash balance. This capital could be used to generate company growth or invest in new markets. There is often a fine line between balancing short-term cash needs and spending capital for long-term potential.

## How Do the Quick and Current Ratios Differ?

The quick ratio only looks at the most liquid assets on a firm’s balance sheet, so it gives the most immediate picture of liquidity available if needed in a pinch, making it the most conservative measure of liquidity. The current ratio also includes less liquid assets such as inventories and other current assets such as prepaid expenses.

## What Happens If the Quick Ratio Indicates a Firm Is Not Liquid?

In this case, a [liquidity crisis](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liquidity-crisis.asp) can arise even at healthy companies if circumstances arise that make it difficult to meet short-term obligations, such as repaying their loans and paying their employees or suppliers.

One example of a far-reaching liquidity crisis from history is the global credit crunch of 2007–08, where many companies found themselves unable to secure short-term financing to pay their immediate obligations. If new financing cannot be found, the company may be forced to liquidate assets in a fire sale or seek bankruptcy protection.

## The Bottom Line

A company can’t exist without [cash flow](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cashflow.asp) and the ability to pay its bills as they come due. By measuring its quick ratio, a company can better understand what resources it has in the very short term in case it needs to liquidate current assets.

Though other liquidity ratios measure a company’s ability to be solvent in the short term, the quick ratio is among the most aggressive in deciding short-term liquidity capabilities.

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, via Internet Archive Wayback Machine. “[Accounting for and Auditing of Digital Assets](https://web.archive.org/web/20211021072809/https://us.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/interestareas/informationtechnology/downloadabledocuments/2104-39790-da-pda-update-web.pdf).”