What Is Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)?Days sales outstanding (DSO) is a measure of the average number of days that it takes a company to collect payment for a sale. DSO is often determined on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. To compute DSO, divide the average accounts receivable during a given period by the total value of credit sales during the same period, and then multiply the result by the number of days in the period being measured. Days sales outstanding is an element of the cash c...