ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, NET OF ALLOWANCE (Tables)

9 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Dec. 31, 2018

Long Term Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance

Long-term accounts receivable, net, consisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Customer receivables	$	162,967		$	167,017
Unearned finance income		(17,254	)		(17,000	)
Allowance for bad debt		(6,105	)		(4,941	)
Accounts receivable, net of allowance		139,608			145,076
Less: Current portion, net of allowance		61,470			57,928
Long-term portion, net of allowance	$	78,138		$	87,148

Long-term accounts receivable, net, consisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2018			2017
Customer receivables ⁽¹⁾	$	167,017		$	225,380
Unearned finance income ⁽¹⁾		(17,000	)		(20,534	)
Allowance for contract cancellations ⁽¹⁾		(4,941	)		(19,795	)
Accounts receivable, net of allowance		145,076			185,051
Less: Current portion, net of allowance		57,928			79,116
Long-term portion, net of allowance	$	87,148		$	105,935

Activity in Allowance for Contract Cancellations

Activity in the allowance for bad debt was as follows (in thousands):

	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Balance, beginning of period	$	4,941		$	19,795
Cumulative effect of accounting changes		—			(12,876	)
Provision for bad debt		5,380			7,358
Charge-offs, net		(4,216	)		(9,336	)
Balance, end of period	$	6,105		$	4,941

Activity in the allowance for contract cancellations was as follows (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2018			2017
Balance, beginning of period ⁽¹⁾	$	19,795		$	26,153
Cumulative effect of accounting changes		(12,876	)		—
Provision for bad debt ⁽¹⁾		7,358			6,244
Charge-offs, net		(9,336	)		(12,602	)
Balance, end of period	$	4,941		$	19,795

⁽¹⁾

Upon adoption of ASC 606, the Partnership reclassified amounts due from customers for unfulfilled performance obligations on cancellable pre-need contracts to deferred revenue, net. As a result, the Partnership also eliminated the allowance for cancellation of these performance obligations. As the Partnership is now presenting the accounts receivable net of cancellable contracts, the allowance for cancellations was removed and the allowance on accounts receivable is represented by the provision for bad debt.