Customer Financing	12 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2016
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Customer Financing	Customer Financing As a convenience to our customers, we offer several different financing alternatives, including a third party program and a Patterson-sponsored program. For the third party program, we act as a facilitator between the customer and the third party financing entity with no on-going involvement in the financing transaction. Under our sponsored program, equipment purchased by customers with strong credit may be financed up to a maximum of $500 for any one customer. We generally sell our customers’ financing contracts to outside financial institutions in the normal course of our business. These financing arrangements are accounted for as a sale of assets under the provisions of ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing. We currently have two arrangements under which we sell these contracts. First, we operate under an agreement to sell a portion of our equipment finance contracts to commercial paper conduits with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. serving as the agent. We utilize a special purpose entity (“SPE”), PDC Funding, a consolidated, wholly owned subsidiary, to fulfill a requirement of participating in the commercial paper conduit. We receive the proceeds of the contracts upon sale. At least 9% of the proceeds are held by the conduit as security against eventual performance of the portfolio. This percentage can be greater and is based upon certain ratios defined in the agreement. The capacity under the agreement at April 30, 2016 was $575,000. Second, we also maintain an agreement with Fifth Third Bank whereby the bank purchases customers’ financing contracts. We established another SPE, PDC Funding II, a consolidated, wholly owned subsidiary, which sells financing contracts to the bank. We receive the proceeds of the contracts upon sale. At least 10% of the proceeds are held by the conduit as security against eventual performance of the portfolio. This percentage can be greater and is based upon certain ratios defined in the agreement. The capacity under the agreement at April 30, 2016 was $100,000. We retain servicing responsibilities under both agreements, for which we are paid a servicing fee. The servicing fees we receive are considered adequate compensation for services rendered. Accordingly, no servicing asset or liability has been recorded. The portion of the purchase price for the receivables held by the conduits is a deferred purchase price receivable, which is paid to the SPE as payments on the receivables are collected from customers. The difference between the carrying amount of the receivables sold under these programs and the sum of the cash and fair value of the deferred purchase price receivables received at time of transfer is recognized as a gain on sale of the related receivables and recorded in net sales in the consolidated statements of income. Expenses incurred related to customer financing activities were recorded in operating expenses in our consolidated statements of income. During fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, we sold $359,646, $312,303 and $282,698, respectively, of contracts under these arrangements to outside institutions. We recorded net sales in the consolidated statements of income of $30,123, $21,668 and $15,865 during fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, related to these contracts sold. Included in cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets are $27,186 and $29,863 as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively, which represent cash collected from previously sold customer financing arrangements that have not yet been settled with the third party. Included in current receivables in the consolidated balance sheets are $87,406, net of unearned income of $1,768, and $88,470, net of unearned income of $4,197, as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively, of finance contracts we have not yet sold. A total of $600,961 of finance contracts receivable sold under the agreements was outstanding at April 30, 2016. The deferred purchase price under the arrangements was $108,837 and $89,588 as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively. Since the internal financing program began in 1994, bad debt write-offs have amounted to less than 1% of the loans originated. The agreements require us to maintain a minimum current ratio and maximum leverage ratio. We were in compliance with those covenants at April 30, 2016.

Customer Financing

As a convenience to our customers, we offer several different financing alternatives, including a third party program and a Patterson-sponsored program. For the third party program, we act as a facilitator between the customer and the third party financing entity with no on-going involvement in the financing transaction. Under our sponsored program, equipment purchased by customers with strong credit may be financed up to a maximum of $500 for any one customer. We generally sell our customers’ financing contracts to outside financial institutions in the normal course of our business. These financing arrangements are accounted for as a sale of assets under the provisions of ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing. We currently have two arrangements under which we sell these contracts.

First, we operate under an agreement to sell a portion of our equipment finance contracts to commercial paper conduits with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. serving as the agent. We utilize a special purpose entity (“SPE”), PDC Funding, a consolidated, wholly owned subsidiary, to fulfill a requirement of participating in the commercial paper conduit. We receive the proceeds of the contracts upon sale. At least 9% of the proceeds are held by the conduit as security against eventual performance of the portfolio. This percentage can be greater and is based upon certain ratios defined in the agreement. The capacity under the agreement at April 30, 2016 was $575,000.

Second, we also maintain an agreement with Fifth Third Bank whereby the bank purchases customers’ financing contracts. We established another SPE, PDC Funding II, a consolidated, wholly owned subsidiary, which sells financing contracts to the bank. We receive the proceeds of the contracts upon sale. At least 10% of the proceeds are held by the conduit as security against eventual performance of the portfolio. This percentage can be greater and is based upon certain ratios defined in the agreement. The capacity under the agreement at April 30, 2016 was $100,000.

We retain servicing responsibilities under both agreements, for which we are paid a servicing fee. The servicing fees we receive are considered adequate compensation for services rendered. Accordingly, no servicing asset or liability has been recorded.

The portion of the purchase price for the receivables held by the conduits is a deferred purchase price receivable, which is paid to the SPE as payments on the receivables are collected from customers. The difference between the carrying amount of the receivables sold under these programs and the sum of the cash and fair value of the deferred purchase price receivables received at time of transfer is recognized as a gain on sale of the related receivables and recorded in net sales in the consolidated statements of income. Expenses incurred related to customer financing activities were recorded in operating expenses in our consolidated statements of income.

During fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, we sold $359,646, $312,303 and $282,698, respectively, of contracts under these arrangements to outside institutions. We recorded net sales in the consolidated statements of income of $30,123, $21,668 and $15,865 during fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, related to these contracts sold.

Included in cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets are $27,186 and $29,863 as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively, which represent cash collected from previously sold customer financing arrangements that have not yet been settled with the third party. Included in current receivables in the consolidated balance sheets are $87,406, net of unearned income of $1,768, and $88,470, net of unearned income of $4,197, as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively, of finance contracts we have not yet sold. A total of $600,961 of finance contracts receivable sold under the agreements was outstanding at April 30, 2016. The deferred purchase price under the arrangements was $108,837 and $89,588 as of April 30, 2016 and April 25, 2015, respectively. Since the internal financing program began in 1994, bad debt write-offs have amounted to less than 1% of the loans originated.

The agreements require us to maintain a minimum current ratio and maximum leverage ratio. We were in compliance with those covenants at April 30, 2016.