The operating cycle Select an answer and submit. For keyboard navigation, use the up/down arrow keys to select an answer. a Begins when the company receives the raw materials it purchased that would be used to produce the goods that the company manufactures Begins when the company uses its cash to purchase raw materials and ends when the company collects cash payments on its credit sales To measure operating cycle we need another measure called the days payables outstanding Ends not with the finished goods being sold to customers and the cash collected on the sales; but when you take into account the time taken by the company to pay for its purchases