At the beginning of the current period, Emler Corp. had balances in Accounts Receivable of $200,000 and in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $9,000 (credit). During the period, it had net credit sales of $650,000 and collections of $590,000. It wrote off as uncollectible accounts receivable of $5,000. However, a $3,000 account previously written off as uncollectible was recovered before the end of the current period. Uncollectible accounts are estimated to total $20,000 at the end of the period. Q: Prepare the entry to record bad debts expense for the period.

The answer = [20000 - (9000-5000+3000)] =13000

Shouldn't it be [20000 - (9000+5000-3000)] =9000 since we are calculating the bad debts expense? Please explain.