Accounts Receivable (AR) and Cash Collections Workflow Checklist for CAS Clients
3 min de lectura
0
Comentarios
13
Visualizaciones
Fast revenue growth means little if cash remains trapped in unpaid customer invoices. Many small and mid-sized businesses excel at selling products or delivering services but fall weeks behind on sending invoices, following up on overdue balances, or applying partial payments. By implementing a structured Accounts Receivable (AR) and cash collections workflow, a Client Accounting Services (CAS) team directly improves the client's working capital, lowers Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), and demonstrates measurable financial ROI.
Phase 1: Customer Onboarding and Credit Governance
Strong collections begin before an invoice is ever generated.
- Verify Customer Billing Contacts and Payment Terms: Capture the exact accounts payable email address, purchase order requirements, tax-exempt certificates (if applicable), and agreed net payment terms (such as Due on Receipt, Net 15, or Net 30) for every new customer.
- Enable Digital Payment Links on Every Invoice: Configure your cloud accounting or AR automation platform (such as Chaser, Invoiced, or QuickBooks Online Payments) so customers can pay immediately via ACH bank transfer or credit card directly from the emailed invoice.
- Establish Clear Late Fee and Credit Hold Policies: Work with the business owner to define written policies specifying when late payment fees apply and when past-due customer accounts are placed on temporary service or shipping hold.
Phase 2: Accurate, Timely Invoicing Cadence
- Eliminate Invoicing Delays: Schedule recurring weekly or milestone-based billing runs so customer invoices are issued within 24 to 48 hours of service delivery, project completion, or product shipment.
- Audit Line Items, Sales Tax, and Retainage: Before sending invoices, verify hourly time-and-materials logs, contract milestone percentages, freight charges, and destination-based US sales tax calculations.
- Automate Recurring Retainers and Subscriptions: Set up automated recurring billing schedules for monthly retainer or SaaS clients so predictable revenue invoices go out on the 1st of every month without manual intervention.
Phase 3: Proactive Dunning and Cash Application
- Deploy Automated Multi-Touch Payment Reminders: Configure polite, automated email reminders at key intervals—for example, 3 days before the due date, on the due date, 7 days past due, and 15 days past due—including a direct payment link in every message.
- Escalate 30+ Day Past-Due Accounts: Flag invoices exceeding 30 days past due for personalized phone outreach by the client's account manager or designated AR specialist, documenting promised payment dates inside your workflow tracker.
- Apply Incoming Payments and Clear Undeposited Funds Weekly: Match incoming ACH transfers, lockbox checks, and merchant processor payouts to open invoices every week. Investigate short-payments, customer chargebacks, or unapplied credits immediately rather than letting them sit in Undeposited Funds.
- Reconcile AR Aging and Bad Debt Reserves at Month-End: Tie the month-end AR aging summary to the Balance Sheet, calculate Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), and review accounts over 90 days past due with the client for bad-debt write-off or collection agency referral.
https://exuberantglobal.com/blog/client-accounting-services-cas
