B2B Accounts Receivable Best Practices

B2B Invoice Collection
6Essential Steps
For Timely

Considering the dramatic impact accounts
receivable can have on your bottom line, B2B
invoice collection is not a task to be
taken lightly.

Accounts receivable is likely one of
your most important assets &
should be treated as such; with a
specific and methodical process to
ensure that nothing falls through
the cracks…

…So here are 6 steps every collector must do to ensure
positive customer relationships.
healthy cash flow.
successful B2B invoice collection.

Step One: Sending the Invoice
It seems simple. But you’d be surprised at how often
tiny invoice mistakes lead to bigger problems.
Image

Be
prompt.
The sooner the customer has
the invoice, the sooner they
can process it.

Make sure the
invoice is
complete
Include all of the information your customers
need to pay you, such as:
• Order information
• Amount due
• Due date
• Terms
• When/where/how/ who they will pay
49%
of invoice disputes
are caused by
missing or incorrect
information

11%
of invoices are paid
late because the
customer never
actually received
the invoice
Check customer contact
info regularly
Internal shifts in the company,
physical relocations, and other
factors will impact the accuracy
of your contacts. Be sure to
always ask the best contact
information for their accounting
department.

Learn More About
Avoiding Invoice
In This Resource:
Click to Download
Dispute Management
Strategies for Business
Credit Professionals
Link not working? Type this link into your browser http://anytimecollect.com/Pages/Resources.aspx

Step Two: Confirm Invoice
Delivery
Did your customer receive the invoice?
Do they have any questions?
If there is a problem with the invoice,
your customer is likely to just put it
aside and deal with it later. If you call to
follow-up, you can answer their
questions right away and help them
submit payment sooner.

Many customers may need a reminder or
two before they get around to sending
payment. A majority of your customers
want and mean to pay the invoice, but
they forget, are having cash flow
problems, lost the invoice, etc.
A friendly call, letter, or email may be all
they need. Be sure to remind them
a before the due date.
Step Three: Keep in
Touch

Remember: There are
many different types of
communications, and timing is
everything.
This resource has everything you need
to know, suggestions, communication
templates, and call scripts to help you
do make the most out of each and every
customer communication.
Click to Download
Link not working? Type this link into your browser http://anytimecollect.com/Pages/Resources.aspx

Step Four: Ask About Late
Payment
If your customer has still not submitted payment after the due date, something may be
wrong. If it is a new customer or one who is usually a problem, you may want to
escalate this invoice. If it’s a customer who has been around for a long time or is
generally quick to pay, there may be an unusual circumstance you can help them with.
Either way, in this stage you should get in contact with them. Remain friendly and
professional, find out why they still have not paid you, and figure out how you can fix
this problem together.

Step Five: Apply Pressure
If you find that your invoice was received, the information was
correct, there are no atypical circumstances, the product or
service was provided, and your customer is still not paying, it’s
time to get a little more forceful with your collection efforts.
Be firm, but don’t cross the line

Step Six: Escalate the Account
You’ve done everything you can, and the invoice still has not been paid. At this point, the
chances of you ever getting paid are pretty slim, and it may be time to start thinking of
turning things over to a collection agency.
Before doing so, have your management level
employee contact the customer, review with
them all of the steps your company has taken
to collection this debt, and give them a final
chance and a deadline, if they do not pay by
XXX this will be turned over to a collections
agency.

To be effective in B2B invoice
collection, you need to take
each and every one of
these steps…

…for each and every one of your invoices!

…and that is where
can get overwhelming.

When you have a large number of orders and
invoices, it’s hard to find the time to take
all of the above steps while also managing invoice
disputes and other critical tasks.

There is a
better way
to get paid
faster

by
automating
important & time
consuming tasks

Accounts receivable automation
allows you to put B2B invoice collection on auto-pilot and
eliminate the more time consuming steps in this process such as:
• Prioritizing collector tasks
• sending reminder letters
• tracking aging
• running reports
• scheduling calls
• updating account information
• more
so you can focus on more valuable activities.

Companies who utilize automation are able to reallocate their time
away from clerical duties and focus it on other value-added tasks.
According to this study by
PayStream Advisors,
automation allows collectors to
spend 3X more time talking
with customers about payment
than those who use traditional
methods.

•10% to 20% reductions in days sales outstanding (DSO)
•25% reductions in past due receivables
•15% to 25% reductions in bad debt reserves
•ROI in as little as 2 months

So, what’s stopping you
from getting paid
on time?

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B2B Accounts Receivable Best Practices

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