Your Invoices Aren’t Getting Paid. Here’s How to Collect Them.

Lya Kimbrough, MBA | Lookout Bookkeeping

Slow payments kill cash flow. A client at 45 days. Another at 60. One sitting at 90. You’re waiting for money that’s already yours while you’re paying payroll, vendors, and taxes.

Most owners don’t have a system to collect. They hope and wait. Then, they lose.

Here’s what to do instead.

The domino effect is real: Late AR → cash shortage → late payroll → stressed team → missed growth.

You can’t control when clients pay. You can control whether you have a system to collect.

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Your AR Collection System

1. Set Payment Terms Upfront

When you send an invoice, clients need to know when it’s due. Default to net 30. Anything longer eats cash. Be explicit in every invoice: “Payment due by [date].”

2. Weekly AR Audit

Every Monday, 10 minutes. Pull invoices older than 15 days. Identify what’s aging and who owes what.

3. Follow Up by Days Overdue

• 30 days: Friendly check-in email. “Just confirming you got this—let me know if you have questions.”
• 45 days: Pick up the phone. Call. Email misses things. “Hi [name], checking on invoice [#]. Any issues on your end?”
• 60+ days: Direct conversation. “This invoice is 60 days out. What’s happening?” It’s either a cash problem, a service problem, or they forgot. Find out which.

4. Make it Easy to Pay

Offer payment options: ACH, credit card, online payment portal. Friction kills collection. Remove it.

5. Track Your DSO

Calculate monthly: (Accounts Receivable / Revenue) × 30. If it’s creeping up (30 → 40 → 50 days), your customers are paying slower. Adjust your terms or investigate why.

6. Red-Flag Problem Clients

Once you see the pattern, you know who’s slow. With future invoices to slow payers, consider:

• Shorter payment terms (net 15 instead of 30)
• Deposits upfront
• Partial payment schedules
• Higher pricing to offset the cash delay

This week: Pull your invoices from the last 60 days. Which are paid? Which are aging? Calculate your DSO. That number tells you if you have a collection problem.

Then start your Monday AR review. Every week. 10 minutes.

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If You Need a Partner for This

Advisory Vault is a membership for business owners under $300k who want expert bookkeeping guidance without the full-service price tag. You handle your own books. We handle the strategy and accountability.

Here’s why it matters for AR specifically: Most owners don’t have anyone watching their aging invoices with them. You’re solo. You think “45 days is fine” until suddenly you’re 60+ and the damage is done.

With Vault, you’re checking in monthly. You pull your DSO. You flag problem clients. And you’ve got a partner asking the questions you’d skip: Is this creeping up? Are we following our collection timeline? Do we need to adjust terms with this client?

That monthly touchpoint catches drift early. Instead of realizing in December that your AR is a disaster, you spot it in August and fix it.

You get expert guidance on collection strategy specific to your business—different advice if you’re a service provider vs. product-based vs. consulting. And you’ve got support implementing the system, not just theory.

It’s accountability and expertise. It’s not full-service bookkeeping—it’s the “partner in your pocket” who helps you actually stick to the system you just learned.

→ Learn about Advisory Vault