Collection starts with the invoice
The moment an invoice is issued, the payment date, method and terms become clear; actions before and after the due date are part of a defined process.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive Summary
Collection is not just asking a customer for an overdue receivable. It is an end-to-end cash conversion system that starts the moment an invoice is issued and covers payment dates, customer behaviour, open account, delays, commitments, exceptions, roles and decision authority.
Key Management Areas
6 topicsAbility to pay and payment behaviour are not the same thing
A financially strong customer can still pay irregularly. Consistent, predictable collection discipline can influence a customer’s payment priorities and strengthen the company’s cash conversion.
Open account is a controlled part of the collection system
The Invoice Due Date → Actual Collection Date → Actual Financing Period chain is made visible. This shows whether open account is a temporary trading tool or permanent financing given to the customer.
“Open account is a controlled transit zone in the collection system, not a place where company capital settles with the customer.”
Collection is the result of the company’s system, not of one department
Sales, finance, credit risk, receivables, accounting and, where needed, legal play different roles in the same cash cycle. Ownership of collection is clear; roles, decision authority and responsibilities are defined by shared rules.
Commercial flexibility is preserved while exceptions stay manageable
A strong system does not remove flexibility. Different terms, payment models and commercial exceptions are managed with defined authority, time limits and conditions for returning to normal.
“Discipline is not never making exceptions; it is being able to manage them.”
Collection performance becomes visible, measurable and digital
On-time collection, delays, open account, customer commitments and actions are tracked in a way management can see. Technology makes well-built collection discipline sustainable.
“Digitalisation does not create discipline; it makes well-built discipline sustainable.”
WITH ALMERA
What changes when ALMERA comes in?
01The invoice-to-cash collection process, roles and decision authority are combined in a single management architecture.- 02Customer payment behaviour, on-time collection, delays, open account, commitments and exceptions are made measurable.
- 03A structure is built in which sales and collection performance can be seen within the same cash cycle.
- 04Manual, person-dependent processes are digitalised where possible to create a sustainable Collection Management System.
THE ALMERA VIEW
Sales create value. Collection turns that value into cash. The system keeps this conversion from depending on chance or individuals.