A contract you do not collect is not a sale
28 Aug 2026 CollectionsAfter-sales
A company grows sales 40% and struggles to make payroll. The cause is not sales — it is that what was sold was never collected. Cash, not revenue, keeps a company alive.
Collection starts in negotiation, not after delivery
Most collection problems are created on signing day, when the contract is left with:
- Vague payment terms, "on delivery" means two different things to the two parties.
- No upfront payment, someone who paid nothing committed to nothing.
- No definition of delivery, "complete" is an opinion without a signed acceptance record.
- No named invoice recipient, so it is lost between the inbox and finance.
Three clauses that remove half the problem
- 30% upfront on signature. Do not apologise for it: it is the market norm, and anyone who refuses it outright is telling you about their liquidity.
- Delivery defined by a signed event, a dated acceptance record, not a "looks good" message.
- Payment terms in days from the invoice date, not "from delivery", with the recipient's name and email.
A follow-up schedule, not courtesies
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| 7 before due | A friendly reminder with the invoice attached |
| Due date | A short call, not an email |
| +7 | Escalate to the account owner on their side |
| +30 | Pause additional work (not the service) with written notice |
| +60 | Management escalation and a payment-plan option |
The key is that this is scheduled automatically from the invoice date, not left to whoever remembers. And the pre-due reminder resolves most delays — because most are forgetfulness, not refusal.
One metric worth watching
Average days to collect. If it is 75 days and your terms are 30, you are financing your customers for 45 days interest-free. Every ten days you cut returns liquidity equal to a whole deal.
Collection is not a dispute
Collection is not a dispute. Whoever chases the invoice should be someone other than the seller, in an administrative rather than personal tone, so the seller's relationship stays clean for renewal.