Which overdue receivables should your team follow up first?

Put the open balance and the obstacle on one view

Define the legal entity, cut-off date and currency. Reconcile each remaining balance to the relevant contract, invoice and payments. Measure days overdue from the payment date that actually applies. Where an acceptance, invoicing or other condition is not yet clear, mark it as unresolved rather than treating an invoice date as the contractual due date.

Assume a business reviews three customers at the same cut-off date. The table shows open contractual amounts in Chinese yuan and assumes no other receivables, subsequent credits or new transactions:

• Customer A: RMB 12 million remains open, 15 days overdue. The customer has not challenged RMB 10 million; delivery quantities behind the remaining RMB 2 million are being checked. The customer has written that it plans to pay RMB 6 million next Friday.
• Customer B: RMB 8 million remains open, 60 days overdue. The customer has reconciled the bill and has not raised an amount dispute, but has not given a payment date.
• Customer C: RMB 6 million remains open, 90 days overdue. The entire balance is subject to an acceptance dispute; the delivery team is checking the contract and records.

The total outstanding is RMB 26 million. Amounts without a current customer dispute are RMB 10 million plus RMB 8 million, or RMB 18 million. The amounts under discussion are RMB 2 million plus RMB 6 million, or RMB 8 million. An undisputed balance is not a payment commitment or cash received. A disputed balance is not automatically uncollectible.

Route each case to a concrete next action

A: confirm the promised payment and investigate the remaining issue. RMB 6 million is a promise, not a bank balance. Confirm which contract and payer it relates to, who controls the payment process and the date. Have the delivery team examine the separate RMB 2 million quantity question. A dispute over one part should not leave the rest without an agreed next step.

B: obtain a clear response. RMB 8 million is 60 days overdue with no payment date. Recheck the bill, receiving account and agreed terms; then contact the person who can actually arrange payment. Record the blocker, a response owner and the next follow-up date rather than a generic “chased” label.

C: progress the acceptance dispute. RMB 6 million is 90 days overdue, but another reminder alone will not establish why acceptance is unresolved. Assign delivery, business and finance owners to review the agreed acceptance conditions, evidence and next meeting. Escalate any actual deadline or legal question to the appropriate professional rather than assuming the debt is lost.

These actions can run in parallel. The priority is the next useful action for each balance, not an instruction to ignore two customers. Payment history, customer concentration, ongoing supply and contract rights may also matter; an age bucket alone is not a decision to stop delivery or write off an account.

Keep received cash, promises and forecasts separate

At minimum, show three statuses: received and reconciled, promised but not yet received, and internal forecast or disputed. Keep the currency, expected date and evidence with each amount. If a promise changes, retain the earlier record and the reason for the change.

In this example, suppose A's promised RMB 6 million and a further RMB 4 million later confirmed by B both arrive on time, with no other changes. Only then would the open balance fall from RMB 26 million to RMB 16 million. Until the bank entries arrive and are matched, that is a scenario, not money available today for payroll or suppliers.

If B has not actually confirmed RMB 4 million, label it as an internal estimate and keep it separate from A's written promise. Model a delayed-payment case as well: which payroll, tax or supplier payment becomes constrained first? The cash-flow planning guide explains how to place expected receipts and obligations on a timeline.

Make the queue possible to hand over

For each item, retain the customer and paying entity, contract and invoice references, due date, original and received amounts, open balance, disputed amount and evidence, latest contact, promised amount and date, owner and next action. When one bank receipt covers several invoices, document the allocation; do not deduct the same receipt twice.

Age bands are useful filters, not conclusions. A missed promise, an unanswered request or missing dispute evidence should prompt a person to review the item. Update the existing record when a part-payment or new evidence arrives, retaining source documents and prior decisions.

ACCA's accounts receivable management guidance discusses aged receivables and credit control. Contract terms and local rules determine the rights and deadlines for the actual transaction.

CaiGeek is an AI financial assistant for small and medium-sized businesses. A useful request is: “Organise this week's overdue receivables by open amount, dispute, promised date and missing evidence; separate cash received, customer promises and internal forecasts.” Finance and business owners review the records and choose the follow-up. Contact CaiGeek to discuss the available product and service arrangements.