Invoice ageing

How ageing buckets work

Each unpaid invoice is placed in a bucket by how long it has been outstanding, measured from the invoice date or the due date depending on your convention. Pick one convention and keep it, because switching makes two periods incomparable.

The report is read column by column. A large current column is healthy. A large 90 day column is a collections problem that has already been ignored for a quarter.

Why ageing predicts trouble

Ageing predicts trouble because collectability falls with time. An invoice that is thirty days late is usually an administrative delay. One that is ninety days late is usually a dispute, a cash-flow problem at the customer, or an invoice they never accepted.

That is why the fix is often upstream. Invoices that go out late, or without the evidence to support them, age faster than invoices that go out the same day with photographs and a signature attached.

Reducing your ageing

Reduce it by invoicing sooner, making payment easier, and chasing on a schedule rather than when you notice. Same-day invoicing off a completed job card removes the largest self-inflicted delay in most service businesses.

Omni Field invoices directly from completed work, surfaces outstanding and overdue invoice totals on the dashboard, supports automated reminders on overdue invoices, and takes payment through a Paystack link on the invoice with payouts in 2 to 3 days and a 1% transaction charge.

Common questions