How to track customers who owe your business money
A simple weekly routine, the aging report, and what to do about each band of overdue invoices.
Most small businesses don't run short of cash because of bad sales. They run short because of good sales that are never collected. A hardware order delivered on credit, a contractor who "will pay next week", a reseller whose cheque is always coming: each one is profit on paper and a gap in your bank balance.
The fix isn't a new habit of chasing everyone. It's knowing, every week, exactly who owes you and how late they are.
Start with one list: who owes you, and since when
An aging report puts every unpaid invoice into a band by how overdue it is. It turns a vague feeling ("people owe us a lot") into a short list you can act on.
| Band | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Not yet due | Nothing. Make sure the invoice was received. |
| 1–30 days | A little late | A polite reminder by WhatsApp or email |
| 31–60 days | Late | A phone call, and an agreed payment date |
| Over 60 days | Seriously late | Stop new credit until it is cleared |
Check the list every Monday morning, before the week gets busy. Ten minutes on Monday saves a month of chasing later.
Make paying you easy
Many late payments are friction, not unwillingness. Remove it:
- Send the invoice the same day the goods leave or the work is done. An invoice sent two weeks late is paid two weeks late.
- Put your payment details on every invoice: M-Pesa paybill or till number, account number to quote, and bank details.
- Quote the invoice number as the payment reference, so you can match the money to the right invoice.
- Agree terms before you deliver. "Net 30" written on the invoice is easier to hold a customer to than a verbal "pay when you can".
Match every payment to an invoice
A payment that isn't matched to an invoice hides two problems. The customer looks like they still owe you, so you chase them for money they've paid. And your records say you have less cash than you do.
When money comes in, record it against the specific invoice it pays. If a customer pays more than one invoice at once, split the payment across them. If they overpay, keep the extra as credit to use against their next invoice, rather than letting it sit unexplained.
Set credit limits, and keep to them
Before you give a new customer credit, decide how much you're willing to be owed and for how long. When a customer goes past 60 days, stop new credit until they catch up. It feels hard in the moment, but the customers who matter will understand, and the ones who don't were costing you money.
How SooBooks helps
In SooBooks, every invoice and receipt feeds the receivables aging report automatically, in KES even for customers you invoice in USD. You can send invoices with M-Pesa payment details, record payments against the right invoices, keep overpayments as credit, and see overdue totals on the dashboard and in the Monday digest email.