The Collections
Gap
Most acquired businesses have a collections process on paper. In reality, it depends on one person's memory and goodwill.
The Paper Process vs. The Real Process
The diligence file says invoicing happens on the first of the month and statements go out on the fifteenth
Post-close reality is different. Invoices are delayed because the billing clerk waits for verbal approval from the departing owner. Follow-up happens only when cash gets tight. And payment terms are quietly extended over email without ever touching the ERP.
Three Sources of Leakage
Delayed Invoicing
Jobs close but invoices sit for days or weeks. The delay is rarely tracked, so the true days-sales-outstanding is masked.
Missing Follow-Up
Past-due accounts are chased arbitrarily. Some customers get three calls. Others get none. The pattern follows relationships, not rules.
Off-Book Terms
Extensions and exceptions are granted verbally or over text. The ERP still shows net-30, but the real agreement is net-60 or longer.
The Fix
Closing the collections gap requires three steps: document the real workflow, assign clear ownership, and deploy supervised automation.
Deploying generic collections automation without documenting the shadow rules will alienate long-standing customers and accelerate churn
Agentic CFO Layer
Once the real workflow is mapped, we deploy an Agentic CFO layer to draft invoice chases based on actual customer history and approved exception rules.
Every draft is pushed to a human approval queue. Nothing sends without review. The result is faster, more consistent follow-up without damaging relationships.