Weekly AR Cash Management

Use this recurring review to distinguish expected customer receipts from money actually received. It sets collection priorities, tracks promises and disputes, and closes each week with a reconciled explanation of material differences.

Where this workflow fits

This workflow is useful for B2B distributors, manufacturers, project businesses, and service businesses that collect against invoices. Open customer invoices and the previous forecast start the week. Reconciled receipts and exceptions inform the next week and finance review.

Featured capabilities

• AR Cash Predictability: Prepare the weekly expected receipts.
• Cash Collection: Work open customer balances.
• Dunning Schedules: manage overdue payment reminders: Control staged overdue reminders.
• Invoicing & Accounts Receivable: Review invoices, credits, and open balances.
• Banking & Reconciliation: Match payments against bank activity.

People and preparation

The AR owner needs open invoices, payment terms, recent customer correspondence, current bank data, the forecast week, and the company’s rules for reminders and escalation.

Process areas and stages

1. Refresh expected receipts

   Owner: AR analyst. Input: Open invoices and current customer knowledge.

   Work and decision: Create or refresh the week in AR Cash Predictability. Review the expected receipts and update timing or amounts when current collection knowledge is more reliable. Create or refresh the forecast week. Adjust expected timing or amount where a known promise, dispute, or payment behavior gives better evidence than the invoice due date.

   Evidence and handoff: Working forecast records expectations and assumptions.

2. Agree on the weekly view

   Owner: Finance lead. Input: Reviewed receipt forecast.

   Work and decision: Lock the reviewed forecast when it becomes the team's weekly working view. Challenge large or uncertain receipts with the account owner before locking the working view. Locking a forecast establishes a comparison baseline, not a guarantee of collection.

   Evidence and handoff: Reviewed baseline passes to collection priorities and cash planning.

3. Prioritize customer contact

   Owner: Collections. Input: Past-due and at-risk invoices.

   Work and decision: Use Cash Collection to prioritize past-due or at-risk invoices. Record each customer contact, promise, dispute, or escalation in the agreed customer record. Work through Cash Collection priorities, distinguish nonpayment from an underlying delivery or billing dispute, and contact customers appropriately. Record promises and next actions.

   Evidence and handoff: Customer contact and collection status identify an owner for each material risk.

4. Control reminders

   Owner: Collections or customer-communication owner. Input: Approved overdue schedule.

   Work and decision: Let approved Dunning Schedules send staged overdue reminders. Pause or adjust the schedule only through the team responsible for customer communications. Review staged Dunning reminders and pause or adjust them for a disputed account under the company’s communication policy. Do not send a conflicting automated reminder while a promised resolution is being negotiated.

   Evidence and handoff: Reminder schedule and account notes reflect the approved contact path.

5. Apply real receipts

   Owner: Accounts receivable and finance. Input: Customer payment and bank activity.

   Work and decision: Record and apply received payments, then reconcile the bank activity. Apply cash to the correct invoice and reconcile deposits. Investigate short payments and unmatched bank lines before calling an item settled.

   Evidence and handoff: Receipts, open balances, and bank reconciliation show actual cash.

6. Explain and roll forward

   Owner: Finance lead. Input: Forecast baseline and actual receipts.

   Work and decision: Compare actual receipts with the forecast, explain material differences, and close the week before beginning the next forecast. Compare expected with actual, explain material variance with customer or bank evidence, and carry unresolved items into the next week with an owner.

   Evidence and handoff: Closed forecast week informs the next planning cycle.

Variations and exceptions

A customer promise belongs in the forecast only with a realistic expected date; a disputed invoice may need service or sales resolution before collection contact resumes.

Completion and review

The forecast has a reviewed receipt expectation, collection actions are assigned, and received payments are applied and reconciled. Material forecast differences have a documented explanation.

Related workflows

• Order to Cash: from accepted order to payment
• Record to Report and Budget to Actual