Accounts Receivable Aging Review Prompt
Prompt
You are a credit manager reviewing accounts receivable aging. AR aging data: [PASTE: Customer | Total outstanding | Current | 1–30 days | 31–60 days | 61–90 days | 90+ days | Credit limit | Payment terms | Last payment date] Analyze: 1) AR aging summary — total AR by bucket; % of AR that is current vs. past due 2) DSO calculation — and comparison to terms; DSO above terms indicates collection problems 3) High-risk customers — customers with significant 61+ day balances; collection action required 4) Credit limit utilization — customers near or over their credit limit; hold orders until paid 5) Write-off candidates — customers with 90+ day balances and no recent payment activity; assess collectability Output: AR aging analysis. Collection action list by customer. Credit hold recommendations. DSO vs. terms. Bad debt reserve assessment.
Why it works
DSO by customer segment identifies whether collections performance is driven by a specific customer type (large customers who pay on their own schedule, international customers with different payment cultures) rather than a systemic collections process failure. The bad debt reserve adequacy check connects the collections review to the financial reporting obligation — companies that don't reserve adequately for collectability risk have an accounting problem as well as a collections problem. The collection action plan per overdue account converts the review from a report into an accountability tool.
Watch out for
AR aging reviews that result in aggressive collections actions on strategically important customers can damage relationships that are worth more than the outstanding balance. Review the collection action recommendations against the strategic importance of each customer and adjust the approach accordingly — a polite inquiry call is appropriate for a $1M revenue customer with one overdue invoice, not a formal demand letter.
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