How to transform your accounts receivable process in 90 days

Late payments are more than an operational headache. They limit your ability to plan, invest and grow. According to The 2026 accounts receivable report, 92% of businesses report their invoices are typically paid after the due date, and 17% wait more than 30 days beyond it – for many finance teams that gap between the sale and the cash is the single biggest drag on working capital. Late payment is estimated to cost the UK economy close to £11 billion GBP a year, so getting paid on time is a business-wide priority, not just a finance chore.

Yet accounts receivable (AR) is one of the most overlooked functions in finance. Manual chasing, scattered spreadsheets and inconsistent follow-up quietly cost you cash, time and customer goodwill. The good news: you do not need a system overhaul or a bigger team to fix it. You need a clear, phased plan.

This 90-day blueprint gives you that plan. It is built for finance professionals who want to reduce DSO, free up their team and improve the customer experience without sacrificing compliance or brand voice. Throughout, you will find practical guidance from Manfredi Pellitteri, Chaser's Product and Credit Control Manager, drawn from day-to-day work with finance teams.

“When data is messy and processes aren't clear, teams struggle to follow up on aged debts consistently – leading to confusion and missed opportunities to recover cash.”

Manfredi Pellitteri, Product and Credit Control Manager at Chaser

The 90-day plan at a glance

Each phase builds on the one before it. You stabilize first so automation has clean data to work with, then you scale once the workflows are proven.

Days 1–30: Assess and stabilize

You cannot improve what you cannot see. The first month is about understanding your baseline and putting order into the fundamentals, so everything you automate later stands on solid ground.

Step 1: Audit the existing process

Map the entire receivables journey, from invoice issuance to payment receipt. Document each step, the tools involved and who owns each stage. Clarify ownership at every hand-off – from chasing payments to reconciliation – and identify manual tasks, duplicated effort and delays.

The three inefficiencies that show up most often in a first audit are:

1. No structured, documented accounts receivable process
2. Little control over old debts more than a year past due
3. Reliance on manual actions rather than automation

“Without a standardized accounts receivable process, businesses waste valuable time chasing payments too late or in inconsistent ways – and that directly impacts cash flow.”

Manfredi Pellitteri, Product and Credit Control Manager at Chaser

Step 2: Clean and segment the data

Accurate data is the foundation of effective AR. Review and update debtor records so contact names, billing addresses and communication preferences are correct. Remove duplicates, then segment customers by payment history and risk profile:

• Prompt payers
• Late payers
• High-risk or high-value accounts

This segmentation is what later drives prioritization and tailored workflows, so it is worth doing properly now.

Step 3: Define your KPIs

Establish baseline metrics so you can measure progress at day 90. Track:

• Average days sales outstanding (DSO)
• Percentage of overdue invoices
• Average time between an invoice's due date and your first follow-up
• Number of manual follow-ups per team member

Then set clear 90-day objectives. Realistic targets for a first cycle include:

• Reduce DSO by 15–20%
• Automate 80% of first-stage reminders
• Improve your on-time payment rate by 25%

Step 4: Review your current technology and tools

Work out whether your current systems let you:

• Send automated, personalized reminders
• Reach customers across multiple channels (email, SMS, letter and phone)
• Track every communication with a debtor in one place
• Integrate with your accounting or ERP platform
• Offer self-service payment portals

Note every gap that limits visibility, consistency or efficiency. Those gaps become your automation shortlist for the next phase.

Days 31–60: Automate and optimize

With a clean baseline in place, this is where the time savings and DSO gains start to show. You turn the segments you built into automated workflows and let technology carry the repetitive work. The payoff is well evidenced: businesses that automate more than half of their receivables workflows have cut DSO by around a third – roughly 19 days faster to cash (PYMNTS Intelligence).

Step 5: Implement segmentation-based workflows

Use the debtor behavior data from phase one to build distinct workflows:

• Friendly, spaced reminders for reliable customers
• Firm, proactive reminders for late payers
• Escalating notices for high-risk or habitually late accounts

Automation lets you run these tailored strategies at scale, improving recovery rates while protecting customer goodwill. Channel mix matters too: businesses that combine SMS and email reminders are 49% more likely to be paid within two weeks than those relying on email alone (The 2026 accounts receivable report).

Step 6: Introduce automation and AI-driven insight

Deploy tools that cut manual input and help you prioritize the accounts that matter. This is the heart of accounts receivable automation. Chaser's platform, for example, gives you:

• AI-generated payer ratings
• Late-payment predictors
• Recommended chase times based on each customer's behavior

These help your team focus on high-risk accounts and improve the accuracy of your cash flow forecasting.

“AI-powered segmentation in Chaser lets you identify bad payers early, so you can automatically prioritize follow-ups and reduce the risk of overdue invoices piling up.”

Manfredi Pellitteri, Product and Credit Control Manager at Chaser

Step 7: Centralize communication

Scattered team inboxes and Excel trackers create gaps and duplicated work. A single communication hub, where every AR interaction – emails, replies and escalations – is automatically logged and accessible, boosts collaboration, keeps your messaging consistent and removes the need for constant status updates and handovers.

Step 8: Introduce a branded payment portal

Payment friction, such as clunky processes or limited payment methods, is a leading cause of late payments. A branded portal lets your customers:

• View and download their invoices
• Submit queries
• Pay online instantly

This improves the customer experience and removes the need for unnecessary follow-ups. The Chaser Payment Portal gives customers 24/7 access to all their outstanding and upcoming invoices in one secure place, supports multiple payment methods and tracks customer interactions automatically – so your team can focus on higher-value work instead of chasing payment confirmations.

Days 61–90: Scale and succeed

The final phase locks in your gains. You measure what changed, tackle the accounts that still resist, and build a habit of continuous improvement so DSO stays down long after the 90 days are up.

Step 9: Measure outcomes and performance

Reassess the KPIs you set in the first 30 days:

• How has DSO changed?
• Are fewer manual follow-ups required?
• Has your team's workload decreased?
• Are escalations and disputes being resolved faster?

Visualize progress in a dashboard to keep momentum and spot any residual gaps.

Step 10: Resolve persistent challenges

Focus on the accounts that continue to delay payment. Options include:

• Adjusting credit limits or payment terms
• Placing new orders on hold until invoices are cleared
• Referring accounts for external collection support where appropriate

Collaborate with sales and account management so credit decisions stay aligned across the business.

“When your chasing workflow has run its course, don't wait – escalate the case proactively. Acting early is often the difference between getting paid and writing off a bad debt.”

Manfredi Pellitteri, Product and Credit Control Manager at Chaser

Step 11: Embed continuous improvement

Schedule a monthly accounts receivable review to:

• Analyze trends
• Refine workflows
• Evaluate how well your tools are performing
• Monitor changes in customer behavior

Use these reviews to keep adjusting your policies, templates and automation rules over time.

Step 12: Explore scalable support with Chaser Care

If your team lacks the internal bandwidth to run all of this, Chaser Care offers a hybrid option: a dedicated receivables specialist who manages collections with the support of Chaser's automation platform. You get:

• Tailored workflows built by experienced credit controllers
• Consistent, brand-aligned communications
• Full visibility and control
• Human follow-up, AI insight and automated execution together

“Many businesses assume outsourcing means losing control – over tone, visibility, or customer relationships. But with Chaser Care, you can scale your credit control without sacrificing your brand. It's not traditional outsourcing – it's intelligent, hands-on support that feels like an extension of your team.”

Manfredi Pellitteri, Product and Credit Control Manager at Chaser

Your 90-day accounts receivable checklist

Use this as a working checklist. Tick each item off as you go, and revisit it at your monthly review.

Templates and tools to support each phase

You do not have to build everything from scratch. These free resources map neatly onto the plan above:

• Accounts receivable dashboard – get instant visibility into AR performance and overdue invoices.
• Accounts receivable KPI tracker – track DSO, collection rate and overdue accounts in one spreadsheet.
• Invoice tracker – stay on top of invoice status, due dates and payment progress.
• 40 politely worded templates to get invoices paid – proven email scripts that prompt payment without damaging relationships.
• How to write a past-due invoice email – a step-by-step breakdown of tone, timing and structure.
• Customisable invoice template library – branded, editable invoices that reduce payment friction.

Bring your 90-day plan to life

Efficient credit control is not a luxury – it is essential to financial resilience. This blueprint gives you the foundation to modernize AR, improve cash flow and reduce manual workload while keeping your customer relationships strong.

Start by understanding your baseline. Then automate, optimize and review. Whether you run it on Chaser's platform independently or with the help of Chaser Care, the result is the same: a more predictable, sustainable receivables process that lets you grow with confidence.

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