Customer collections follow-up is the process used by accounts receivable teams to track overdue invoices and contact customers to secure payment. Without a standardized collections workflow, organizations may experience delayed payments, poor cash flow visibility, and inconsistent customer communication. This page provides a customer collections follow-up standard operating procedure (SOP) used by finance teams to document how overdue invoices are monitored and collection actions are performed. Many organizations manage collection workflows using SOP management platforms such as ProcessDeck, allowing teams to standardize collection procedures, assign responsibilities, and track execution. Collections follow-ups occur after invoices are issued through the customer invoice generation procedure and remain unpaid after the payment due date. Learn how organizations structure process documentation.
| Process Name | Customer Collections Follow-Up |
| Department | Accounts Receivable / Finance |
| Responsible Roles | Accounts Receivable Specialist |
| Escalation Role | Finance Manager or Credit Manager |
| Frequency | Weekly or Based on Aging Review |
| Systems Used | Accounting software (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, SAP) |
| Accounts receivable aging reports | CRM or customer communication tools SOP management software (ProcessDeck) |
The purpose of the collections follow-up procedure is to ensure overdue invoices are actively monitored and customers are contacted to secure payment. Organizations document collections workflows in SOP software to standardize communication practices and improve payment recovery.
A structured collections process helps organizations:
Understand how organizations preserve operational knowledge through knowledge transfer.
Before initiating collections activities, the following information must be available.
Outstanding invoices originate from the customer invoice generation procedure used by accounts receivable teams.Sop Examples Accounting Accounts Receivable Customer Invoice Generation
Customer payment activity is recorded through the customer payment application procedure.Sop Examples Accounting Accounts Receivable Payment Application
Generate the accounts receivable aging report from the accounting system.
The report categorizes outstanding invoices based on aging periods such as:
Focus collections efforts on overdue invoices.
Review the aging report to identify customers with unpaid balances.
Document:
Contact customers with overdue invoices.
Common communication methods include:
Communication should include:
If payment is not received after the initial reminder, follow up with additional communication.
Possible follow-up actions include:
All communication should be documented.
Invoices that remain unpaid beyond a defined threshold (for example 60 or 90 days) should be escalated.
Escalation options may include:
Escalation decisions are typically handled by finance leadership.
Record collection activities within the accounting or CRM system.
Update notes including:
These records help track collection progress.
Accounts receivable teams should verify:
These checks help maintain effective collections management. Learn how operational runbooks support incident response.
The collections follow-up process produces the following outcomes.
Outstanding invoices identified through this process are monitored through the accounts receivable aging review procedure. Sop Examples Accounting Accounts Receivable Aging Report Review
Organizations increasingly document collections procedures using SOP management software.
Using SOP platforms allows finance teams to:
Platforms such as ProcessDeck allow companies to convert collections workflows into structured SOP procedures. Explore how SOP automation helps teams generate procedures faster. See how walkthroughs can be converted into documentation automatically.