My Factory BillsHow to actually get paid
Ask any factory owner what their biggest problem is and you will hear some version of "money is stuck in the market". The instinct is to blame customers. Sometimes that is fair. More often the money is stuck because of something on your side: you cannot say, instantly and with confidence, exactly who owes what and since when.
Why follow-up fails
A customer who has not paid is not usually refusing. They are waiting to be reminded, because everyone reminds them and the ones who remind clearly get paid first. Follow-up breaks down in three predictable ways.
You are not sure of the number
If your ledger is a diary and part of it is in your head, you hesitate before calling. Hesitation costs weeks. And a follow-up where the customer corrects your figure hands them a reason to delay while "we check it".
Nobody owns the chase
When collection is "whoever remembers", it happens after the money is already old. Old dues are dramatically harder to collect than recent ones.
Every reminder sounds the same
A message at day 10 and a message at day 90 that read identically teach the customer that nothing changes if they wait. Escalation has to be visible.
A routine that works
Step 1: Get the list right, once
Before any process, you need one trustworthy list: party, invoice number, date, amount, days outstanding. Not approximately — exactly. Everything below depends on this, and if you can't produce it in under a minute, that is the actual problem to fix first.
Step 2: Sort by age, not by size
The instinct is to chase the biggest amount. Chase the oldest instead. A large recent due is usually fine; a small 120-day due is a warning sign, and often the first evidence of a customer in trouble.
Step 3: Fix a day
One hour, same day every week. Every party over your credit period gets contacted. Consistency is the whole mechanism — customers work out very quickly who follows up on schedule and who does not.
Step 4: Escalate in visible steps
- Due date approaching — a friendly note with the invoice attached. This alone prevents a lot of "we never received the bill".
- Just overdue — a short WhatsApp with the number, the invoice reference and a direct question: when should you expect it?
- Two weeks over — a phone call. Not a message. Ask for a date, and repeat the date back so it is agreed.
- A month over — a formal statement of account by email, listing every open invoice. The change in tone is the message.
- Beyond that — hold further supply pending payment, and say so plainly before you do it.
Step 5: Always ask for a date
"When can I expect it?" beats "please pay soon". A specific date creates a commitment you can follow up on, and turns the next call into "you had mentioned the 12th" rather than starting over.
What to say
Gentle (just overdue): "Good morning — invoice 214 dated 3rd for ₹48,500 was due last week. Could you let me know when it will be released? Attaching the copy for reference."
Firm (a month over): "Attaching your statement of account. Three invoices totalling ₹1,86,000 are open, the oldest from 12th July. Please confirm a payment date this week so I can plan my own supplier payments."
Two things matter in both: an exact figure, and a clear ask. Vagueness is what gets deprioritised.
Prevention beats recovery
- Agree credit terms in writing before the first supply, not after the first delay.
- Invoice the same day you dispatch. A bill sent three days late is a bill paid three days late, minimum.
- Set a limit per party and know when a customer is approaching it.
- Watch the trend, not the balance. A customer whose average payment days are creeping up is telling you something before they stop paying entirely.
The record-keeping underneath it
All of this assumes you can see your receivables as they actually are, today. That is the part My Factory Bills is for: every invoice you raise and every payment you record updates the outstanding position immediately, so the ageing list is a screen rather than an evening's work. You can pull a party statement to send, and export the whole ledger to Excel or PDF when you want it on paper.
See your real outstanding this week
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