── ── Mental model
AR & DSO Discipline — Get Paid Faster
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is the average time to collect after a sale. For any business that invoices, uncollected receivables are cash you earned but can't use — and late payment is the quiet killer of otherwise healthy SMBs. Getting paid faster is usually the cheapest source of cash a founder has: no dilution, no debt, just discipline and better…
Run AR & DSO Discipline — Get Paid Faster on a real problem
Bring something you're actually deciding — free, in the browser.
How it works
1. Measure DSO and aging — average collection time + a bucketed aging report (0–30, 31–60, 61–90, 90+). 2. Invoice instantly and correctly — same-day, clear terms, right contact; delays compound. Gate: invoicing days after delivery silently adds days to DSO. 3. Shift terms upstream — deposits, milestones, upfront, autopay/card-on-file; reduce net terms where you can. 4. Systematize follow-up — automated reminders before and after due date, escalating cadence (pairs with an AR/AP operator agent). Gate: ad-hoc, emotional chasing = inconsistent collections; make it a scheduled sequence. 5. Make paying easy — online payment, multiple methods, one click. 6. Enforce consequences — late fees, work-stop, or credit holds for chronic offenders; fire unprofitable late-payers.
When to use it
- customers pay late and cash is tight
- 'clients don't pay on time', collections, invoicing terms, reducing days-sales-outstanding
- overdue receivables
When not to use it
paid instantly at point of sale (no receivables).
Worked example
AR & DSO Discipline — Get Paid Faster
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is the average time to collect after a sale. For any business that invoices, uncollected receivables are cash you earned but can't use — and late payment is the quiet killer of otherwise healthy SMBs. Getting paid faster is usually the cheapest source of cash a founder has: no dilution, no debt, just discipline and better…
Install this skill (free, MIT)
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