We are hitting our revenue targets, but our cash is constantly locked up in outstanding accounts receivable. What weekly leading metrics can we put on our Company Scorecard to speed up our cash conversion cycle without waiting for monthly aging reports?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Cash flow is the oxygen of your business, especially if you are preparing for an exit or scaling operations. Waiting for your monthly aging report is a reactive habit that leaves you vulnerable to cash crunches. You must track weekly operational behaviors that dictate when cash actually lands in your bank account.

To accelerate your cash conversion cycle, add these weekly leading indicators to your scorecard:

- Invoices sent within forty-eight hours: Measure the percentage of completed jobs or milestones billed within two days. Delays in invoicing are the most common cause of slow payments.

- Weekly collections outreach: Track the number of proactive follow-up calls or automated payment reminders sent to accounts past fifteen days due.

- Average days to bill: Track the time between service delivery and billing generation.

When your finance seat owner reports these numbers weekly in your Level 10 Meeting™, they can catch billing delays immediately. If invoices are not going out promptly, it becomes an issue to IDS®. By focusing on the administrative speed of your billing and collection processes, you dramatically reduce your days sales outstanding and unlock working capital to fund your growth.