> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Track Accounts Receivable (AR Aging)

> Find overdue invoices, automate reminder emails, and follow up effectively to keep AR healthy

Accounts receivable (AR) is the money clients owe you on invoices that haven't been paid yet. AR aging is how you measure how stale that money is — current, 30 days late, 60 days late, 90+ days late. Letting AR drift is one of the fastest ways to choke a service business's cash flow. This guide walks through the report, the automation patterns, and the human follow-up that actually moves money.

<Info>
  Prerequisites: at least a few invoices in your system (paid and unpaid) so the report has data to show. New to invoicing? Start with [Send Your First Invoice](/how-tos/send-first-invoice).
</Info>

## The AR aging buckets

| Bucket                 | Meaning                    | What to do                                  |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Current**            | Issued, not yet due        | Nothing — wait                              |
| **0–30 days overdue**  | Past due, but still recent | Friendly reminder email                     |
| **31–60 days overdue** | Getting concerning         | Firmer reminder + personal email            |
| **61–90 days overdue** | Serious                    | Phone call from your account manager        |
| **90+ days overdue**   | Critical                   | Escalate; consider write-off or collections |

The 90+ bucket is your danger zone. Invoices that old are statistically much less likely to ever be paid — every week they age, the recovery odds drop.

## Open the AR aging report

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Reports">
    Go to `/dashboard/commerce/reports/`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click AR Aging">
    The report opens with the standard buckets pre-populated.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Filter as needed">
    Filter by client segment, owner (the team member responsible), or date range.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Drill into a bucket">
    Click any bucket to see the underlying invoices.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Triage the overdue list

Once a week, walk the report top-down:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start with 90+">
    These are your worst exposure. Decide for each: escalate, write off, or send to collections.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Then 61–90">
    These often need a phone call. Email-only follow-up usually doesn't move them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Then 31–60">
    A firmer email cycle, with the account manager in the loop. Often an offered payment plan converts these.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Then 0–30">
    Friendly reminder. Most of these resolve from automation alone.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Automate reminder emails

The 0–30 bucket should mostly handle itself via [workflows](/how-tos/workflows). Set up a sequence:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a new workflow">
    Navigate to workflows. Click **New Workflow**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the trigger">
    **Invoice becomes overdue** — fires when an invoice's due date passes without payment.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a delay (optional)">
    Wait 1 day after overdue before sending the first reminder. Gives the client a buffer for payments-in-flight.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a 'send email' action">
    Use a friendly template: "Hi {{contact_first_name}}, just a quick note that invoice {{invoice_number}} for {{invoice_total}} is now overdue. You can pay it here: {{portal_link}}. Let me know if there's any issue."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Branch on payment">
    If invoice still unpaid after 7 more days, send a firmer reminder. After 14 days, notify the account manager.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate">
    The workflow now runs automatically on every invoice that goes overdue.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Keep automated reminder emails warm. They should sound like a friendly nudge from a human, not a debt collector form letter. Most overdue invoices are oversights, not refusals — friendly works.
</Tip>

## A reminder email template that works

```
Subject: Quick reminder: Invoice #{{invoice_number}}

Hi {{contact_first_name}},

Just a quick reminder that invoice #{{invoice_number}}
for {{invoice_total}} was due on {{due_date}}. 

You can pay it here: {{portal_link}}

If there's any issue with the invoice or you need
to set up a payment arrangement, just reply and
let me know.

Thanks,
{{owner_first_name}}
```

Three reasons this works:

* It assumes good faith ("just a quick reminder")
* It makes paying easy (one-click portal link)
* It opens the door for issues ("let me know if there's any issue")

## Personal follow-up at 30+ days

Past 30 days, automation usually plateaus — invoices that haven't responded to two automated emails won't respond to a third. Switch to personal follow-up:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Filter the AR report to 31–60 days">
    Pull the list weekly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign each invoice to its owner">
    Usually the account manager who owns the client relationship.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Owner sends a personal email or makes a call">
    "Hey \[name], wanted to check in on this invoice — anything we can help unblock on your side?"
  </Step>

  <Step title="Document the response">
    Add a note to the invoice's activity log. If the client commits to a date, set a reminder.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Escalate if no response">
    If two follow-ups go unanswered, escalate to the account owner's manager or to your operations lead.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Schedule the AR report email

Get the AR aging report in your inbox automatically:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the AR aging report">
    From `/dashboard/commerce/reports/`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Schedule">
    From the actions menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick frequency">
    Weekly is most common (Monday morning hits a productive moment in the week). Daily for accounts with large AR exposure.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick recipients">
    Your collections lead, your finance team, the account managers. Include yourself.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick format">
    PDF for human-readable; CSV for spreadsheet pipelines; both attached.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    The report runs on schedule and lands in inboxes automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Best practices

### Make paying frictionless

The single biggest lever on AR is removing friction from paying. Every invoice email should have a one-click portal link. Saved payment methods on subscriptions auto-charge. ACH where supported (clients often prefer for larger amounts). All of this lives in [Payment Processing](/commerce/payments) and [Client Portal](/commerce/client-portal).

### Send invoices promptly

The closer to delivery you bill, the more "fresh" the work feels. A retainer billed 3 weeks after the month ends feels like an old expense; one billed on day 1 of the month feels current. Use [subscriptions](/commerce/subscriptions) and [schedules](/dashboard/commerce/schedules/) to automate timing.

### Use Net 15 or Net 30, not Net 60

Net 60 is a relic from paper-based AP. Most clients can pay in 30 days; many can pay in 15. Default to faster terms; let clients negotiate longer if they need it.

### Prevent before you collect

The cheapest collection is the one you don't have to make. For new clients, take a deposit upfront. For larger engagements, milestone-bill instead of all-at-end. For clients with a history of slow pay, switch them to subscriptions with auto-charge so payment isn't a manual step.

### Don't let small balances drift

A \$400 invoice 90 days overdue costs more in admin time to chase than it returns in cash. Either auto-write-off below a threshold (configure in settings) or batch the small ones into a single firm email.

## Verify it's working

After a month with the automation in place:

* The AR aging report should show the 0–30 bucket smaller (automation working)
* The 31+ buckets should be flat or shrinking (personal follow-up working)
* The 90+ bucket should be near zero (you're escalating before invoices age that far)
* Average days-to-pay (visible in the cash-collected report) should trend down

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Reminder emails aren't sending">
    Check the workflow is enabled and the trigger filter matches your invoices. Also confirm your sending domain is verified — see [Email Domains](/email/domains). Workflow emails use the same email infrastructure as transactional sends.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Some overdue invoices aren't in the report">
    Check their status. Voided invoices don't appear in AR. Invoices with the wrong client (orphaned from a deleted contact) may not appear under the expected segment. Use the unfiltered report to verify.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The AR total doesn't match my accountant's number">
    Common causes: voided-after-paid invoices skewing one side, manual payments not yet marked in Hiveku, or different cutoff dates. Compare the underlying invoice list line-by-line; usually 1–2 entries explain the gap.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Client says they paid but the invoice still shows overdue">
    Check the processor connection — if a webhook didn't reach Hiveku, the invoice didn't auto-mark paid. For online payments, re-authorize the connection. For manual payments (check, wire), mark paid in Hiveku and attach the deposit reference.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Auto-write-off isn't running">
    Auto-write-off requires a threshold set in account settings and a cadence (typically monthly). Check both. Manual write-offs are always available from the invoice's actions menu.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Reports & Analytics" icon="chart-line" href="/commerce/reports">
    More reports beyond AR — MRR, churn, cash collected.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workflows" icon="bolt" href="/how-tos/workflows">
    Build the reminder automations.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Invoices Reference" icon="file-invoice-dollar" href="/commerce/invoices">
    Statuses, lifecycle, and reconciliation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payment Processing" icon="credit-card" href="/commerce/payments">
    Reduce friction on the way in.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>