In this article
Late payment is one of the first causes of cash strain in Moroccan SMEs. Chasing is necessary, but chasing carelessly damages the business relationship and wastes time. The right approach comes down to three ideas: record every client commitment, adapt the reminder to the delay, and keep a trace of everything that was done.
1. The payment promise: the forgotten tool
On the phone, the client often says: "I'll pay you 5,000 DH on Friday." If nobody writes it down, the commitment evaporates. A payment promise is simply a line that says: which invoice, what amount, which date.
What it brings:
- you know when to chase: if the date passes without payment, the promise is "broken" and chasing is legitimate;
- you avoid chasing too early a client who has just committed;
- you measure your clients' reliability: a low kept-promise rate is a warning sign before granting new credit.
Two common-sense rules:
- A promise is not a payment. It changes neither the invoice balance nor its status.
- The total of promises cannot exceed what is left to pay on the invoice.
2. Distinguish three reminder levels
Treating a 5-day delay and a three-month delay the same way makes no sense. A simple scale, to adapt:
| Level | Delay | Tone | Example action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | up to 30 days | Courteous, reminder | Reminder email with the invoice attached |
| 2 | 31 to 60 days | Firm | Call + summary email, ask for a payment date |
| 3 | over 60 days | Formal | Formal notice, decision on the future of the relationship |
Two important principles:
- The level does not go back down because the client pays a small deposit: as long as they remain in debt, the case stays at the level reached.
- One client, one case: grouping all their unpaid invoices avoids chasing them invoice by invoice.
3. Keep a log of actions
Call, email, promise, internal note: every action is recorded, with its date and author. This log is used to:
- hand over to a colleague without explaining everything again;
- prove your steps in a dispute;
- avoid duplicates ("someone already called them this morning").
4. Do not chase what is already on its way
Two situations deserve a pause:
- the client has promised to pay on a future date;
- the client has handed over a cheque that is not yet collected.
Chasing in these cases needlessly irritates. In Billora, automatic reminders ignore an invoice already covered by a cheque in progress or by an upcoming promise, and the collections table shows each client's promises and pending cheques.
5. A dashboard to act on every morning
Every morning, four questions are enough:
- Who has to pay today (today's promises)?
- Which promises were not kept?
- Which cases are at level 3?
- Which reminders are to be done today, and who handles them?
The "Promises and collections" widget of the Billora dashboard answers these questions, and each line leads directly to the filtered list. For details on how it works, see the guides on payment promises and collections.
6. Prevention is better than chasing
The best collection starts before the invoice:
- clear payment terms on every quote and every invoice;
- deposits for large amounts;
- an invoice sent on the day of delivery, with a simple way to pay;
- a reminder before the due date for at-risk clients.
In summary
- Record each promise: amount, invoice, date.
- Adapt the reminder to the delay (three levels).
- Keep a shared log of every action.
- Do not chase what is already promised or paid by cheque.
- Watch broken promises every day.