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16. Collect and manage debt

PROC-S16-COLLECT · Bill and collect · level 2 · recurring · scope: engagement

Collection is relationship work as much as finance work, which is why the engagement lead is involved rather than it sitting wholly with credit control. A chased client is a client being asked about the value they received.

Ageing is the measure that matters. A bill at ninety days is not a slow payment, it is a dispute nobody has named.

Open, 2 item(s)

State	What	Position or reason	Owner
assumed	RUL-57 Payment plans are agreed, not assumed	Assumed. Informal arrangements exist and are not recorded.	Finance Director
contested	Data: Client	Three claimants. CRM holds the relationship, practice holds the engagement party, finance holds the billing entity. All three are edited independently.	Managing Partner

Boundary

Trigger (in)

An issued bill reaching its due date.

Output (out)

Cash received, a payment plan agreed, or the debt escalated.

Requires

bill-issued

Produces

cash-collected

Floor: can this run itself

Position

review

Manual because

risk

Basis

Reminders are automated and escalation is not. A chased client is a client being asked about the value they received, and that is a relationship act.

Confirmed by

nobody named

Behaviour: what runs it

Systems

Billing and receivables, Contacts

Platform open

Financial reporting (ITE Advisory Track)

Data

Dataset	Authoritative source	Also in	State	Owner
Receivable	Billing and receivables	S, Y, S, -, B, I, -, F, I, N	settled	Finance Director
Bill	Billing and receivables	S, Y, S, -, P, S, A, -, E, N, G	settled	Finance Director
Client	none	Contacts, Engagement register, Billing and receivables	contested	Managing Partner
Engagement letter	Work product	S, Y, S, -, P, S, A, -, E, N, G	settled	Managing Partner

Rules: what is decided here

ID	Rule	State	Enforced by	Basis	Owner
RUL-55	Bills are chased from the due date	defined	Billing and receivables	Ageing drives the chase schedule.	Finance Director
RUL-56	Debt over ninety days is escalated to the engagement lead	defined	Credit Controller role	A bill at ninety days is a dispute nobody has named.	Finance Director
RUL-57	Payment plans are agreed, not assumed	assumed	Finance Director role	Assumed. Informal arrangements exist and are not recorded.	Finance Director

Neighbours

Upstream

15. Prepare and issue bill

bill-issued

Downstream

17. Close engagement

cash-collected

Every required state is produced upstream (out ⊢ in holds here).