Debtor days are 47. Eleven of them happen before the invoice goes out.

Most businesses measure collections from the invoice date, which quietly excuses the one stretch of the cycle they control completely.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for Debtor days are 47. Eleven of them happen before the invoice goes out.

Debtor days are one of the few operational numbers most owners can recite from memory. It is also one of the few that is calculated from a starting line the business chose for itself. Debtor days, days sales outstanding, measure the gap between raising an invoice and receiving the money. They say nothing about the gap between finishing the work and raising the invoice. That earlier gap is real cash, it is usually invisible, and unlike the rest of the cycle it does not require a customer to change their…

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