
Chasing Unpaid Invoices Without Hiring a Collector: The 7/15/30-Day Dunning Playbook
A 7/15/30-day dunning cadence with aging reviews, written payment plans, and credit holds recovers overdue balances without paying an agency 15–30 percent.
#collections-management
Strategies for managing accounts receivable, recovering overdue invoices, and improving cash flow

A 7/15/30-day dunning cadence with aging reviews, written payment plans, and credit holds recovers overdue balances without paying an agency 15–30 percent.

AI collections agents now send follow-up emails, calls, and texts on their own — adopt them only after cleaning your AR aging and documenting TCPA consent.

Set who gets credit, how much, and what happens when payment is late: approval tiers, credit limits, deposits, late fees, and a day-triggered collection ladder.

Under 7 U.S.C. 499e(c), unpaid produce sellers are paid from a buyer's trust assets before other creditors — if terms stay ≤30 days and notice is timely.

A mechanic's lien secures your unpaid invoice against the property — but one missed notice or deadline voids it. US filing rules and owner defenses.

A written collections policy with a dated follow-up schedule gets invoices paid sooner — set terms, automate reminders, call at day 15, hold credit at day 45.

One late payment threatened payroll for 39% of owners; 59% carry invoices 30+ days overdue. Deposits, shorter terms, and a cash buffer fix it.

Spam Likely labels come from Hiya, First Orion and TNS, not your carrier. Register numbers, earn A attestation and add branded calling to lift answer rates.

IRS CP501, CP503 and CP504 arrive in a fixed sequence — CP504 is the Notice of Intent to Levy, and the final notice gives 30 days to file Form 12153.

Cut DSO from 45 days to 30 with six habits - same-day invoicing, written terms, electronic payment, scheduled follow-ups, dispute triage, and credit limits.

The IRS generally has ten years from assessment — not filing — to collect. Offers, payment-plan requests, CDP hearings and bankruptcy all pause that clock; here is how to reconstruct your real CSED from transcripts.

A 2025 Intuit QuickBooks survey found 56% of small businesses carry unpaid invoices, averaging $17,500 owed. Here is the full small claims path — demand letter, state dollar limits, naming the right defendant, evidence packet, and the levies and liens that turn a judgment into cash.