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If your business allows customers to pay after their products have been delivered or their services have been completed, you should familiarize yourself with accounts receivable workflows. It’s the multistep process of collecting payments from customers.

Some businesses require customers to pay upfront. Others allow customers to pay after their products have been delivered or their services have been completed. If your business falls under the latter category, you’ll need to use an accounts receivable workflow to collect payment.

Overview of Accounts Receivable Workflows

An accounts receivables workflow consists of the steps that you need to take to collect payment from your business’s customers. It includes multiple steps. With an accounts receivable workflow, you’ll know exactly what to do after delivering products or completing services for customers. The accounts receivable workflow will allow you to collect payment from customers by performing the included steps.

The Importance of Using an Accounts Receivable Workflow

An accounts receivable workflow is an essential part of many businesses’ operations. As previously mentioned, it’s used to collect payment from customers.

Depending on the market in which your business operators – as well as what your business sells – you may need to use an accounts receivable workflow. Nearly all businesses that allow customers to pay after their products have been delivered or their services have been completed need to use an accounts receivable workflow. Otherwise, they won’t get paid.

Different Types of Accounts Receivable Workflows

There are different types of accounts receivable workflows. For project-based services, you may want to begin with an estimate. You can create an estimate for customers. You can then turn the estimate into an invoice and, thus, collect payment.

If you don’t create estimates for customers, you may want to use a simpler accounts receivable workflow. You can use a basic accounts receivable workflow consisting of an invoice, followed by payment. After receiving a customer’s payment, you can deposit it into one of your business’s bank accounts.

These are just a few examples of accounts receivable workflows in QuickBooks. You can create your own, custom accounts receivable workflow in the popular accounting software.

In Conclusion

An accounts receivable workflow is a step-by-step process for collecting payment from customers. It may begin with an estimate, followed by an invoice. Alternatively, an accounts receivable workflow may begin with an invoice, followed by a payment and then a deposit. There’s no single, universal accounts receivable workflow. If you use QuickBooks, you can create your own accounts receivable workflow to accommodate your business’s needs.

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