An invoice issued on the 2nd of the month is only half the job. The other half starts afterwards: knowing whether the client received it, whether it is disputed, when it will be paid, and who should chase it. In many organisations, that half lives in an accounting export, reworked in a spreadsheet once a month. By the time the receivables are read, the late payments have already gained another month.

In AlibeeZ, collections are tracked where the invoice was produced. The panel above illustrates it: the average DSO and how it has moved over six months, outstanding balances split by age band (0 to 30 days, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, over 90), and the dunning actions due on balances over 60 days. The amounts are illustrative; the structure is the screen’s.

A single view of receivables

Receivables read by client, by entity and by age. Each axis answers a different question:

  • By client: who owes me what, and does this client usually pay on time?
  • By entity: within a group, which company carries the exposure, and in which currency?
  • By age: how much of the balance is simply current, and how much is starting to age?

The age split is the most telling. A well-filled 0 to 30 day band is normal: those are the month’s invoices. What should catch the eye are the bands beyond 60 days, which the panel colours differently. That is where dunning is concentrated, and where DSO deteriorates.

DSO calculated on real data

Because it is calculated from invoices actually issued and payments actually reconciled, DSO is not an estimate rebuilt at month end. It is steered invoice by invoice: you see which invoices push it up, at which client and on which project.

Every invoice carries its state

An AlibeeZ invoice keeps its status trail: draft created, approved, issued, filed for e-invoicing, exported, then awaiting payment, with the amount paid to date when payment is partial. You no longer ask accounting where an invoice stands: you open it.

E-invoicing enriches that trail. The statuses sent back by the client’s platform (received, approved, refused, paid) come back into AlibeeZ through iopole, our Plateforme Agréée. A refused invoice shows up at once, instead of being found at the due date. That circuit is described in detail in the journey of an e-invoice.

Chase at the right time, from your own domain

Effective dunning depends on three things: knowing it is due, knowing who does it, and making sure it lands.

Knowing it is due

The dunning actions due appear in the receivables view, next to the age bands concerned. And on the AlibeeZ home screen, the alerts you have set reach the right person: an invoice past its due date is flagged to the billing team as soon as they log in, without waiting for a monthly review.

Chasing with the right message

An invoice refused by the client is not chased like one that is simply pending: the first needs a correction, the second a reminder. The statuses on the invoice let you tell the difference before writing.

Making sure it lands

Reminders for unpaid invoices can be sent from your own domain rather than ours, through Brevo or Sinch Mailjet. Deliverability stays under your control, and with Mailjet, open and bounce tracking tells you whether the reminder actually landed.

Reconciling payments with no double entry

Receivables tracking is only worth something if payments are matched to the right invoices. AlibeeZ reconciles incoming receipts against open invoices, based on SEPA-standard bank flows. Settled invoices leave the receivables, and partial payments stay visible on the invoice.

If you finance your receivables, the same principle applies. With Factofrance, the receivables ledger is sent from AlibeeZ (issued invoices, due dates, exposure per client), and advances and payments received are then reconciled against open invoices, with no second set of books. With Franfinance, issued invoices can be passed on for financing with their due date and client exposure.

On the accounting side, nothing changes for your accountant: AlibeeZ works with the accounting software you already use, with a simple export of journal entries that already carry the ledger codes.

From history to collection forecast

Aged receivables tell you what is late. Combined with each contract’s schedules and payment terms, they also tell you what will come in, and when. That is the difference between a history and a collection forecast.

If you manage cash in Agicap, AlibeeZ supplies what is not on the bank statement yet: issued invoices, invoices still to issue, due dates and order book. Agicap places them on the forecast alongside real movements, instead of a file rebuilt every month. And if your leadership reads its figures in a BI tool, client receivables are part of the data exported automatically.

DSO flows into margin

Last but not least: collection feeds back into the margin of the project concerned. A well-margined project paid at 90 days is not worth the same as one paid at 30. By linking the invoice, its payment and the project that produced it, AlibeeZ makes that cost visible where steering decisions are made.

Going further

A low DSO starts with an invoice issued early and right: that is the subject of invoice generation in AlibeeZ. Due dates and penalties are set in the contract, as explained in billing models in AlibeeZ. And to link collections to profitability, read project margin and forecast tracking.

Frequently asked questions

How does AlibeeZ help reduce DSO?

By shortening the delay between approved time and the invoice, then tracking dunning and payments invoice by invoice: receivables read by client, by entity and by age, and the dunning still to do is visible in the same view.

Can reminders be sent from our own email address?

Yes. Through Brevo or Sinch Mailjet, reminders for unpaid invoices leave from your domain, and deliverability stays under your control.

How are payments matched to invoices?

AlibeeZ reconciles incoming receipts against open invoices. If you work with a factor such as Factofrance, advances and payments received are also reconciled against open invoices, with no second set of books.

Do we need to change accounting software?

No. AlibeeZ invoices and exports to your existing accounting, with ledger codes included. The list of accounting connectors is on the connectors page.