Selling on credit is easy. Getting paid on time is a process — and in many distribution businesses, it is the least defined process of all. Collections happen when someone remembers, are recorded when someone has time, and are reconciled when the month ends.
This article covers the whole loop. For the credit side — terms, ageing and outlet discipline — see retailer credit in general trade.
The collection loop
- Plan — who should be collected from this week, and how much.
- Collect — at the counter, by cash, UPI, cheque or transfer.
- Record — at the moment of collection, against the bills it settles.
- Hand in — cash and cheques to the office, the same day.
- Reconcile — recorded vs handed in vs bank.
- Follow up — overdue amounts and disputes.
What to plan from
| Input | Use |
|---|---|
| Ageing by customer | Who is overdue, by how much |
| Beat schedule | Who will be visited this week |
| Promised payments | What customers committed to pay |
| Disputed bills | What needs resolving before payment |
The same-day reconciliation
Each evening, three numbers should agree:
- Recorded collections in the field app.
- Handed in — cash counted and cheques received.
- Received — UPI and transfers in the bank (often checked next morning).
A difference found the same day is usually a simple mistake. Found weeks later, it is a dispute — or a loss.
Measures that matter
- Collection efficiency — collected ÷ due in the period.
- Days sales outstanding — see B2B payment collection.
- Overdue by age bucket — 0–15, 16–30, 31–60, 60+ days.
- Unreconciled amounts — and how long they stay open.
How Zaqnet supports collections
- Collections recorded in GroundLink — cash, UPI or cheque — against the customer and the bills they settle, online or offline.
- Payments, invoices and outstanding in ControlRoom.
- Day-end closure brings the day's collections together with sales and deliveries for review — see day-end closure.
- AutoSync forwards supported records to TallyPrime or BUSY.
The day a payment is collected is the only day it is easy to account for.