Overdue Invoices Are Rising for Small Businesses: What to Do in QuickBooks
More small businesses are carrying past-due receivables than a year ago. Here is how to use QuickBooks to find, track, and follow up on overdue invoices.
When more of your customers pay late, the strain shows up everywhere — payroll, vendor bills, and tax set-asides. A recent report highlighted by the Tri-City Herald confirms that a growing share of small businesses are carrying overdue invoices compared with last year. If your accounts receivable aging has been creeping in the wrong direction, QuickBooks gives you several practical ways to get a handle on it.
Find Out Who Owes You
The fastest starting point is the A/R Aging report. In QuickBooks Online, go to Business overview > Reports (or Reports in the sidebar) and open Accounts receivable aging. In QuickBooks Desktop, choose Reports > Customers & Receivables > A/R Aging Summary.
This report groups what you are owed into time buckets — current, 1–30 days, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ days past due. Sort by the oldest column first so the most delinquent accounts rise to the top.
Send Reminders Without Chasing Manually
Both QuickBooks Online and Desktop can automate reminder emails so nothing slips through the cracks.
- QuickBooks Online: Go to Settings > Account and settings > Sales, and turn on Payment reminders. You can then set up an automatic schedule with customizable email templates for invoices that are 3, 7, or 14 days overdue.
- QuickBooks Desktop: Open Edit > Preferences > Sales & Customers > Company Preferences and configure Payment Reminders to generate batch reminders based on your own rules.
Review the wording before you enable the feature. A polite, specific message — invoice number, original date, amount, and a payment link — usually performs better than a generic dunning letter.
Make It Easier to Get Paid
Late payment is often a friction problem. If your customers cannot click and pay instantly, they are more likely to set the invoice aside. Turn on QuickBooks Payments so invoices include a Pay Now button for card and bank transfer. The less effort required, the faster the money arrives.
Keep Your List of Receivables Clean
When receivables pile up, it is tempting to leave old, uncollectible balances on the books. That distorts your income picture and clutters your customer list. If an invoice is truly uncollectible, record it properly as a bad debt using a bad-debt expense account, then run the necessary reports to write off the balance rather than simply deleting it.
Track the Trend Over Time
Once you have reminders and payment options in place, check your A/R aging at the same point each month. Watching the 90+ day column shrink — or grow — tells you whether your collection effort is working. If your file has become unwieldy after years of accumulated data, condensing an oversized QuickBooks Desktop company file can make reports run faster and keep your receivables picture clearer.