Haulage Credit Control: An Aged-Debtors Process That Gets Action

An aged-debtors report starts too late if completed jobs are still waiting for POD, a purchase order or somebody to raise the invoice. Haulage credit control must cover the entire path from delivery to accepted invoice, due date, dispute and payment.

UK late-payment research published by the Small Business Commissioner found a substantial economy-wide cost and many hours spent chasing debt. The practical response is a consistent evidence-led routine, not louder reminders after 60 days.

Start with unbilled delivered work

Every day, review jobs marked delivered but not ready to invoice. Group them by missing POD, customer reference, rate approval, waiting-time evidence or internal review. Give each exception an owner and target date.

This queue is commercially more urgent than a neat list of already-issued invoices. A job cannot become overdue until the invoice has entered the agreed acceptance route.

Prove invoice receipt and acceptance

Record issue date, recipient or portal, customer reference, attachments and any portal confirmation. A sent email is not always accepted under the customer’s process.

Where an invoice is rejected, capture the rejection reason and response deadline. Separate a genuine dispute about service or price from an administrative rejection such as a missing PO.

Segment the aged-debtors list

Use ageing bands such as current, 1–7, 8–30, 31–60 and 60+ days overdue, but prioritise by value, dispute risk, customer exposure and promised-payment history.

For each balance show:

• invoice and job references;
• due date and days overdue;
• amount and VAT;
• POD and acceptance status;
• last contact and promise;
• dispute owner and next action;
• total customer exposure, including unbilled work.

A small old invoice blocked by one document may be quick to recover; a large “current” balance may need attention if further loads will breach the credit limit.

Use a staged contact process

Define courteous steps before and after due date: confirmation of receipt, pre-due reminder, first overdue contact, written escalation and final internal decision. Ask a clear question and set a date for the next action.

Record who said what. “Customer chased” is not enough. A useful note states the contact, disputed item, promised payment date and evidence requested.

Manage disputes as cases

Open a dispute record linked to the job, POD, quote and invoice. Categorise cause: rate, damage, shortage, timing, waiting, PO, POD or duplicate. Assign an operational and financial owner.

Do not repeatedly send the same invoice when the customer has identified a real mismatch. Resolve the root cause, issue a corrected document or credit note where authorised, and preserve the audit trail.

Interest, compensation and escalation

GOV.UK explains when commercial payments become late and the statutory route for interest and recovery costs. Contract terms and legitimate disputes affect the position. Calculate any charge using current official guidance and obtain legal advice before contentious recovery.

The Small Business Commissioner may support qualifying disputes between a small supplier and a larger customer after the supplier has tried to resolve the matter. It is not a substitute for internal evidence or every type of debt recovery.

Put the operational stop decision in writing

Define who can place a customer on hold and whether in-progress safety-critical or contractual work is affected. Tell planners which new jobs must not be accepted, without exposing unnecessary financial details to drivers.

HauliK Ultra provides invoice, balance and aged-debtor visibility from delivered jobs. It does not collect payment or provide legal recovery. Connect the invoicing workflow to the company’s banking and accounting reconciliation.

Weekly review metrics

Track delivered-not-invoiced value, rejected invoices, average days from delivery to issue, overdue value, dispute age, promises kept and bad-debt exposure. Metrics should lead to action, not become a finance presentation.

Frequently asked questions

When is a business payment late?

Use the agreed payment date. If none exists, GOV.UK explains the statutory 30-day calculation. Confirm the applicable facts and contract.

Can interest be charged automatically?

There may be a statutory right, but contract and dispute circumstances matter. Follow current official guidance and get advice where necessary.

Should drivers chase POD for old invoices?

The office should own retrieval. Drivers can assist with facts, but a controlled POD process should not depend on repeated personal chasing.

What is the first credit-control KPI to fix?

Usually delivery-to-invoice delay. Reducing it starts the payment clock earlier and removes avoidable internal cash-flow loss.