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Prepare and issue invoices
Use approved customer, contract, order or time records and the agreed billing calendar.
United StatesFor U.S. CPA and accounting firms
Accounts Receivable Outsourcing for CPA Firms
Client AR preparation for invoicing, cash application, aging review and approved follow-up, with billing and credit decisions retained by the client.
Overview
Getting Paid Closer to Terms, Without Damaging the Relationship
For CPA firms supporting business clients, accounts receivable preparation can include scheduled invoicing from approved billing records, cash application, aging review, customer-ledger reconciliation and follow-up under a documented client-approved cadence. The client retains billing terms, credit decisions, dispute resolution and write-off approval; the CPA firm retains its agreed review and client-service responsibilities.
U.S. specifics
U.S. Accounts Receivable Work for CPA-Firm Clients
- USD invoicing from sales orders, contracts, or time sheets
- ACH and check payment application from the bank feed
- Weekly aging review with 30/60/90+ day buckets
- Approved invoice reminders sent through the agreed company channel
- Customer account reconciliation against statements
- Month-end AR reconciliation to the general ledger
The recurring cycle
How Accounts Receivable Support Works
A repeatable process connects billing, incoming cash, overdue balances and month-end reconciliation, with exceptions documented for review.
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Apply incoming payments
Match ACH, checks and processor receipts to open invoices, including partial payments and short pays.
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Review receivables aging
Group overdue balances by age and identify missing remittances, disputes or recurring delays.
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Send agreed reminders
Prepare or send reminders in the client business’s name only through the channel and cadence expressly approved by the CPA firm and its client.
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Reconcile customer balances
Compare customer ledgers with statements and reconcile the AR subledger to the general ledger at month-end.
If this sounds familiar
When the Aged Debt Is a Dispute Nobody Logged
An invoice sitting at ninety days is usually not a customer refusing to pay. It is a missing purchase order number, a delivery query raised by email and never recorded, or an invoice sent to somebody who left the company in March. Treated as a collections problem it produces an uncomfortable phone call. Treated as an administrative problem it usually gets resolved.
Reading the aging for cause rather than filing it as a report is what separates the two. So is applying cash promptly: when receipts are not matched as they land, the aging shows balances that are not really outstanding, and chasing a customer who has already paid costs more than the delay did.
The arithmetic is worth being concrete about, because receivables is the one function where process improvement converts directly into cash. On two million dollars of annual revenue, moving days sales outstanding from fifty-five to forty releases roughly eighty-two thousand dollars. That is not new profit - it is money already earned, arriving sooner.
What stays your call
Credit limits, credit holds, terms, write-off approval, and whether an account goes to a collections agency or to counsel. We run the cycle and surface the escalations; the commercial decisions are yours.
The operating controls
The Checks Behind a Reliable Receivables Ledger
An aging report is only useful when invoice status, applied receipts and unresolved customer questions are current. These checks help the accounting team distinguish overdue balances from items that need research or client decisions.
Confirm invoices against approved billing records
Scheduled invoices should be prepared from approved contracts, orders, time records or billing instructions. Check the customer, service period, amount, terms and delivery details before the invoice is issued. Missing approvals, disputed quantities or incomplete billing inputs should be returned to the designated contact.
Discuss Confirm invoices against approved billing recordsMatch receipts using remittance and bank evidence
Compare ACH, check, card-processor and other receipts with bank activity, remittance advice and open invoices. Record partial payments and deductions accurately. If the payer or invoice cannot be identified, keep the receipt visible as an unapplied item and request clarification rather than assigning it to a convenient customer balance.
Discuss Match receipts using remittance and bank evidenceRead aging by cause, not only by age bucket
An overdue balance may relate to an unpaid invoice, a payment in transit, a short payment, a credit not yet applied, a billing query or a customer dispute. Add a documented status, source reference, responsible contact and next action where the available records support it. Do not assume every aged item is collectible or disputed.
Discuss Read aging by cause, not only by age bucketUse an agreed follow-up and escalation rule
The client should approve which invoices are eligible for reminders, the timing, message wording, sender identity and escalation path. Disputes, sensitive customer relationships, legal notices and requests to change payment terms should be referred to the authorized client contact. A reminder schedule supports consistency but cannot guarantee collection.
Discuss Use an agreed follow-up and escalation ruleReconcile the subledger and review adjustments
At the agreed close, compare the accounts-receivable subledger with the general-ledger control account and investigate differences. Credit memos, write-offs, refunds, customer-term changes and other balance adjustments require approval from the designated client or accounting reviewer. Carry unresolved items forward with their evidence and status.
Discuss Reconcile the subledger and review adjustments
Related industry scope
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Will your team contact a CPA firm client’s customers directly?
Customer contact is only included when the CPA firm and its client expressly approve the sender, channel, message, cadence and escalation rules. Where authorized, reminder emails can be prepared or sent through the agreed client workflow. Phone collection calls and sensitive disputes remain with the client unless a separate scope expressly assigns them.
How does this work with U.S. payment methods?
Payments arriving via ACH, check or card processor are matched against the client’s open invoices in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Discrepancies are flagged for the designated client or CPA-firm reviewer rather than applied automatically when something does not match cleanly.
What is DSO and does this actually reduce it?
Days Sales Outstanding measures the average time it takes to collect after invoicing. Consistent aging reviews, timely invoicing, accurate payment application and agreed follow-up can help identify collection delays, but the effect on DSO depends on the business, customer terms and underlying causes of late payment.
How are receivables exceptions handled?
Unmatched receipts, short payments, disputed invoices and proposed write-offs are listed with supporting detail so the appropriate person can review them before the account is changed or escalated.
How is unapplied cash or an unmatched customer receipt handled?
The receipt is compared with available remittance advice, open invoices and bank or processor records. If the customer, invoice or amount cannot be matched reliably, the item is recorded as an exception for the designated reviewer rather than applied to an arbitrary balance.
Can receivables support include recurring invoicing and aging reports?
Where included in the agreed scope, tasks may include preparing scheduled invoices from approved billing details, maintaining aging reports, applying receipts and flagging overdue or disputed balances. The client confirms billing terms, invoice approvals and the follow-up rules.
Who approves credit memos, write-offs or changes to customer balances?
The authorized client or responsible accounting reviewer approves credit memos, write-offs, adjustments and changes to customer terms. Preparation can assemble the supporting records and identify the proposed treatment, but approval is not assumed.
How are short payments and customer deductions documented?
The receipt is matched to the invoice and remittance details, and any short payment, deduction, bank fee or dispute is listed with the supporting information available. The client decides whether it is a valid deduction, a dispute, a balance due or an adjustment.
Can accounts receivable support cover multiple entities or billing streams?
Yes, after the scope defines the legal entities, customer files, billing cycles, currencies where applicable, systems, report formats and reviewers. The workflow should keep each entity’s receipts, invoices and open items traceable to the correct records.
What should be agreed before customer follow-up begins?
Agree which aging buckets or exceptions trigger follow-up, who is authorized to contact customers, the approved communication channel and wording, the cadence, and which disputes or sensitive cases must be referred back to the client. Customer contact should not go beyond the approved scope.
Further reading
Go deeper on the parts that matter
Outsourcing Accounts Receivable: A Practical Guide for Business Owners
Where receivables actually slip, and what a consistent collections routine changes.
Read itOutsourced Accounts Receivable: DSO, Collections & Software Workflows
How to measure the cash flow impact of outsourced AR, how collections follow-up works in QuickBooks and Xero, and the questions U.S. business owners ask before outsourcing receivables.
Read itFree consultation
Talk to Us About Your Firm’s Busy Season
A free consultation, and a call that costs you nothing but the half hour. Tell us where the preparation is backing up and we will scope a pilot around it.
- Start with one client or one month of close work
- We prepare; your firm reviews, signs and e-files
- No EFIN, no banking control, no client-facing contact without your say-so
Where Is the Receivables Cycle Slowing Down?
Identify where receivables are slipping—invoice delays, unapplied cash or inconsistent follow-up—and the support scope can be built around the recurring cycle.