Business tip: keep an overdue-invoice list you can act on

An unpaid invoice should not disappear into a stack of sent emails. A short overdue-invoice list can show a South African small business exactly which customer payment needs attention and when.

Start with one line for each invoice: customer, invoice number, issue date, agreed due date, amount, amount received and remaining balance. Add the name of the person who approved the work and the date of the last follow-up. Check the list against the bank account rather than assuming that a promised payment has arrived.

Follow up with a clear record

When an invoice reaches its agreed due date, send a courteous reminder that includes the original invoice and payment details. If a customer disputes the amount or says the work was not delivered, record the point of disagreement and resolve it before sending repeated generic reminders.

Use a separate column for the next agreed action and date. That makes the list useful during a weekly cash-flow review: it distinguishes money already received from money still expected. Do not spend expected receipts as if they were in the bank.

Keep invoices, receipts and bank records together. The South African Revenue Service says supporting documents help businesses explain what they declare in tax returns. VAT-registered businesses also need to check the invoice rules that apply to them; this tip is a bookkeeping routine, not tax advice or a substitute for a compliant tax invoice.