Start with a visible aging and ownership record
Assign a clear internal owner, reconcile the current amount, record invoice dates and due dates, and distinguish the legal customer from a trade name or operating contact. A useful aging record also preserves credits, partial payments, promised-payment notes, dispute references, and the last meaningful communication.
Use escalation questions, not automatic scripts
Ask what changed: is the account delayed because of approval, a performance concern, an incorrect invoice, cash-flow pressure, stale contact data, entity confusion, or a broader insolvency indicator? Different answers point to different records and different professional lanes, so a single repetitive demand sequence can obscure the real decision.
Set a file-readiness threshold
Before external review, assemble the agreement or credit application, invoices, statements, delivery or completion evidence, material correspondence, authority record, and a concise chronology. The threshold should be evidence-based and proportionate; it should not imply that every overdue invoice requires immediate external action.
Document the next decision
A documented next decision may be a correction, evidence request, internal commercial discussion, recovery review, specialist referral, pause, or closure. Business Development Bank of Canada guidance emphasizes disciplined invoice processes and calibrated customer communication, which aligns with a serious but non-coercive commercial approach.