Executive summary
Predictable cash for the first time
A 5-staff general practice firm in the East Midlands, UK serving ~140 clients across accounts, tax, and bookkeeping was consistently waiting over 45 days to collect payment after raising invoices.
Invoices were raised manually and irregularly. Overdue reminders relied on whoever noticed an unpaid invoice in the ledger. The partner had no live view of what was owed, by whom, and for how long and cash flow was a constant source of anxiety every month.
After implementing PRACTICEASY’s Revenue Clarity Dashboard with recurring invoices, integrated online payment links, and an automated three-step overdue reminder sequence, the firm reduced average debtor days from 45 to 14 within a single quarter.
Outstanding debtors dropped by over 60%, the partner stopped manually chasing late payers, and monthly cash flow became predictable for the first time.
Client profile
Firm at a glance
| Firm type | General practice accounts, tax, VAT, and bookkeeping |
|---|---|
| Team size | 5 staff (1 partner + 4 staff) |
| Client count | ~140 active clients (Ltd companies, sole traders, partnerships) |
| Location | East Midlands, UK |
| Fee mix | ~60% recurring monthly/quarterly fees; ~40% ad hoc annual compliance work |
| Previous billing | Manual invoices in a standalone invoicing app; overdue chasing by email when noticed |
| Average debtor days (before) | 45 days |
Challenges / problems
Cash flow was draining partner time
Five interconnected problems sat at the root of poor cash flow and chronic financial uncertainty.
- No link between job completion and invoicing: Invoices raised manually when someone remembered. Completed work sat unbilled for days or weeks delaying collection before the clock even started.
- No recurring automation for retainers: ~80 monthly retainer clients should have been billed on the 1st every month; in practice invoices went out on random dates or were forgotten retainer income was lumpy and unreliable.
- Overdue reminders manual and inconsistent: No system for chasing late payers. The partner scanned aged debtors and wrote individual emails. Some clients went 60–90 days without a chase.
- No real-time cash view: Understanding receivables meant opening the invoicing app, filtering, and calculating manually so problems were spotted late.
- Friction for clients paying: PDF invoices and bank transfers meant even willing clients paid slowly.
before PRACTICEASY
before a chase
while cash waited
Why they chose PRACTICEASY
Fix the full chain not just debtor chasing
Standalone debtor tools only solved half the problem: cash collection is downstream of job management and billing.
- Built for small UK accounting firms (1–50 staff): Billing logic matches how firms work job completion triggers invoicing, recurring retainers auto-bill, UK compliance calendar aware.
- Compliance-to-Cash the job-to-invoice connection: When a job is marked complete, an invoice is generated automatically, pre-populated with client, service, and agreed fee.
- Flat-rate pricing: One fee for all 5 staff below the cost of separate invoicing apps plus manual chasing time.
- 14-day done-for-you setup + quarterly reviews: Recurring schedules, payment links, and overdue sequences configured so the system worked from day one.
Implementation
Live in 14 days
First automated recurring invoices on day 14. Zero invoices lost in migration. Overdue sequences active from go-live.
| Timeline | What was configured | Who was involved |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–3 · Billing audit | Export of outstanding invoices and aged debtors from previous app. Clients classified by billing type: recurring retainer vs. ad hoc. Fee schedule mapped per client. | Partner + PRACTICEASY onboarding team |
| Days 4–8 · Configuration | Recurring invoice schedules for all ~80 retainer clients (monthly and quarterly). Job-completion invoice triggers per job type. Online payment link on all invoice templates. Three-step overdue sequence (Day 7, Day 14, Day 21 with partner escalation). Revenue Clarity Dashboard activated. | Internal champion (office administrator) + PRACTICEASY configuration team |
| Days 9–14 · Go-live | Open invoices migrated. First batch of recurring invoices sent automatically. All outstanding debtors visible on the dashboard from day one. Full team trained: complete job → auto-invoice → client pays via link. | Full team (partner + 4 staff) + PRACTICEASY trainer |
Solution in action
Revenue Clarity four connected mechanisms
Recurring invoices
Job-completion invoice triggers
Automated overdue reminders
Online payment links
Results / outcomes
First full quarter after go-live
| Metric | Before PRACTICEASY | After PRACTICEASY (90 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Average debtor days | 45 days | 14 days |
| Paid within 7 days of invoice | 28% of invoices | Over 70% of invoices |
| Days from job done to billed | Average 11 days delay | Same day (auto-triggered) |
| Recurring invoice consistency | Variable, manual, often late | 100% on time, zero manual effort |
| Overdue reminder consistency | Ad hoc, frequently missed | Every invoice chased automatically |
| Partner time on billing/chasing | 4–6 hrs/week | Under 30 mins/week review |
| Cash flow predictability | Anxious, unknown monthly position | Confident live dashboard view |
Customer quotes
In their words
“Debtor days at 45 felt normal we just thought that was how it worked. Getting it down to 14 in three months felt almost too easy. The system just chases for you.”
“Before, I’d finish a Self Assessment and it might not get invoiced for two weeks because everyone was busy. Now I close the job and the client gets the invoice the same afternoon.”
“I knew we were owed money I just didn’t know how much, by who, or how old it was without spending an hour pulling it together. And the chasing? It just didn’t happen consistently.”
“The pitch that sold it was simple: when you close a job, the invoice goes out the same day. We’d never had that before.”
Partners, general practice firm, East Midlands UK
Still waiting 30, 45, or 60 days to get paid?
If cash flow is a source of anxiety rather than certainty, PRACTICEASY’s Revenue Clarity Dashboard brings recurring invoices, job-completion billing, automated overdue reminders, and online payment links all in the system your team already uses.