Debt collection for consulting and audit firms
Manage your outstanding balances project by project
A solution tailored to consulting, audit firms, and IT services, designed to collect payments faster without straining client relationships.
In consulting, audit firms, and IT services, collection management faces a structural reality: missions are varied, clients are shared among multiple partners or project managers, and invoicing often happens too long after services are delivered.
As a result, you end up with a high DSO, accumulating unbilled receivables, and an accounting department that struggles to send reminders without upsetting the strategic business relationships managed by your partners.
CashNow offers a debt collection solution designed specifically for the unique needs of consulting and audit firms, ensuring that financial discipline never compromises client relations.
The challenges of payment collection in consulting firms and IT services
The consulting sector combines several factors that complicate accounts receivable management. Unlike a product sale, a consulting mission is spread over time, generates progressive fees, and involves multiple stakeholders on the client side—such as CEOs, CFOs, and operational managers. Without a clear process, invoicing gets delayed, reminders pile up, and working capital requirements deteriorate.
One client, multiple parallel missions
Much like in the construction sector, a consulting firm can have several active missions running simultaneously for a single client: an audit mission, a strategic consulting mission, and an HR mission. Each has its own project manager, progress status, and specific fees. Sending a reminder at the global account level without distinguishing between missions risks causing confusion and unnecessary tension.
The CashNow Project/Account Management module allows you to manage each mission as a distinct entity, while maintaining a consolidated view by client and by partner.
Learn more about the Project/Account Management module
A decentralized structure that complicates collection
In most firms, each partner manages “their” own clients. While this is a commercial strength, it can sometimes hinder collections. Partners do not always appreciate the central accounting department sending reminders to their clients without their knowledge, out of fear of damaging a relationship built on trust and longevity.
CashNow integrates this reality: reminder scenarios can be configured to involve the partner or project manager at every stage, validate reminders before they go out, or adjust the tone based on the client profile.
Fees invoiced too long after the mission ends
One of the primary levers to reduce DSO in consulting is to invoice faster. Yet, in many firms, invoicing happens several weeks after the mission concludes due to a lack of visibility over the actual progress of work valued in euros.
The CashNow Unbilled Receivables / Orders / Uninvoiced module integrates the progress status of each mission valued in euros, identifying in real time what has been completed but not yet invoiced, allowing you to trigger invoicing at the exact right moment (without waiting for the monthly accounting close).
Learn more about the Unbilled Receivables / Uninvoiced module
Reminding a partner’s clients
This is the most sensitive topic regarding collections in consulting firms. A key account client managed for ten years by a senior partner cannot be reminded the same way as a small business client with an invoice 30 days past due.
CashNow allows you to define differentiated reminder scenarios based on the client profile, the outstanding balance amount, and the account partner. In practice:
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Initial reminders can be sent on behalf of the partner or project manager, rather than the accounting department.
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A validation threshold can be configured: past a certain amount or timeframe, the partner is alerted before any reminder is sent.
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The tone and communication channel adjust to the nature of the relationship: a polite email, a phone call, or a formal letter depending on the escalation stage.
Legal payment deadlines in consulting and IT services
Consulting firms and IT services are subject to standard legal payment deadlines:
Private clients
Payment terms cannot exceed 45 days end-of-month or 60 days from the invoice date. These deadlines apply from the invoice issuance date (not the end of the mission). This is an additional reason to invoice quickly upon delivery of the service.
Public clients
For missions carried out for local authorities, public institutions, or the State, the legal deadline is 30 days. Any delay automatically triggers late payment penalties and a flat-rate collection fee of at least €40, without requiring a prior formal notice.
CashNow monitors your outstanding balances by client type and triggers reminders at the right moment, taking into account the deadlines applicable to each contract.
Reducing unbilled work: the primary cash flow lever in consulting
Before even discussing reminders, the number one lever to improve a consulting firm’s cash flow is reducing the time between service delivery and invoice issuance.
In many firms, this gap can stretch to several weeks or even months for long-term missions with poorly defined billing milestones.
CashNow centralizes the tracking of ongoing missions along with their value in euros, alerts project managers and partners as soon as a completed service remains uninvoiced, and anticipates invoicing peaks to smooth out cash inflows throughout the year.
Also read: How to detect unpaid risks starting at the quote stage
CashNow: the collection solution built for consulting and audit
Firms need a solution that understands project-based logic, the sensitivity of partner-client relationships, and the high stakes of unbilled work.
With CashNow, your teams can:
> Manage each mission as a distinct collection entity.
> Involve partners in the reminder process without bypassing them.
> Reduce the time between mission completion and invoicing thanks to the unbilled receivables module.
> Tailor the tone and schedule of reminders to each client’s profile.
> Centralize disputes by mission and by client on a single interface.
> Reduce their DSO and secure their cash flow over the long term.
Looking to optimize payment collection for your consulting missions? Contact us for a personalized demo.
FAQ: Debt collection for consulting firms & IT services
What is WIP / Unbilled receivables in a consulting firm?
Unbilled receivables (often referred to as Work in Progress or WIP) represent services that have been performed but not yet invoiced at the close of a period. In consulting firms, this is work completed that has not yet generated cash. Reducing unbilled work accelerates invoicing and directly improves the firm’s cash flow.
How can we send reminders to a partner's client without creating internal tension?
The key is to include the partner and/or their assistant in the reminder loop rather than bypassing them. Scenarios configured to send initial reminders under the partner’s name, or to notify them before any message goes out above a certain threshold, help maintain the relationship while ensuring outstanding balances are tracked.
How do you manage multiple simultaneous missions for the same client?
An tool like CashNow lets you manage each mission as a separate account, featuring its own tracking of outstanding balances and customized reminders, while maintaining a consolidated view per client. This avoids confusion between missions and ensures precise follow-ups.
What are the legal payment deadlines for consulting firms?
Standard rules apply: for private clients, the maximum term is 45 days end-of-month or 60 days from the invoice date. For public clients, the legal deadline is 30 days. These periods start from the invoice issuance date, not the end of the mission, highlighting the benefit of rapid invoicing.
