Straight-through collection (straight-through-inddrivelse)
Also known as straight-through processing, automated collection, unbroken collection flow
Straight-through collection is a process that runs from invoice to conclusion without manual steps — only the exceptions need a hand.
- Principle
- No re-keying along the way
- People used for
- The exceptions
- Requires
- Fixed escalation rules
In practice
The idea is borrowed from payments, where a transaction needing no manual handling is both cheaper and more accurate. Applied to receivables it means the invoice, the reminder, the chaser, the formal demand and the handover hang together in one chain without anyone re-keying anything along the way.
People should be spent on what actually calls for judgement: the objection, the instalment plan, the large customer who needs a phone call. The routine has to run itself so there is time for the exceptions.
The precondition is that the rules are written down. A process can only run automatically if somebody has decided when to escalate and when not to.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- Automating before tidying the rules. The system then escalates according to a practice nobody ever decided on.
- The exceptions get no queue. The automation works, and the cases that fell out of it sit untouched.