Read an Aged Receivables Report Before Chasing Customers

Read the report settings before the amounts

Start with the report's cut-off date, the customer or currency filters and the ageing method. A report saved at last month-end answers a different question from a report run today. Use bank and invoice evidence up to the same cut-off for the reconciliation, then note subsequent payments separately before contacting anyone.

An invoice can be old without being overdue. MYOB's ageing guide distinguishes time since the invoice date from days overdue under its payment terms. For example, an invoice issued 45 days ago on agreed 60-day terms is still within those terms, even though an invoice-date report puts it in an older bucket.

For a collection check, use the agreed due dates and check exactly what each column measures. "June", "1 month" and "31 to 60 days overdue" are not interchangeable.

Use action codes before sending reminders

Export a detailed report rather than only the customer totals. Add a small set of working codes:

• A: allocate: a receipt exists but has not been matched to its invoice.
• C: credit: a recorded credit needs matching to the right sale.
• D: dispute: a customer challenges some or all of the charge.
• F: follow up: checked, overdue and not explained by a receipt, credit or known dispute.
• N: not yet due: keep monitoring the agreed date.

These labels organise work. They do not approve a write-off, create a credit note or decide a dispute. The completed list gives your unpaid-invoice follow-up a sound starting point.

Work through an example with receipts and credits

The fictional report below is dated 11 September 2026 and ages invoices by days past due. All amounts are customer document totals in AUD. The $2,200 receipt and $400 credit have already been recorded against the correct customers and included in the receivables control account, but remain unmatched to individual invoices.

Assumptions: Fictional report at 11 September 2026. Negative amounts are already-recorded customer receipts or credits. Matching them must not create a second receipt or credit.

Customer / open item	Age shown	Open document amount	Action and evidence	Customer balance after matching
Harbour: INV-310	31 to 60 days overdue	$2,200	A: match R-77 using bank receipt and remittance	$0 after R-77 matched
Harbour: receipt R-77	Unallocated	−$2,200	Already recorded; do not enter another bank receipt	Included above
Fern: INV-311	Not yet due	$3,000	C: match approved credit CN-18 to this invoice	$2,600 current
Fern: credit CN-18	Unallocated	−$400	Already recorded; verify invoice reference	Included above
East: INV-290	61 to 90 days overdue	$4,800	F: no receipt, credit or known dispute; confirm payment plan/date	$4,800 overdue
Hill: INV-300	31 to 60 days overdue	$1,800	D: scope disputed; owner reviews correspondence	$1,800 under review
Lake: INV-320	Not yet due	$1,800	N: no payment issue identified	$1,800 current
Net receivables total	All open items	$11,000	Compare with control account at same date	$11,000

Original ASBG fictional example. Use the assumptions above when replacing these figures with your own.

Looking only at positive invoice rows gives $13,600. Once the recorded receipt and credit are included, the report totals $11,000. Matching them changes which documents are open; it does not bring new money into the bank or reduce the $11,000 control balance again.

Harbour should not get a demand for $2,200. Fern still has $2,600 to pay when due. East's $4,800 needs follow-up, while Hill's $1,800 needs the person handling the scope disagreement.

Reconcile the checked list to the control account

The receivables control account is the total in your ledger that represents the underlying customer accounts. You can find it in the balance sheet, often called trade debtors or accounts receivable.

For this example, the final check is:

$4,800 overdue + $1,800 disputed + $4,400 current = $11,000 receivables control.

The disputed amount stays in this reconciliation unless a properly supported accounting change is made. Excluding it from a routine reminder list is different from removing it from the books.

MYOB's receivables review compares outstanding customer balances with the linked receivables category. Its documented exception causes include timing differences and direct postings to that category. If yours does not tie, check the report date, filters, opening balances, currencies and unusual transactions with your bookkeeper. Save the before-and-after reports and a short explanation of each correction.

Investigate the difference before making an entry to the accounts. A balanced total can still contain a payment matched to the wrong customer.

Turn the checked report into this week's work

Add an owner, next action, due date and evidence link for every A, C, D or F item. For East, the action might be "confirm whether payment has been sent; request remittance if so". For Hill, it is "compare the challenged line with the accepted scope and customer reply". Those are different conversations.

Update your cash forecast using realistic receipt dates. The full $11,000 ledger total does not necessarily arrive this week. Keep the disputed item visibly separate in your timing assumptions, and record why you expect a late customer to pay on a particular date.

Repeat the check at the same point in your weekly cash flow and getting paid routine. Keep a list of recurring causes: unidentified transfers, missing credit references or invoices sent with the wrong terms are process issues you can fix at their source.

Next, reconcile the difference when your customer reports another balance.

Key takeaways

• Check the date and ageing basis before assuming an old column means overdue debt.
• Include recorded credits and receipts, and never record them a second time merely to allocate them.
• Separate allocation, credit matching, disputes and collection actions.
• Reconcile customer balances to the control account before relying on the total.

Where to get help

• MYOB: Monthly ageing of invoices explains the difference between invoice-age and overdue-age reporting.
• MYOB: Auditing your records explains receivables reconciliation checks and exceptions.
• Ask your bookkeeper to investigate an unexplained control-account difference. Refer proposed write-offs or tax adjustments to your accountant before posting them.