Run a quarterly debt review
Set up a recurring quarterly review of a client's debtor book, so credit risk and overdue accounts are examined on a schedule and acted on while it still counts, instead of surfacing only at year-end.
What this play helps you do
- Make reviewing the debtor book a scheduled habit
- Catch deteriorating accounts before they become write-offs
- Connect the review to limits, terms and recovery decisions
- Position the review as a recurring advisory touchpoint
- Leave the client with clear actions after each review
6 min read
When to run this
Run this play to give all the other prevention work a regular check-up. Even a client with good policy, terms and AR will see its debtor book drift over time — limits become outdated, once-reliable customers start slipping, and overdue balances creep up unnoticed between the busy quarters. A scheduled quarterly review brings the ledger into focus on a known cadence, so problems are caught and acted on while they are still small, rather than discovered in a year-end scramble.
For an adviser, it also creates a recurring, valued touchpoint with the client — a standing reason to sit down over the numbers and add visible value, which is exactly the kind of advisory relationship a referral partnership is built on.
The play (steps)
Establish a simple quarterly routine you run with the client:
- Schedule it. Put a quarterly debt review in the calendar as a standing commitment, not an ad-hoc favour.
- Review the ageing report. Walk the debtor book together, focusing on overdue balances and how they have moved since last time.
- Reassess limits and terms. Adjust credit limits up for proven payers and down for those slipping, and revisit terms where needed.
- Flag deteriorating accounts. Identify customers trending the wrong way and decide on action before they become bad debts.
- Decide on the stuck accounts. For genuinely overdue balances, decide whether to escalate, refer for recovery, or provide.
- Record the actions. Note what was agreed so the next review can check it was done.
What good looks like
With a quarterly review embedded, the client's debtor book is examined four times a year on a fixed schedule. Credit limits stay current, deteriorating accounts are spotted and acted on early, and genuinely overdue balances are escalated, referred or provided for rather than left to rot. Nothing festers unseen between reviews. The client treats credit risk as something actively managed, and the adviser has a recurring, valued seat at the table — turning the prevention work into an ongoing discipline rather than a one-time setup.
Where the review surfaces accounts worth pursuing, they can be handed on cleanly through refer a debt.
What to say to the client
Frame it as cheap insurance and a sensible rhythm: “Once a quarter we sit down with your debtor list and ask three questions — who's slipping, whose limit needs changing, and what do we do about the accounts that are stuck. Catching a deteriorating customer in the next review instead of at year-end is the difference between a phone call and a write-off.”
For the adviser, position the review as part of the advisory offering. It is a natural, recurring reason to engage on the numbers, and a steady source of the well-prepared referrals that the partnership rewards.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is leaving the review as a good intention with no date, so it never happens. The second is reviewing the ageing report but agreeing no actions, so the meeting observes problems without fixing them. The third is failing to follow up — actions agreed in one review must be checked in the next, or the routine becomes a quarterly look with no consequences. Schedule it, decide actions, and hold the client to them.
Key takeaways
- A scheduled quarterly review keeps the debtor book from drifting unnoticed.
- Catch deteriorating accounts early, while action is still cheap.
- Each review should produce decisions on limits, terms and stuck accounts.
- It is also a recurring, valued advisory touchpoint with the client.
FAQ
Why quarterly rather than annually?
A year is long enough for a sound debtor book to drift badly — limits go stale and slipping accounts pile up. A quarterly cadence catches problems while they are small and keeps credit risk actively managed rather than reviewed once in a crisis.
What should come out of each review?
Clear actions: adjusted limits, revisited terms, accounts flagged for closer attention, and decisions to escalate, refer or provide for the stuck balances. A review that produces no actions is just observation.
How does the review help an adviser's practice?
It creates a recurring, valued touchpoint over the client's numbers and a steady flow of well-prepared referrals. It turns one-off prevention setup into an ongoing advisory line the client comes to rely on.
Run the play — we'll handle recovery
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