How much of my invoiced revenue has actually been collected?
You sent the invoices. But how much of that money actually came in? Here's how to measure your collection rate and find the invoices that are slipping through the cracks.
The short answer
Your collection rate is the percentage of invoiced revenue that has actually been paid. To find it, compare your total invoiced amount against total payments received for the same period. Your Accounts Receivable Aging report shows you exactly which invoices are outstanding and how overdue they are. Below, we walk through both steps in QuickBooks and Xero.
Why your collection rate is a cash flow early warning system
You invoiced $140,000 over the last 90 days. Of that, $98,000 has been paid. Your collection rate is 70%. The remaining $42,000 is sitting in accounts receivable: $18,000 is under 30 days (normal), $14,000 is 30-60 days (late), and $10,000 is over 60 days (a problem).
That $10,000 over 60 days may never come in. Industry data shows that invoices become significantly harder to collect after 90 days. By 120 days, your chances of collecting drop below 50%. Every month you wait, the probability of payment declines.
Tracking your collection rate monthly gives you an early signal that customers are paying slower. A rate that drops from 85% to 70% over three months is a trend that, if unchecked, will eventually cause a cash crisis even while your P&L looks profitable.
What your collection rate tells you and how to calculate it
- Collection rate formula: Total payments received / Total invoiced amount x 100. A rate above 90% is healthy for most businesses. Below 80% means customers are paying late and you may have collection issues.
- Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): The average number of days it takes customers to pay. Calculate as: (Accounts Receivable / Total Revenue) x Number of Days. A rising DSO means customers are taking longer to pay.
- Aging buckets: Group outstanding invoices by how overdue they are: current, 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, 90+ days. The money shifts right over time, and anything in the 60+ columns needs active follow-up.
- Customer-level view: Is the problem widespread or concentrated? If one client owes 60% of your outstanding receivables, that is a different issue than many clients each paying a little late.
How to check your collection rate in QuickBooks Online (6 steps)
- 1Go to Reports → Accounts Receivable Aging Summary
From the left sidebar, click Reports. Search for “Accounts Receivable Aging Summary.” This report groups unpaid invoices by how overdue they are.
- 2Review the aging columns
QuickBooks shows columns for Current, 1-30 days overdue, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, and 91+ days. Note the total in each column. The right-side columns are your collection problems.
- 3Note the total outstanding (Accounts Receivable)
The total at the bottom is your total outstanding receivables. This is money you have invoiced but not collected.
- 4Get your invoiced total from the P&L
Go to Reports → Profit and Loss. Set it to the last 90 days (accrual basis). Total Income is the amount you invoiced in that period.
- 5Calculate your collection rate
(Total Income - Outstanding Receivables) / Total Income x 100 = Collection rate. Example: ($140,000 - $42,000) / $140,000 = 70%.
- 6Identify the biggest delinquent accounts
Switch to the “Accounts Receivable Aging Detail” report to see individual invoices. Sort by days overdue or amount. These are your follow-up targets.
Total time: about 8-10 minutes. Two reports (AR Aging and P&L), one calculation, and a review of the worst offenders.
How to check your collection rate in Xero (5 steps)
- 1Go to Accounting → Reports → Aged Receivables
This report shows outstanding invoices grouped by aging period. Xero uses Current, 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, and Older as its default columns.
- 2Note the total and distribution
The total at the bottom is your total outstanding receivables. Look at how much is in each aging bucket. Anything in the 61-90 or Older columns needs immediate attention.
- 3Get your invoiced total from the P&L
Go to Accounting → Reports → Profit and Loss. Set it to the last 90 days on accrual basis. Total Revenue is the amount you invoiced.
- 4Calculate your collection rate
(Total Revenue - Outstanding Receivables) / Total Revenue x 100. Track this monthly. A declining rate over 3 months is a trend, not a blip.
- 5Review individual overdue invoices
Click into the Aged Receivables Detail view to see individual invoices with customer names, amounts, and days overdue. Prioritize follow-up on the largest and oldest invoices.
Total time: about 8 minutes. Xero's Aged Receivables report is well-organized. The main extra step is pulling the P&L for the invoiced total.
What it takes to track your collection rate monthly
- 8-10 minutes per month to run both reports, calculate the rate, and identify the worst offenders.
- A tracking spreadsheet to log your collection rate and DSO each month. The trend is more important than any single data point.
- Follow-up discipline. Knowing which invoices are overdue is step one. Actually calling or emailing those customers is step two. Many business owners check the report but do not follow through on collection.
- Relationship context. Your AR Aging shows an invoice is 45 days overdue. But is this a longtime client who always pays eventually, or a new client showing early signs of trouble? That context lives in your CRM, not your accounting software.
Or track your collection rate automatically, every month
Bottomline calculates your collection rate from your QuickBooks or Xero data and shows the aging breakdown alongside your other financial metrics:
Bottomline also cross-references your overdue invoices with your CRM data. So you do not just see that ABC Company owes $8,400 at 45 days overdue. You also see that they have an active deal in your pipeline worth $24,000 and their buyer has not responded to your last two emails. That context helps you decide whether to push on collections or handle the relationship more carefully.