Most business owners invest considerable time and energy into winning new customers. Far less attention is paid to what happens after the invoice is issued. Yet the effectiveness of your receivables function can have just as much impact on your cash flow as your sales pipeline.
In my experience working with businesses across the GCC, one issue comes up repeatedly: the wrong people are sitting in receivables roles. And it is costing companies far more than they realise.
The Misconception About Receivables
There is a common assumption that collecting money is largely an administrative task — issue the invoice, send a reminder, follow up by email. As a result, receivables positions are often filled by individuals with accounting or admin backgrounds, without much consideration given to the interpersonal skills the role actually demands.
The reality is very different. Effective receivables management is fundamentally about relationships and communication. It requires a specific type of person — someone who can be persistent without being aggressive, professional without being passive, and confident enough to have uncomfortable conversations while preserving the business relationship.
That combination is rarer than most people think.
What the Wrong Person in the Role Actually Costs You
When receivables are managed by someone who lacks the right skills, the consequences are predictable:
- Invoices age beyond acceptable terms without meaningful follow-up
- Customers learn quickly that they can delay without consequence
- Relationships become strained when escalation finally happens — too late and too abruptly
- Cash flow suffers, quietly but consistently
The damage is often invisible until it becomes a serious problem. By the time a business owner notices the pattern, the outstanding debt has grown, some of it may be unrecoverable, and the cost of collection has multiplied.
The Skills That Actually Matter
So, what does the right person look like? In my experience, the most effective receivables professionals share a common set of qualities that have little to do with their accounting knowledge and everything to do with how they communicate.
Emotional intelligence. They can read a situation. They understand when a customer is genuinely struggling versus when they are being deliberately evasive, and they adjust their approach accordingly.
Confidence under pressure. Chasing money is uncomfortable. The right person does not shy away from that discomfort. They can have a direct conversation about an overdue invoice without becoming apologetic or aggressive.
Persistence with professionalism. There is an art to following up repeatedly without damaging a relationship. The best receivables professionals know how to maintain momentum without causing unnecessary friction.
Negotiation skills. Sometimes the situation calls for a structured payment arrangement rather than full immediate settlement. Knowing when and how to negotiate — and how to document it properly — is a valuable skill in this role.
Commercial awareness. The best people in this function understand that their role sits at the intersection of finance and customer relationship management. They are not just chasing a number — they are protecting the business while preserving goodwill wherever possible.
What to Look for When Hiring
If you are recruiting for a receivable's role, resist the temptation to focus purely on technical finance experience. Look instead for evidence of strong communication skills, comfort with difficult conversations, and a track record of working in customer-facing or negotiation-driven environments. Ask candidates how they have handled a situation where a customer refused to pay. How did they approach it? What was the outcome? Their answer will tell you far more than their CV.
A Final Thought for Business Owners
Your receivables function is not a back-office afterthought. It is a revenue-critical part of your business. The person managing it should be chosen with the same care you apply to your sales or client-facing teams.
If your cash flow is under pressure and your debtor days are creeping upward, it may not be a sales problem or a market problem. It may simply be a people problem — one that is entirely within your control to fix.
And if the debt has already aged beyond the point where internal follow-up is effective, that is where specialists come in. Knowing when to escalate is just as important as having the right team in place from the start.
Andy Yiacoumi - MCICM is the Managing Director of CMS Credit Management Services, with 21 years of experience in credit risk assessment and debt collection across the GCC. Provides credit reports and debt recovery services across the region and beyond.
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