As insolvencies increase and payment delays intensify, accounts receivable management can no longer rely on hindsight. By leveraging high-quality risk data alongside agile operational processes, businesses can transform early warning signals into quick, informed decisions that accelerate cash flow.
Outstanding receivables: your real‑time barometer of economic uncertainty
When economic conditions worsen, risk is no longer just a macroeconomic concern: it becomes embedded in your daily operations, impacting open receivables, disputes, and late payments, and making credit decisions more complex. The impact is magnified: even a single customer default can significantly disrupt your cash flow.
The current economic landscape remains under pressure: company bankruptcies are rising, payment terms are stretching, and cash positions have been weakened by years of consecutive shocks. Unlike the post-Covid era, when large-scale support measures and state-backed loans provided a safety net, companies today must navigate uncertainty with far fewer reserves.
Key indicators reinforce this trend:
- input costs are increasing faster than sales prices,
- profit margins are tightening,
- default risks are spreading across industries such as construction, food production, and automotive.
In such a challenging environment, reactive or ad-hoc receivables management is no longer viable. Businesses must shift towards proactive strategies powered by reliable, actionable data. The priority is clear: rethink and modernize how accounts receivable are managed.
Identifying early warning signals: using data as a risk detection tool
Preventing non-payment starts with the ability to detect warning signs before issues escalate. Monitoring every possible risk is unrealistic; instead, the focus should be on spotting meaningful changes without increasing workload. The most effective approach is to build a comprehensive view of customer accounts using enriched data from multiple sources — rather than relying solely on financial statements:
- country and sector risk analysis;
- creditworthiness metrics;
- payment behavior insights.
Next, establish clear trigger points:
- a decline in credit score;
- changes in customer payment patterns;
- receivables exceeding approved limits;
- a rise in disputes;
- worsening country or industry conditions.
The objective is to identify shifts in trends rather than focus only on absolute figures. Each signal should trigger a proportionate response: revising credit limits, securing deliveries, sending preventive reminders, or increasing monitoring intensity.
Example: a previously reliable customer begins to delay payments and shows a declining score. Instead of waiting for the next invoice due date, adjust your approach in real time:
- prioritize follow-ups on outstanding invoices;
- review and validate new orders;
- reduce financial exposure;
- request upfront payments or deposits.
Urba360, Coface Business Information’s digital platform, provides a score from 0 to 10 that reflects the likelihood of default over a 12-month period. This makes it a powerful tool for standardizing risk evaluation and benchmarking customers over time.
Beyond publicly available financial data, the Coface Score integrates exclusive, forward-looking insights, including:
- unpublished financial statements,
- payment incidents reported by credit insurers,
- shareholder and corporate structure links,
- country and sector risk assessments across more than 200 markets.
The score is continuously updated as soon as significant changes occur. It is based on the same data Coface uses to make its own underwriting decisions as a global trade credit insurer, ensuring access to timely, high-value information that goes far beyond traditional balance sheet analysis.
Where all other information providers stop, we add the layer specific to our core business as a trade credit insurer: analyses by our economists, trends in payment behaviour, and payment incidents reported by our policyholders. We provide access to real, up-to-date and actionable information on 245 million companies worldwide: insights that are far more precise and valuable than simple balance sheet analyses.
Guillaume Callède, Director of Coface Business Information in France.
From analysis to action: workflows and performance indicators
An effective risk management strategy must be scalable, and data only delivers value when it can be seamlessly applied in daily operations. This is exactly what the combined power of Coface solutions (via Urba360) and My DSO Manager enables. As a comprehensive cash flow and customer risk management platform, My DSO Manager connects with all ERP systems and supports e-invoicing. From a single customer profile, credit managers gain instant access to essential insights such as the Coface score, credit evaluations, payment behavior, and country and sector risks. Customizable alerts are automatically triggered as soon as key indicators decline.
The customer portfolio can be segmented using advanced filters (e.g., receivables older than 120 days, high-risk payment profiles, elevated country risk), allowing teams to instantly assign customers to the most appropriate collections workflow with just one click.
By converting your credit policies into structured workflows, you move away from fragmented, case-by-case handling toward a streamlined, consistent, and fully traceable process. When defining KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), prioritize a decision-driven dashboard rather than scattered metrics. Focus on the most impactful indicators:
- DSO evolution (Days Sales Outstanding – average time to collect payments);
- ageing receivables at risk;
- overdue invoices;
- disputes and claims.
In real time, these KPIs evolve from simple reporting tools into a strategic decision-making dashboard. They guide your actions: who to follow up with, which transactions to secure, and where to intervene. AI-powered automation eliminates repetitive tasks, allowing your teams to focus on high-value cases. From cash flow forecasting to dispute tracking, nothing goes unnoticed. The platform becomes a central command hub for your accounts receivable management.
This allows us to base our decisions on high-performing key indicators and to benefit from the best of the information provided by both solutions (My DSO and Urba) to take action and have the richest data I need to manage my accounts receivable effectively.
Margaux Bourgeat, Business Developer at My DSO Manager.
Aligning Finance, Sales and Credit teams to accelerate cash flow performance
Customer risk management is inherently cross-functional. Preventing non-payment effectively requires close collaboration between finance, credit, and sales teams. Finance and credit departments rely on sales teams for operational insights (such as disputes, deliveries, or customer context), while sales teams benefit from a clear framework that defines credit limits, exceptions, and next steps.
However, in many organizations, credit managers, sales representatives, and finance teams still operate using separate data sources. This lack of alignment often leads to delayed detection of payment issues and poorly informed decision-making.
By combining Coface and My DSO Manager solutions, businesses can centralize data and improve collaboration across teams. Features such as shared alerts, interactive internal communication, and unified reporting ensure that the right stakeholders receive relevant information exactly when they need it, enabling proactive action before delays escalate into defaults.
Looking ahead to 2026, the maturity of Order-to-Cash processes will be a critical driver of business resilience. Companies that invest in advanced tools and integrated workflows today will gain a significant competitive advantage over those that continue to operate reactively.
Strengthen your risk management strategy with Coface and My DSO Manager
- Watch the full webinar “Anticipating Risks in an Uncertain World” to discover how Coface and My DSO Manager solutions work in practice and how to successfully implement them.
Explore the full range of Coface solutions and expertise to effectively manage commercial risk.
- Business information services
- Debt collection services
- Get in touch with our experts today to request a personalized demo tailored to your business needs
