Start here

What to know before you start.

Track receivables aging, unresolved billing questions, account documentation and next actions. For collections, use clearly defined placement groups and distinguish payments from credits or closures. For screening, measure request readiness, source delays and review steps. Keep the three workflows separate and make every metric point to an owner or decision.

  • Define the date, denominator and account or request group before comparing a metric.
  • Pair totals with exception lists: missing records, unresolved disputes, failed contacts and delayed checks.
  • Measure screening workflow quality without exposing report contents or treating speed as the hiring decision.

Write the definition before building the dashboard

Begin with three separate questions: which invoices need attention, which placed accounts need a decision, and which screening requests need information or review? Assign a reporting date and an owner to each view. Avoid combining a collection result with a screening result simply because both appear in the same operating meeting.

For every measure, record what counts, what is excluded, where the data comes from and how often it is refreshed. Decide whether the unit is an invoice, customer account, placement, applicant or individual check. A count of checks is not a count of applicants, and a count of invoices is not a count of customers.

  • Use an agreed cutoff date, time zone and reporting period.
  • Record numerator and denominator definitions for every percentage.
  • Keep credits, write-offs, disputed balances and cash receipts distinguishable.
  • Show the exception owner and next action alongside the total.

Receivables: see where balances are aging

An aging schedule groups outstanding balances by customer and current payment status. For your operating view, state whether age starts at the invoice date or the contractual due date. If you use days past due, current invoices remain a separate group and an invoice becomes overdue after its agreed due date.

Use the same aging buckets each period, and show both balance and invoice count. A falling total can still conceal an old unresolved item. Review large balances and changes by customer, branch or service line where someone can act on the difference.

  • Past-due share: past-due receivable balance divided by total outstanding receivable balance at the same cutoff, multiplied by 100.
  • Unresolved billing questions: show count, amount, reason, owner and days open.
  • Missing-contact queue: identify accounts whose responsible contact still needs confirmation.
  • Promised payments: compare commitments due in the period with amounts actually received, using a documented definition for partial or revised promises.

Official guidance: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Use days sales outstanding as a trend, with context

For a simple period-end days sales outstanding (DSO) measure, divide ending trade receivables by credit sales for the reporting period, then multiply by the number of days in that period. Match the receivable and sales categories. If credit sales are zero or not separately available, flag that limitation rather than presenting an unsupported result.

DSO can move when sales volume, seasonality, customer terms or payment timing changes. It does not reveal which invoice is disputed or why a customer has not paid. Keep the calculation method consistent and review the aging schedule alongside it; use the account list to choose the next action.

  • Record whether the calculation uses ending or averaged receivables, and keep the method stable.
  • Annotate material changes in terms, sales mix and unusual balances.
  • Use your own comparable history; do not turn an unrelated industry average into a promised collection timeline.

Official guidance: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Collections: compare the same placement groups

Group placements by a defined period and compare accounts with similar age, account type and documentation. Track the starting balance, receipt dates, open questions and closure reason. A recently placed documented business invoice and an older disputed account are different starting points.

For an internally defined gross recovery rate, divide cash received on a placement group through the cutoff by that group’s accepted starting balance, then multiply by 100. State how you treat adjustments, reversals and later placements. Show fees separately if the report also needs net proceeds. A paid account, a credited account and an account returned without payment should not share an unexplained closure label.

  • Placement age: days between the agreed account date and acceptance for the assignment.
  • Documentation readiness: accepted placements with the required records divided by accepted placements reviewed in the same period.
  • Contact progress: report the defined confirmed-contact status and the unresolved-contact queue.
  • Blocked accounts: name the missing document, dispute or decision and the person responsible for resolving it.

Screening: measure readiness and stage delays

Keep request preparation, source processing and employer or property review as separate stages. Start turnaround at the event you actually intend to measure: an initial inquiry, a complete accepted order or a returned report. Name that event in the dashboard. A report waiting for an employer decision is different from a check waiting on a court or verification source.

Employment consumer reports involve disclosure, written permission and employer responsibilities described by the FTC and EEOC. Assign those steps to the appropriate reviewer. Rental report use has its own FTC guidance. Tracking a documented step helps the team find work that needs attention; it does not prove that every decision meets every applicable requirement.

  • Request readiness: complete requests divided by requests reviewed, with missing items listed separately.
  • Source delays: open checks by named source or clarification reason.
  • Stage time: show typical duration and older exceptions rather than relying only on one average.
  • Review and notice tasks: show responsible owner and completion status where applicable.
  • Applicant questions: maintain a separate follow-up queue without publishing sensitive report details in a general dashboard.

Official guidance: Federal Trade Commission & EEOC · Federal Trade Commission

Make the operating review end with a next action

Choose a small set of measures your team can maintain accurately. At each review, identify what changed, which items need attention and what information or approval will move the work forward. Assign an owner and a follow-up date to the exception list.

Tell CBEOF which accounts or checks keep needing attention, roughly how many are involved and what updates your team needs. We’ll explain the records required and how to provide them. Reporting content and frequency are agreed for the service; the dashboard examples here do not establish a reporting package.

  • Missing invoice approval: obtain the supporting record.
  • Open credit or billing dispute: assign a finance owner.
  • Outdated business contact: discuss contact research.
  • Screening request missing information: return it to the responsible requester.
  • A well-documented account with stalled follow-up: discuss the appropriate account service.
Official reference points

Read the source.

  1. Accounts Receivable and Inventory Financing — monitoring and trade cycle analysis

    Receivable aging, payment status, turnover and the relationship between receivables and sales per day. This is bank supervision guidance; the operating measures here are CBEOF planning examples, not OCC benchmarks.

  2. Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know

    Employer disclosure, written permission, review responsibilities and notices connected to employment consumer reports.

  3. Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know

    Separate responsibilities when consumer reports are used for rental decisions, including adverse-action notice requirements.

Sources checked with this guide’s review. Review the current agency guidance for the requirements that apply to your situation.

Use this guide to plan your question. We’ll confirm the work, coverage, price and timing before you decide.

Ask about this guide