Why your billing cycle matters more than you think

For many Professional Services firms, billing is something that happens after the work is done. But by the time invoicing becomes urgent, cash flow is already under pressure.

A healthy billing cycle isn’t just about getting invoices out of the door; it’s about understanding your financial exposure at every stage of a project.

The questions every business should be asking

If you want a clear picture of your billing health, start with a few simple questions:

• How long does it typically take for clients to pay?
• How quickly are invoices issued once work is completed?
• How much work has already been delivered but hasn’t been paid for yet?

These questions highlight where delays creep in; and where revenue can quietly get stuck.

Financial Exposure: The Metric that keeps Billing Top of Mind

One of the most effective ways to keep billing visible across the team is to track financial exposure.

At its simplest:

Contact Value at Risk = Accounts Receivable (AR) + Work in Progress (WIP)

This tells you how much value is tied up in completed or ongoing work that hasn’t yet turned into cash.

By comparing your AR and WIP balances against the total contract value, you gain immediate insight into how exposed your business is at any point in time.

Why the Paid vs Unpaid Ratio Matters

Tracking exposure is only the first step. The real power comes from watching the ratio of paid work to work in progress.

When too much work accumulates in WIP without corresponding payments:

• Cash flow tightens
• Collection efforts become reactive instead of proactive
• Financial risk increases as projects progress

Setting clear thresholds on this ratio helps teams act earlier; whether that means invoicing sooner, pausing work or having payment conversations before problems arise.

Turning Insight into action

Firms that monitor billing health consistently tend to:

• Invoice faster and more accurately
• Spot collection risks earlier
• Improve cash flow without increasing fees
• Align delivery, finance and leadership around shared visibility

Instead of asking ‘Why hasn’t this been paid yet?’ weeks later, teams can ask ‘Are we still comfortable with our exposure?’ in real time.

Better Billing Starts with Better Visibility

Billing doesn’t have to be a back office afterthought. With the right metrics in place; and a shared understanding of financial exposure, businesses can protect cash flow, reduce risk and keep projects moving smoothly.

Coretime brings accounts receivable, work in progress and contract value together in one clear view, giving teams real-time visibility into how much work has been completed, billed and paid. Instead of relying on spreadsheets or after the fact reports, Project Managers and Finance teams can see exposure as it builds; not weeks later when cash flow is already under pressure.

By making AR and WIP visible at the project and contract level, Coretime helps firms spot billing delays early, issue invoices sooner and have better payment conversations with clients. Built-in reporting makes it easy to track the ratio of paid work to work in progress and set internal thresholds that trigger action before risk escalates.

The result is a more proactive approach to billing: fewer surprises, stronger collections, healthier cash flow and better alignment between delivery, finance and leadership.