Learn by working real situations
100 realistic scenarios — what's really going on, your options, the recommended approach and what to avoid. From first late payment to commercial insolvency. Search or filter by stage.
- Early Arrears
The customer who ignores the first reminder
What to do when a friendly first reminder gets no response at all.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who keeps saying the cheque is in the mail
How to handle the classic 'cheque is in the mail' stall without an argument.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who says they never received the invoice
Handling the 'we never got the invoice' response without losing the goodwill or the time.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The customer disputing a small part of the invoice
Why a small query should never hold up the undisputed balance — and how to split it.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who promises to pay, then goes silent
How to follow up a broken promise to pay without losing your footing.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who always pays late but always pays
Managing the chronic late payer who pays in the end but never on terms.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who offers a partial payment
When and how to accept a partial payment so it helps rather than stalls collection.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who asks for more time
Responding to an early request for more time so it builds trust without losing control.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The invoice chasing the wrong contact
When arrears are really a contact-data problem: finding the right person to pay you.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who paid into the wrong account
Resolving a 'but I already paid' standoff caused by a misdirected payment.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The very friendly customer who keeps stalling
Handling the likeable customer whose friendliness keeps deferring the actual payment.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The automated reminder that bounced
What to do when automation creates a false sense that an account is being chased.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The customer whose approver is on leave
Keeping an account moving when the only approver is on leave for weeks.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The new customer who pays late the first time
Why a new customer's first late payment is the moment to set expectations.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer querying the invoice itself
Treating an invoice query as a fast-track to payment rather than an obstacle.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The gatekeeper who blocks every contact
Working with a gatekeeper to reach the person who can actually pay you.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who wants everything in writing
Handling the customer who uses 'put it in writing' to defer every commitment.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The small business pleading cash flow
Responding to a cash-flow plea from a small business with empathy and a plan.
6 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who ignores emails but answers calls
Matching the contact channel to the customer so your reminders actually land.
5 min read - Early Arrears
The customer who only pays on the monthly run
Working with a customer's monthly payment run so your invoice actually makes the cut.
6 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
An invoice is 60 days overdue and the customer has gone dark
Re-engage a silent 60-day account with a firm, documented escalation.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer has broken three payment promises in a row
Stop accepting verbal promises and convert a serial breaker into a binding plan.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
A previously chatty customer has suddenly gone quiet
Interpret sudden silence early and respond before the account decays.
6 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
An overdue customer threatens to take their business elsewhere
Hold firm on a genuine debt when a customer plays the loyalty card.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer only ever pays after being chased
Reset terms with a habitual late payer so chasing is no longer required.
6 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
A single large balance is now well overdue
Manage a high-value overdue account with urgency, structure and good records.
8 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer is clearly screening your calls
Respond to deliberate call avoidance by switching to firm written escalation.
6 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Your letter of demand has been ignored
Decide your next move when a formal letter of demand goes unanswered.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer pays some invoices but never the disputed one
Handle a customer who pays selectively and leaves one invoice unpaid.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Deciding whether to stop supplying an overdue customer
Weigh the timing, terms and consequences before pausing supply to a debtor.
8 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Moving an account to a formal final notice
Issue a final notice that means what it says and sets up the next step.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer raises a dispute only after 90 days
Test a late-surfacing dispute fairly while keeping the pressure on.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
An account is heading towards legal action
Make a clear-eyed cost-benefit call before an account goes legal.
8 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer asks to renegotiate terms mid-arrears
Separate a genuine hardship request from a discount grab during arrears.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Reviewing a customer who is chronically late
Step back and decide whether a chronically late account should keep credit.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Deciding when to refer a debt to a collection agency
Judge the right moment to hand an overdue debt to a collection agency.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The customer says they can't pay until their customer pays
Respond when a customer blames their own unpaid debtor for not paying you.
6 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
The company director won't take your calls
Reach a decision-maker who is shielding behind the company on a debt.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
A customer is overdue across several accounts at once
Treat simultaneous arrears across accounts as a single distress signal.
7 min read - Late Arrears & Escalation
Deciding whether to write off a bad debt
Make a disciplined write-off decision based on recovery, not on principle.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
"I never received the goods"
Tell a genuine non-delivery from a stalling tactic using proof of delivery and records.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
"The work was defective"
Handle a defective-work claim: get specifics, assess fairly, fix or hold firm.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
"I already paid that"
Resolve an 'I already paid' claim through reconciliation and a request for proof.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
"The price is wrong"
Resolve a 'the price is wrong' dispute by checking the quote, order and agreement.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
"I cancelled this order"
Handle an 'I cancelled this order' claim using timing, written proof and your terms.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
"I never agreed to this"
Address an 'I never agreed to this' denial by proving authority, order and acceptance.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
Dealing with a genuine dispute
Recognise and resolve a genuine dispute fairly, fast and on the record.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
Dealing with a stalling dispute
Spot a stalling dispute and close it down without burning the relationship.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
A dispute raised only to delay
Identify a delay-only dispute by its timing and shut down the time-buying.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
A partial dispute on an invoice
Handle a partial dispute by separating the contested line from the payable balance.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
Customer demands a credit note
Decide when a demanded credit note is warranted and issue or decline it properly.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
A disagreement over contract terms
Resolve a contract-terms disagreement by establishing which terms were accepted.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
A warranty claim used as an excuse
Separate a warranty claim from the payment obligation and handle each properly.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
Customer disputes the late fees
Handle a late-fee dispute by checking your terms and weighing enforcement against goodwill.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
"A third party caused the problem"
Handle a 'third party caused it' dispute by keeping the focus on your own contract.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
A dispute with no evidence
Handle an unevidenced dispute by requesting proof on a deadline and holding the line.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
A dispute raised after a payment plan
Handle a dispute raised after a payment plan was agreed and keep the arrangement on track.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
Customer threatens a bad review
Handle a customer threatening a bad review to avoid payment without being coerced.
6 min read - Disputes & Objections
A dispute escalated to an ombudsman
Respond to a dispute escalated to an external dispute resolution scheme like AFCA.
7 min read - Disputes & Objections
Resolving a stalemate
Break a deadlocked dispute with structured compromise, fresh framing or escalation.
7 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer says they simply can't pay
How to respond when a customer says they cannot pay, without escalating or dismissing them.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer has just lost their job
Handling a customer whose income has stopped after losing their job.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer is dealing with serious illness
Supporting a customer whose serious illness has affected their ability to pay.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer is affected by family violence
Responding safely and sensitively when a customer discloses family violence.
7 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
An elderly customer seems confused about the debt
Handling an elderly customer who appears confused or vulnerable about an account.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer's only income is government benefits
Setting fair arrangements for a customer whose only income is government benefits.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer mentions a mental health condition
Responding with care when a customer discloses a mental health condition.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer has been hit by a natural disaster
Supporting a customer affected by flood, fire, or other natural disaster.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer is drowning in too many debts
Helping a customer who is overcommitted across multiple debts and creditors.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Is this genuine hardship or a tactic?
Distinguishing genuine financial hardship from a tactical claim, fairly and respectfully.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Setting a payment plan the customer can actually keep
Building a hardship payment plan the customer can realistically sustain.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
When a customer needs free financial counselling
Recognising when to refer a customer to free financial counselling, and how.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Balancing empathy with getting paid
How to be genuinely empathetic while still recovering what is owed.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer hits hardship partway through a plan
Adjusting fairly when a customer in an existing plan hits new hardship.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer is in a short, temporary rough patch
Handling short-term hardship with a brief pause and a clear resumption date.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Knowing when to pause collection altogether
Deciding when to pause collection activity and how to do it properly.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Documenting a hardship case properly
Recording hardship and vulnerability clearly, sensitively, and appropriately.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
A customer asks for the debt to be waived
Handling a request to waive or write off a debt fairly and consistently.
5 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Spotting the signs a customer is vulnerable
Recognising the signs of customer vulnerability, spoken and unspoken.
6 min read - Hardship & Vulnerability
Referring a customer to the right support service
Matching customers to the right support service and referring warmly.
5 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Business Customer Is Withholding Payment
What to do when a B2B customer stops paying an undisputed invoice without raising any dispute.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Progress Claim Is Being Disputed
How to handle a disputed progress claim on a commercial contract without losing the whole payment.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
Retention Money Is Overdue
Recovering overdue retention money once the defects-liability period has expired on a contract.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Customer's Company Is in Financial Trouble
Protecting your position when you suspect a business customer is sliding toward insolvency.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Relying on a Director's Personal Guarantee
Understanding what a director's personal guarantee can and cannot do when the company won't pay.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Customer Has Entered Administration
What an unsecured trade creditor can and can't do once a customer enters voluntary administration.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Deciding Whether to Issue a Statutory Demand
When a statutory demand is the right pressure tool for an undisputed company debt — and when it isn't.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
Using PPSR and Retention of Title
How retention of title and PPSR registration can protect a supplier when a customer doesn't pay.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Large Contract Payment Is in Dispute
Managing a high-value contract dispute so it resolves commercially rather than escalating to court.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Customer Demands Extended Payment Terms
Responding to a customer demanding longer payment terms without quietly funding their cash flow.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Supply-Chain Payment Delay Hits Your Account
Handling a customer who delays paying you because they are waiting to be paid up the supply chain.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Customer Is Offsetting Claims Against Your Invoice
What to do when a customer sets off their own claim against your invoice instead of paying.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Subcontractor Payment Dispute
How a subcontractor can protect payment when a head contractor disputes or delays the claim.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
A Customer Is Changing Its Trading Entity
What to watch for when a customer shifts to a new entity while an old debt remains unpaid.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Recovering From a Related Company
Whether you can recover a group debt from a related company that has assets, not the one you billed.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
When Trade Credit Has Gone Bad
A practical path for handling a B2B account that has become a genuine bad debt.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Reading Customer Insolvency Warning Signs
Reading the behavioural and financial signals that a business customer may be heading for insolvency.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Negotiating a Commercial Settlement
How to negotiate and document a sensible commercial settlement on a disputed or distressed debt.
9 min read - Commercial & B2B
Balancing the Relationship and Recovery
How to recover an overdue debt from a valued customer without destroying the ongoing relationship.
8 min read - Commercial & B2B
Knowing When to Involve Lawyers
Recognising the point at which a commercial debt genuinely needs legal advice rather than more chasing.
8 min read
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