Collection Best Practices
What you should do shortly after submitting an invoice to the customer
What is 7-10 Day follow up call?
These classic Batman fight-scene sound effects are also Sharp’s best sayings
What are BAM and BOOM?
This daily practice breaks down silos and keeps teams connected
What is Open Communication?
Jason Hult says that much like a successful football team, a strong cash flow culture needs this key leader to call the plays and keep everyone moving down the field
What is a strong QB?
A developing cash flow leader doesn’t stop at fixing the immediate problem — they work to resolve this underlying cause, so the issue doesn’t keep returning
What is the root issue?
This document sent to customers summarizes all open invoices, payments, and credits to remind them what they still owe
What is an AR statement?
In John Sharp’s philosophy, lasting improvement with teams and customers comes from this steady, ongoing effort
What is consistent persistence?
This regular practice, often done about once a week, brings teams together to review customers, discuss collections, and plan strategy
What is hold all staff AR meetings?
Jason’s first business after Grandma gave him $5 for birthday
What is a Lemonade Stand?
When someone believes 'that’s not my job' or 'we’ve always done it this way,' changing this type of thinking is key to cash flow improvement
What is a fixed mindset?
This practice helps safeguard a company’s path to payment by preserving a legal claim against property tied to unpaid work
What is protect your mechanic lien rights?
John Sharp says effective cash flow leaders don’t sit back and hope for improvement—they must do this to move results forward
What is drive the activity?
In a strong collections and cash flow process, responsibility for payment and customer follow‑up doesn’t belong to just one department — it belongs to this group
Who is everybody?
Jason compares the consistent effort needed to maintain strong cash flow to this task, typically handled by homeowners — neglect it for a week or two and things start to look real ugly, real fast
What is giving your lawn consistent attention?
To gain buy-in for better billing, collections, and collaboration, leaders must clearly explain this behind the change
What is the why?
When a customer contact stops responding to calls and emails about outstanding invoices, the next step in the collections process is this action to involve higher-level contacts or leadership
What is escalation?
When progress and momentum start building, John Sharp says cash flow leaders should do this—much like a surfer taking advantage of a strong wave
What is ride the wave?
This approach helps teams focus on customer status, collection issues, the largest AR balances, the oldest receivables, and retainage payment opportunities — even if some people also use eyeglasses for it
What is create visibility?
Jason Hult explains free cash flow in simple terms by comparing it to this personal financial account most people manage every day
What is your own checking or bank account?
Strong cash flow leaders know that better results don’t come from occasional effort alone — they come from putting this in place
What is cash flow discipline?
To drive timelier payments, teams often succeed by doing this sooner rather than later
What is ask for it earlier?
According to John Sharp, this all‑caps quality is the number one thing he says cash flow leaders must bring every single day
What is ENERGY?
To keep the cash flow faucet running and money coming in, companies must do this consistently and strategically
What is consistent and strategic billing?
According to Jason Hult, when driving cash flow results you shouldn’t coast — you should be operating in this fast‑moving lane
What is The Hammer Lane?
To positively influence different personalities and roles across the business — and ultimately improve cash flow results for everyone — a leader must adapt this
What is leadership style?