Collecting overdue accounts is an unpleasant task, especially for small business owners with few staff. But there are specific ways to tracking delinquent payments that you can employ.
The whole process of identifying overdue accounts and taking steps to collect your money is called your “collection cycle.” And according to Business Owners Toolkit by BizFilings, 
the best way to start improving your collection cycle is to get organized.
Poor organization is probably the most common reason why collections get out of hand. If you have a lot of customers buying on credit and they buy from you throughout the month, each with different terms, keeping track can be extraordinarily difficult. However, there are a number of software programs on the market that can greatly simplify this task, or you can even create a spreadsheet if you only have a few accounts to keep tabs on.
Regardless on the software you choose, you need to develop an effective means of knowing when accounts come due and being able to keep track of who pays their bill and who doesn’t.
You also need to keep track of the letters that you send out to your customers and what their responses are. This may add another layer of organization, but can be handy when following up on these unpaid accounts.
Set a schedule to review regularly the records you have set up. You might want to review your records weekly to determine which accounts need following up by yourself or which accounts need to be transferred or referred to a collection agent. Pay attention to what you are recording and coordinate your files into a system where you can easily track every account quickly. By proper monitoring your collection cycle, you increase your chances of being able to easily and promptly follow up with your customers.
When you can no longer collect from these unpaid debts and decide to hire a collection agency or a lawyer, your records of the accounts are useful as evidence and can speed up the collection process.
