Time-to-Paid Calculator
Predicts your average days-to-cash by modelling each of the 5 phases of an invoice's life. Inputs your collection setup; outputs the timing breakdown and the levers most likely to shorten it.
Time-to-Paid Calculator
Predicts your average days-to-cash by modelling each phase of an invoice's life given your collection setup.
Predicted days-to-cash
48days
DevelopingBest-practice is under 25 days. Industry baseline is 45-50.
The 5 phases of an invoice's life
Issue
4 days
Process
6 days
Approval
5 days
Payment
3 days
Net terms
30 days
Most agencies optimise only phase 1 (Issue). The days hide in phases 2-4 where the client controls the pace. The depositPct slider applies a weighted reduction across all phases for the deposit portion (no deposit).
Top levers you haven't pulled yet
Require a 50% deposit on project work
Cuts predicted days-to-cash by 24 days
Turn on auto-invoicing on milestone
Cuts predicted days-to-cash by 4 days
Add full reminder cadence (before, on, after due)
Cuts predicted days-to-cash by 1 days
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Method: phase-by-phase lag model. Phase day-counts anchored to Sortlist Agency Operations Survey 2024, Xero Small Business Insights 2024, Tide Business Banking 2024 SMB Payments Report, and Float Cash Flow Forecast 2024. Directional model — your specific client mix and AP cycles will vary.
How this calculator works
Most days-to-pay tools model invoicing as two events: send and receive. That hides where the delay actually accumulates. This calculator splits the lifecycle into five distinct phases, because each one responds to a different lever.
Phase 1 — Issue. Days between work-complete and invoice-sent. Manual batch invoicing adds 4-7 days here on average; automated milestone invoicing drops it to under 1.
Phase 2 — Process. The client AP team receives the invoice and queues it in their cycle. Small B2B clients run weekly cycles. Mid-market runs monthly. Enterprise runs monthly + cutoff-date rules. Client mix is the dominant variable here.
Phase 3 — Approval. Internal sign-offs. Enterprise clients commonly have 3-5 internal approvers; small clients have 1. Tide 2024 finds this is where 10-20 extra days appear for enterprise engagements compared to small B2B.
Phase 4 — Payment. Actual disbursement after approval. Reminder cadence and late-fee clauses compress this phase the most. Xero 2024: full reminder cadence cuts payment-phase time by ~35% vs no reminders.
Phase 5 — Net-terms window. The "right to delay" you give the client in the contract. Net-30 means they have 30 days from receipt before they are formally late. Reducing this requires renegotiation; phases 1-4 are within your unilateral control.
The deposit slider applies a weighted reduction: the deposit portion arrives at zero days-to-cash. A 50% deposit halves your effective DSO on project work.
Frequently asked questions
What is days-to-cash and how is it different from DSO?+
Days-to-cash is the calendar days from invoice issue to cash hitting your bank account. DSO (days sales outstanding) is the same concept measured across a portfolio of invoices over a period. The calculator above predicts days-to-cash for a single typical invoice given your collection setup; DSO is what shows up on your monthly accounting summary when you average all paid invoices.
Why are there five phases instead of just "issued" and "paid"?+
Because the days hide between issued and paid. Phase 1 (issue) is how long it takes you to send the invoice after work completes. Phase 2 (process) is the client AP team queuing it in their cycle. Phase 3 (approval) is internal sign-offs at the client. Phase 4 (payment) is actual disbursement. Phase 5 is the net-terms window itself. Most agency owners think of invoicing as 2 phases but only optimise phase 1; the lag hides in 2-4 where the client controls the pace.
How accurate is this prediction?+
Directional. The model uses median figures from Sortlist 2024, Xero 2024, Tide 2024, and Float 2024 industry benchmarks for each phase. Your specific client AP cycles will vary — an enterprise client with a 30-day approval cycle will skew the average; a small B2B client paying within 7 days will skew it the other way. Use the predicted number as a baseline and adjust as you collect real data over a few months.
Why does deposit have such a big effect on days-to-cash?+
Because the deposit portion of the invoice arrives upfront — zero days-to-cash on that share. A 50% deposit means half your revenue arrives at engagement and half follows the normal phase timeline. The weighted average mathematically halves your effective DSO on project work. Float Cash Flow Forecast 2024 found 50% deposits cut days-to-cash on project engagements by 45-55%.
How do I move clients to Net-15 or shorter terms?+
Three approaches. (1) Position Net-15 as the standard in your contract from day one — most clients accept what you propose. (2) Offer a 1-2% discount for early payment ("2/10 net 30" — 2% off if paid within 10 days). (3) Decline Net-60+ requests outright from new clients; existing clients on Net-60 get re-negotiated at the next contract anniversary or absorb a 2-3% price increase to compensate.
Read the full guide · 9-min read
Why your agency runs out of cash even though it's profitable
The 5 phases of an invoice's life, where the days actually hide, why client mix matters more than net terms, and the four levers ranked by impact.
Shorten the cycle automatically.
Ascend auto-invoices on milestone, fires reminder cadences without you remembering, and tracks days-to-pay per client so the slow-payers are visible before they cost you a quarter.
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