Credit Control and Collections Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Credit Control Managers, Collections Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-108

Before you join: Participants should understand basic accounting terms, invoices, credit notes, payment terms and accounts receivable ageing.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Late payments, disputed invoices and weak follow-up procedures can restrict operating cash, inflate borrowing needs and damage customer relationships. Credit control managers must secure payment while maintaining disciplined, fair treatment of customers and coordinating closely with sales, billing, customer service, legal and finance teams. The challenge is not simply making collection calls; it is running a controlled receivables operation with clear policies, accurate data, practical escalation routes and measurable team performance.

This course develops the methods required to manage a credit control and collections team. Participants examine the order-to-cash process, credit policy design, customer risk assessment, portfolio segmentation, cash forecasting, collector workload management, negotiation, dispute resolution and legal recovery decisions. They use measures including DSO, Collection Effectiveness Index, ageing profiles, kept-promise rates and dispute ageing to diagnose performance. The programme also addresses customer master-data controls, ERP workflow, IFRS 9 expected credit-loss considerations, credit holds, payment plans, third-party agencies and insolvency warning signs.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with sector-based cases, group analysis, collection-call simulations and practical planning. Participants work with realistic receivables data, customer correspondence, payment commitments and dispute records to make operational decisions. They leave with a credit control operating model assessment, a management scorecard, a collections escalation ladder and a 30-60-90-day improvement plan ready for adaptation to their own function. The course suits professionals responsible for receivables performance, collection teams or customer-credit decisions in B2B, public-sector and contract-based environments.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a credit control policy with approval limits, payment terms and escalation rules
  • Assess customer credit risk using the Five Cs, financial ratios and payment evidence
  • Segment receivables portfolios using ageing, value, risk and recovery potential
  • Manage collector workloads through work queues, service levels and performance scorecards
  • Conduct structured collection conversations using SPIN questioning and payment-commitment techniques
  • Resolve invoice disputes through taxonomy, root-cause analysis and accountable case ownership
  • Measure collections performance using DSO, Collection Effectiveness Index and ageing analysis
  • Produce a 30-60-90-day collections improvement plan with owners, milestones and controls

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Run structured collection conversations that secure clear payment commitments
  • Diagnose weak receivables performance using practical cash and ageing measures
  • Manage difficult disputes without conceding valid invoice claims prematurely
  • Lead collectors through scorecards, coaching observations and daily operating routines
  • Present a credible collections improvement plan to finance and commercial stakeholders

For your organisation

  • Lower overdue receivables through targeted portfolio prioritisation and disciplined follow-up
  • Improve cash forecast reliability through tracked payment promises and receipts analysis
  • Reduce avoidable disputes by identifying recurring billing, delivery and pricing failures
  • Strengthen control over credit holds, payment plans, write-offs and customer master data
  • Create consistent collection standards across teams, locations and customer segments

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain how credit control decisions affect cash flow, customer relationships and financial control.

  • Order-to-cash process mapped from credit application to cash allocation
  • Working-capital drivers linked to DSO, ageing and bad-debt expense
  • Credit-control mandate defined through policy, authority limits and service standards
  • Segregation of duties protects customer master data, approvals and receipts
  • Cash conversion cycle diagnosed using receivables, inventory and payables measures
  • IFRS 9 expected credit-loss stages connected to collection risk signals
  • Collection priorities balanced against retention, sales objectives and contractual rights

Participants can set defensible credit terms, limits and approval controls for customer accounts.

  • Credit application requirements specify legal entity, ownership, bank and trade references
  • Five Cs of credit assess character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions
  • Credit limits set using financial ratios, exposure and payment-history evidence
  • Payment terms align invoices, delivery evidence, contractual clauses and collection triggers
  • Guarantees, deposits and letters of credit reduce approved-risk exposure
  • Approval matrices document delegated authority, exceptions and periodic limit reviews
  • Sanctions and anti-bribery checks support customer onboarding controls

Participants can prioritise receivables portfolios and build focused collection plans.

  • Receivables ageing analysed by current, overdue, disputed and high-risk balances
  • ABC prioritisation focuses collector time on value, risk and recovery potential
  • Promise-to-pay reliability measured through kept-date and kept-amount rates
  • Collection strategies differentiated for strategic accounts, small balances and chronic late payers
  • Daily work queues built from due dates, risk scores and next actions
  • 13-week receipts forecast reconciled with ageing, payment promises and sales data
  • Dashboard thresholds flag deteriorating DSO, dispute ageing and concentration risk

Participants can organise, supervise and improve the performance of a collections team.

  • Collector roles structured around portfolio ownership, specialisation and escalation responsibilities
  • Service-level agreements define contact timing, response standards and handover rules
  • Workload capacity calculated from account volumes, contact frequency and case complexity
  • Daily huddles review cash targets, blockers, commitments and priority accounts
  • Coaching observations assess preparation, questioning, negotiation and accurate case notes
  • Performance scorecards combine cash collected, quality, disputes and compliance measures
  • Recognition and corrective action address performance gaps without encouraging misconduct

Participants can conduct professional collection conversations and obtain reliable payment commitments.

  • Pre-due reminders confirm invoice receipt, payment route and dispute status
  • Call preparation uses account history, contact map, evidence and target outcome
  • SPIN questioning identifies payment barriers, decision makers and resolution options
  • Interest-based negotiation separates customer positions from cash-collection requirements
  • Payment commitments recorded with amount, date, method and contingency action
  • Written follow-ups create auditable summaries, deadlines and agreed next steps
  • De-escalation techniques manage hostile conversations while preserving contractual discipline

Participants can control disputes, resolve root causes and protect collectible invoice balances.

  • Dispute taxonomy separates pricing, quantity, quality, tax, delivery and documentation issues
  • Root-cause analysis traces recurring deductions to upstream process failures
  • Case ownership assigns accountable resolver, target date and customer communication
  • Proof-of-delivery, purchase-order and invoice evidence assembled before collection contact
  • Debit notes and credit notes controlled through authorisation and ageing review
  • Dispute ageing prevents valid invoices becoming invisible within disputed balances
  • Cross-functional escalation removes blockers involving sales, operations, billing and logistics

Participants can establish data, workflow and access controls that support reliable collections.

  • Customer master-data governance controls payment terms, contacts, limits and legal entities
  • ERP collection notes maintain chronological actions, promises, disputes and outcomes
  • Workflow triggers schedule reminders, escalations and follow-up tasks by ageing band
  • Cash application exceptions investigated through remittance advice, bank references and unapplied cash reports
  • Duplicate invoices, credit balances and short payments identified through reconciliations
  • Access controls protect bank-detail changes, credit releases and account write-offs
  • Data-quality checks test completeness, timeliness, validity and duplicate customer records

Participants can make proportionate escalation and recovery decisions while maintaining control of legal exposure.

  • Escalation ladder specifies reminders, final demand, credit hold and referral points
  • Credit holds applied consistently while protecting approved essential-customer arrangements
  • Payment plans tested against affordability, security, default terms and monitoring dates
  • Late-payment interest and recovery fees calculated from contract and applicable law
  • Third-party agencies selected using authority letters, reporting standards and fee structures
  • Insolvency warning signs trigger proof-of-debt preparation and exposure containment
  • Write-off recommendations distinguish unrecoverable debt from temporary collection delay

Participants can report collections performance and translate receivables data into management action.

  • DSO calculated using countback and average-days methods, with limitations identified
  • Collection Effectiveness Index separates collection performance from sales-volume effects
  • Ageing waterfall explains movements from opening balance to closing receivables
  • Bad-debt provisions reconciled with IFRS 9 expected credit-loss assessments
  • Concentration analysis identifies exposure to customers, sectors, currencies and payment channels
  • Management packs connect cash results, risks, actions and accountable owners
  • Forecast variance analysis compares expected receipts, actual cash and missed promises

Participants can produce a practical plan to improve their credit control operation after the course.

  • Collection operating model assessed against policy, people, process, data and systems
  • Control gaps prioritised by cash impact, compliance exposure and implementation effort
  • Thirty-sixty-ninety-day improvement plan assigns owners, milestones and success measures
  • Team cadence establishes huddles, portfolio reviews, dispute meetings and monthly reporting
  • Stakeholder map clarifies agreements with sales, finance, legal and customer service
  • Personal leadership commitments define coaching routines, escalation discipline and communication standards
  • Implementation risks documented with mitigations, dependencies and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Credit control policy template
  2. Receivables portfolio segmentation model
  3. Collections team performance scorecard
  4. Dispute management and escalation checklist
  5. Cash receipts forecasting template
  6. 30-60-90-day collections improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Credit Control Managers — responsible for collection results, team performance and operating controls
  • Collections Managers — managing collectors, escalation routes and overdue receivables portfolios
  • Accounts Receivable Managers — improving invoice-to-cash discipline and cash application performance
  • Finance Managers — seeking stronger working-capital control and more reliable cash forecasts
  • Credit Analysts — making customer credit decisions and monitoring approved exposure
  • Order-to-Cash Process Owners — reducing disputes, billing failures and delayed payment causes

Skills and tools covered

Credit risk assessmentReceivables portfolio managementCollections team leadershipDispute resolution controlCash collection forecastingPerformance reporting

Tools and standards

IFRS 9 Expected Credit Loss model, Five Cs of Credit, ABC analysis, SPIN Selling

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce frameworks, controls and performance measures, followed by case work based on realistic receivables portfolios. Participants analyse ageing reports, credit applications, dispute records and cash forecasts; prioritise collector work queues; and practise customer conversations through structured simulations. Group exercises examine escalation decisions, credit holds and payment-plan proposals. Facilitated discussion compares approaches across sectors and jurisdictions. Each participant develops an application plan using their own team, process or receivables priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic accounting terms, invoices, credit notes, payment terms and accounts receivable ageing. Experience in credit control, collections, accounts receivable, customer service, sales operations or finance is helpful, particularly where participants work with business customers and payment follow-up. Participants should be comfortable interpreting simple financial reports and spreadsheet-based data. Prior management experience is not required, although the course is most useful for those moving into supervisory or team-lead roles. No advanced accounting qualification, legal qualification or specialist credit certification is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need familiarity with invoices, payment terms, accounts receivable and basic financial reporting. Experience in collections or team management is useful but not essential; the course builds from operational credit control principles.

Participants should bring a laptop for reviewing course materials and developing their application plan. Where organisational policy permits, they may also bring anonymised ageing reports, collection procedures or performance measures for reference.

The course is designed for credit control managers, collections managers, accounts receivable managers and finance professionals with responsibility for overdue debt or customer credit. It also suits experienced collectors preparing for supervisory responsibilities.

Basic courses usually focus on individual collection activity and communication. This programme concentrates on managing the function: policy, portfolio strategy, team performance, dispute controls, reporting, systems and improvement planning.

Participants leave with reusable templates and a prioritised improvement plan linked to their own operating challenges. The methods can be applied to collection calls, portfolio reviews, team coaching, dispute meetings and management reporting.

The programme comprises ten modules delivered over five training days, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between instructor input, data-based cases, group work, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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