Credit Management and Debt Recovery Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Credit Controllers, Credit Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-054

Before you join: Participants should understand basic sales invoicing, customer accounts, payment terms and the purpose of an aged receivables report.

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 payment, weak customer assessment, unresolved disputes and inconsistent collection activity can turn reported revenue into a cash-flow problem. Credit teams must protect sales while setting defensible limits, monitoring exposure and recovering overdue debt without damaging valuable customer relationships. The work requires disciplined processes across sales, customer service, finance and legal teams, supported by accurate receivables data and clear escalation rules.

This course develops the practical credit management and debt recovery skills needed to control the order-to-cash cycle. Participants examine credit policy design, customer due diligence, the 5 Cs of Credit, credit-limit setting, receivables analysis, collection prioritisation, dispute management and recovery escalation. They learn to use ageing reports, DSO, collection effectiveness measures, payment plans, collection call structures and recovery decision criteria. The course also addresses impairment considerations under IFRS 9 and the documentation needed when accounts move towards legal action or external collection.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic B2B receivables cases, group analysis, collection-call simulations and structured review of credit files, ageing reports and dispute records. Participants apply the methods to situations such as a public-sector customer delaying payment, a distributor exceeding its credit limit, a disputed invoice held by procurement and a distressed customer requesting revised terms. They leave with a practical credit-control toolkit containing reusable templates, decision models and an action plan for improving their own receivables process.

The course is suited to finance, credit, collections and customer-facing professionals who manage commercial credit or influence cash collection. It is particularly relevant where sales growth, extended payment terms or concentrated customer exposure have increased working-capital risk.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess customer creditworthiness using the 5 Cs of Credit and financial evidence
  • Set credit limits, payment terms and approval authorities using documented risk criteria
  • Analyse receivables ageing, DSO and collection metrics to prioritise collection actions
  • Conduct structured collection conversations that secure payment commitments and escalation dates
  • Resolve invoice disputes through root-cause analysis, ownership assignment and closure controls
  • Develop payment plans and recovery strategies for distressed or persistently overdue customers
  • Apply IFRS 9 expected credit loss principles to receivables monitoring and impairment evidence
  • Produce a credit-control improvement plan with measures, owners and review dates

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible credit recommendations using financial and behavioural evidence
  • Handle difficult payment conversations with a clear collection-call structure
  • Identify accounts requiring immediate action from ageing and exposure data
  • Improve credibility with sales teams through balanced credit decisions
  • Build transferable capability for credit control and receivables management roles

For your organisation

  • Reduce overdue receivables through consistent collection prioritisation and follow-up
  • Improve cash-flow predictability through earlier identification of payment risk
  • Limit bad-debt exposure through better customer assessment and credit approvals
  • Shorten dispute resolution cycles through defined ownership and escalation routes
  • Strengthen audit evidence for credit decisions, write-offs and impairment reviews

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map credit-control responsibilities and identify control points across the order-to-cash cycle.

  • Credit policy purpose, authority limits and delegation of duties
  • Order-to-cash process mapped from enquiry through cash application
  • Working-capital links between receivables, liquidity and borrowing requirements
  • Credit-control objectives translated into measurable service and collection standards
  • RACI matrix assigning sales, finance and legal accountabilities
  • Segregation-of-duties controls preventing unauthorised credit releases and write-offs

Participants can apply a credit policy to customer onboarding, terms setting and approval decisions.

  • Credit application forms capturing legal entity, ownership and trading references
  • Standard payment terms aligned with customer risk and commercial strategy
  • Personal guarantees, parent guarantees and security documentation basics
  • Customer master-data controls supporting accurate billing and collections
  • Approval matrices for new accounts, limit changes and term exceptions
  • Policy exceptions documented with rationale, expiry dates and accountable approvers

Participants can assess creditworthiness and assign a documented customer risk rating.

  • 5 Cs of Credit applied to commercial customer assessment
  • Financial statement review using liquidity, gearing and profitability ratios
  • Trade references evaluated for payment patterns and agreed credit limits
  • Credit bureau reports interpreted for adverse filings and payment history
  • Risk-rating scorecards combining financial, behavioural and external evidence
  • Red flags identified from ownership changes, losses and deteriorating payment behaviour

Participants can set and monitor credit limits using exposure, risk and trading data.

  • Credit-limit calculations based on monthly sales, terms and risk rating
  • Total exposure measured across invoices, orders, disputes and unbilled deliveries
  • Available-credit checks performed before order release or shipment approval
  • Temporary limit increases controlled through expiry dates and documented approvals
  • Account reviews triggered by overdue debt, adverse news or sales growth
  • Concentration risk assessed across major customers, groups and connected entities

Participants can interpret receivables data and create a risk-based collection worklist.

  • Aged receivables reports segmented by days past due and balance size
  • DSO calculated and interpreted alongside contractual payment terms
  • Collection Effectiveness Index used to measure collections against available receivables
  • Pareto analysis identifies accounts driving overdue debt and cash exposure
  • Promise-to-pay records tested against payment dates and actual receipts
  • Collection worklists prioritised by value, ageing, risk and dispute status

Participants can conduct purposeful collection conversations and secure documented payment commitments.

  • Pre-call account preparation using invoice, contact and dispute information
  • Collection-call structure establishes facts, barriers, commitments and follow-up dates
  • Open questions distinguish payment delay from inability to pay
  • Payment commitments confirmed with amount, date, method and responsible contact
  • Negotiation options compare immediate settlement, instalments and conditional concessions
  • Written follow-up records agreed actions, escalation triggers and next contact

Participants can classify invoice disputes, assign ownership and prevent recurring billing failures.

  • Dispute taxonomy separates pricing, quantity, delivery, quality and documentation issues
  • Root-cause analysis traces recurring disputes to process failure points
  • Case ownership assigned using RACI and target resolution dates
  • Undisputed invoice amounts pursued while disputed elements receive investigation
  • Credit notes controlled through approval limits and supporting evidence
  • Dispute dashboards track ageing, causes, owners and recovery progress

Participants can select proportionate recovery actions and structure realistic payment arrangements.

  • Recovery escalation paths distinguish reminders, holds, final demands and referral
  • Payment plans assessed against affordability, debt age and security available
  • Instalment agreements document dates, amounts, defaults and review conditions
  • Settlement offers evaluated against recovery probability and collection costs
  • Stop-supply decisions balance contractual rights, customer value and exposure
  • External collection agencies managed through instructions, reporting and fee arrangements

Participants can prepare accounts for escalation, write-off review and expected credit loss assessment.

  • Pre-legal file checks confirm contracts, invoices, delivery evidence and correspondence
  • Debt recovery escalation considers limitation periods and jurisdiction-specific legal advice
  • Insolvency indicators trigger exposure reviews, claim preparation and supply controls
  • Write-off proposals distinguish uncollectible debt from unresolved operational disputes
  • IFRS 9 expected credit loss evidence supports receivables impairment assessment
  • Recovery records retained for audit trails, management review and legal counsel

Participants can create a targeted improvement plan for receivables performance and control discipline.

  • Credit-control KPIs include DSO, overdue percentage, disputes and broken promises
  • Daily, weekly and monthly review rhythms assign decisions and account actions
  • Management reporting separates cash collected, risk exposure and operational causes
  • Process bottlenecks identified through ageing trends and dispute root-cause data
  • Control improvements prioritised by cash impact, effort and implementation risk
  • Personal application plan defines actions, owners, measures and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Credit policy and approval matrix template
  2. 5 Cs credit assessment scorecard
  3. Credit-limit calculation model
  4. Receivables prioritisation worklist template
  5. Collection-call and payment-commitment checklist
  6. Credit-control improvement action plan

Who should attend

  • Credit Controllers — need stronger methods for prioritising accounts and securing payment
  • Credit Managers — need consistent policy, limit-setting and escalation controls
  • Accounts Receivable Officers — need practical techniques for reducing aged debt
  • Finance Managers — need better visibility of working-capital risk and collection performance
  • Collections Team Leaders — need repeatable call structures, workflows and performance measures
  • Sales Operations Managers — need to balance customer service with controlled credit exposure

Skills and tools covered

Credit risk assessmentReceivables analysisDebt collectionDispute resolutionPayment plan designCredit policy control

Tools and standards

5 Cs of Credit, RACI matrix, IFRS 9 expected credit loss model, Collection Effectiveness Index

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce credit-control methods, followed by case work using customer files, ageing reports, financial statements and disputed invoices. Group exercises examine credit-limit decisions, collection priorities and recovery options. Participants practise collection conversations and negotiation responses through facilitated simulations, receiving structured feedback on wording, sequencing and commitment capture. Application planning helps each participant identify process changes, controls and measures suitable for their own receivables environment.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic sales invoicing, customer accounts, payment terms and the purpose of an aged receivables report. Experience in accounts receivable, finance operations, sales administration, customer service or credit control is helpful, but specialist collections experience is not assumed. Participants should be comfortable reading simple financial information such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash-flow data. No prior legal training, accounting qualification, advanced financial modelling skill or knowledge of a particular ERP system 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

You should understand basic invoicing, customer accounts, payment terms and aged receivables. The course does not assume previous specialist credit-control, legal or accounting-qualification experience.

Bring examples of your current credit policy, ageing report, collection letters or dispute process if your employer permits this. Remove customer names, account numbers and commercially sensitive details before sharing any material.

It is intended for credit controllers, accounts receivable staff, credit managers, collections leaders and finance managers. Sales operations and customer service managers also benefit where they influence payment terms, order release or dispute resolution.

This course concentrates on customer credit decisions, receivables control and debt recovery activity. It uses cash-flow measures such as DSO, but does not focus on treasury management, budgeting or corporate financial modelling.

Participants can use the supplied scorecards, worklists, call checklists and action-plan format in their own receivables process. The methods support immediate improvements to account reviews, collection routines, dispute handling and escalation records.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme moves from policy and assessment through monitoring, collections, disputes, recovery, impairment and performance improvement, with time for cases and simulations throughout.

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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