How one print shop recovered ₹2 lakh pending payments

Many print shops struggle with delayed payments. Orders are completed on time, but money stays stuck for weeks or months. This case shows how a small print shop fixed this problem using a simple system.

The problem

This print shop had:

₹2,00,000 stuck in pending invoices

No clear list of who owed what

Follow ups done randomly on phone or WhatsApp

No record of past reminders

Cash flow was tight. They struggled to pay suppliers and staff on time.

What was going wrong

The issue was not customers. The issue was lack of system.

Invoices tracked in Excel and diary

No ageing report

No reminder schedule

No tracking of conversations

Result. Payments kept getting delayed.

Step 1. Created a proper pending payment list

They first built a simple customer ledger.

Each entry included:

Customer name

Invoice number

Amount

Due date

Days overdue

They grouped invoices into:

0 to 7 days

8 to 15 days

16 to 30 days

30 plus days

This gave full visibility.

Step 2. Introduced a fixed reminder system

Instead of random follow ups, they followed a clear schedule:

Day 3 after due date

Day 7 follow up

Day 15 firm reminder

Day 30 strong message

Consistency improved response rate.

Step 3. Used WhatsApp for reminders

They switched from calls to structured WhatsApp messages.

Example:

“Dear [Name], invoice [No] of ₹[Amount] is pending. Please confirm payment date.”

Each message included:

Invoice details

Payment amount

Payment method

Customers responded faster.

Step 4. Tracked every follow up

They recorded:

Date of message

Customer reply

Next follow up date

This avoided repeated messages and missed follow ups.

Step 5. Focused on high value customers first

They sorted pending payments by amount.

Top 20 percent customers covered most of the outstanding value.

They prioritised these for faster recovery.

Results in 30 days

₹1,20,000 collected in first 15 days

₹80,000 recovered by day 30

Total ₹2,00,000 cleared

Cash flow improved immediately.

What changed

Before:

No system

Random follow ups

No clarity

After:

Clear pending report

Fixed reminder schedule

WhatsApp based communication

Full tracking

Key lessons

You need visibility before action

Follow ups must be consistent

WhatsApp works when structured

Tracking is critical

Focus on high value invoices first

How you can apply this

Follow this simple process:

List all pending invoices

Group by overdue days

Set reminder schedule

Send WhatsApp messages

Track every follow up

Do this daily for 15 to 20 minutes.

Use a system instead of manual work

As your business grows, manual tracking becomes difficult.

Use a tool that gives:

Customer wise outstanding report

Invoice ageing

One click WhatsApp reminder

Reminder history

This removes manual errors and saves time.

Final takeaway

Pending payments are not a customer problem. They are a system problem.

Fix the system and cash flow improves.