Account Receivable; Proven Wins from Combining Internal and External Client Data
In brief
You shorten DSO and cut bad debt when you combine what you know about a customer’s real payment behavior with what the market knows about their financial health. You also need those ratings inside your account receivable software, so your team acts on them every day.
The problem
Late payment is still common. Across Western Europe, nearly half of B2B sales face delays. In 2025, Germany saw most firms report worsening payment behavior. In 2024, DSO for large companies rose to about 40 days.
Here is what you can control. Use both your internal data and independent external ratings. Then embed both in your workflows. You will prioritize the right accounts, approve the right limits, and intervene before the risk becomes a write-off.
From our whitepaper
Our whitepaper, “The Seven Pillars for Unlocking Cash Flow,” shows how end-to-end O2C automation and AI shift teams from manual work to high-value decisions. This drives faster payments and lower costs. The framework connects dynamic collections, accurate cash forecasting, automated payment processing, and risk management so you unlock working capital and reduce DSO.
What internal data tells you
What it is
Internal data captures the payment relationship between you and the customer. In MaxCredible, the Payment Behavior Score ranks each debtor against your full portfolio using a rolling 365-day window. It blends explainable signals such as average payment time, frequency of late payments, payment arrangements, missed promises, reversed payments, success rate without collections, and revenue trend. You get a percentile score and a clear label from Excellent Payer to Bad Payer.
Why it matters
You need context that external models do not capture. The internal score answers a practical question: how does this company pay you compared with your other customers. That helps you decide today’s actions such as who to call, when to escalate, and whether to place a debtor on hold. Trends make the score predictive. If a payer falls from 85 to 60, you act now, not after a missed invoice.
A healthy average can hide deep risk. Your portfolio can look fine on DSO while a few accounts drive most delays. Your internal ranking exposes them.
What external data adds
What it is
External ratings from providers like Dun and Bradstreet via Altares add a standardized outside view. After you sync a debtor with a DUNS number, MaxCredible shows PAYDEX, failure risk indicators, credit limit recommendations, and composite ratings on the debtor card. Data refreshes on your update schedule. Credentials enable automated sync.
Why it matters
External scores answer a strategic question: what is this company’s overall financial health in the wider market. You use that for onboarding, setting exposure, and reviewing limits. Market pressure and regulation on late payments continue to rise, which puts risk at the board level. You need a forward view, not only invoice history.
Use both for a full view
Relying on one model creates blind spots. A customer may pay you on time while facing market stress that raises default risk. Another may have a strong external rating yet pays you slowly. The best practice is simple.
- Use the external rating for strategic decisions such as initial approval and maximum credit exposure.
- Use the internal behavior score for daily operations such as call prioritization and journey escalation.
MaxCredible makes this practical. The debtor card shows both views side by side. You apply policy by score band. Excellent Payers run automated journeys. Bad Payers move to manual intervention, restricted credit, and if needed the For Collection stage.
Make ratings actionable in your AR
You get results only if the scores drive actions. Integration matters for three reasons.
- Decisions inside the workflow
Scores should inform templates, call lists, holds, and profile changes without leaving the screen. MaxCredible uses both internal and external data to steer payment journeys, tasks, and escalations in one place. - Fewer manual steps
Automated sync pulls external data into the debtor card and refreshes it on your schedule. Your team does not switch systems or copy values. That saves time and reduces error. - Policy you can explain
Simple inputs and clear labels make governance easier. You can justify a hold, a limit cut, or a price incentive with a transparent score and history.
Fun fact
The DUNS company identifier dates to 1963 and now underpins credit identification worldwide. That one number still connects external risk data to internal Account Receivable decisions today.
What to do next
- Map your current internal indicators. Track payment delay, missed promises, reversals, arrangements, and success rate.
- Activate your Altares D and B integration. Provide DUNS numbers and API credentials so scores populate on debtor cards.
- Write policy by score band. Automated journeys for Excellent and Good Payers. Prioritize manual action for Medium and Bad Payers.
- Review exposure monthly. Use external ratings for limits and internal behavior trends for operational focus.
- Measure impact on DSO and success rate. Close the loop in your reports.
FAQ
1.How often should you refresh external scores?
Follow your contract cadence. MaxCredible updates on the next scheduled run after you enable sync.
2.What if an external score is high but the internal score is poor?
Hold or reduce exposure. Keep selling only if payment behavior improves for your invoices. Use manual calls and arrangements.
3.What if internal behavior improves but market risk is elevated?
Keep tighter limits but ease operational pressure. Stay on a conservative journey until failure risk normalizes.
4.Do you need a DUNS number for every debtor?
Yes, for automated sync. You can still use internal scoring without it, but you lose the external view.
5.Where should these scores live?
On the debtor card, in call lists, and inside payment journeys, not in a spreadsheet. Integration is what turns insight into action.
Call to action
The challenge is clear and the fix is practical. Bring internal behavior and external ratings together and run them inside your Account Receivable workflows. To see the full framework that ties collections, forecasting, automation, and risk into one system, read our whitepaper: The Seven Pillars for Unlocking Cash Flow today.