Effective B2B collection is not about harsher words — it is a predictable, escalating ladder tied to days overdue: polite reminder, firm date request, formal notice, delivery hold. With face-saving wording that fits Thai business culture, and the fact most SMEs miss: Thailand's 45-day credit-term guideline for large buyers.
This article is trade-collection practice for decision support, not legal advice. Debt collection is regulated in Thailand — consult a lawyer before taking legal measures.
Why "chase harder" is the wrong answer — and "don't chase" is worse
Most owners are trapped between two fears: chase hard and lose a regular customer, or stay quiet and lose the cash. The result is random chasing — call when you happen to remember, three times for one invoice, never for another. Debtors learn fast which suppliers' invoices can wait.
Atradius's 2024 data shows the game is played deliberately: about 35% of North American B2B firms admit they respond to their own cash-flow pressure by paying suppliers later. Your invoice was not forgotten — it was triaged, and unchased invoices go to the bottom of the pile every time. PwC's Working Capital Study 2024/25 shows the same thing structurally: large corporates keep stretching their payment days while small firms' collection days deteriorate year after year.
The answer is not volume. It is a predictable, escalating sequence — the debtor must know that being overdue with you always sets a visible clock ticking.
The 4-step collection ladder
Set the day-thresholds to fit your business (the numbers below are common starting points), then apply them to every invoice, every customer, no exceptions:
| Step | At days overdue | Action | The point of this step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Polite call/message | Let the customer save face — "our system shows this open; could you kindly check?" |
| 2 | ~15 | Ask for a firm payment date | Convert vague promises into a date — and log it, to chase against |
| 3 | ~30 | Formal written balance notice | Move from conversation to document — tone still polite, status changed |
| 4 | ~45 | Hold next delivery + escalate to management | Stop growing your own exposure until payment or a firm agreement |
Note that this ladder is deliberately separate from the 1-30/31-60/61-90 aging buckets: the buckets are the fixed accounting standard for measuring; the ladder is your policy, tuned to your leverage and your customers.
Face-saving wording: why the first message must leave a way out
Thai B2B collection happens inside long-term relationships, and the person you contact is usually a coordinator, not the one who approves payment. A message that embarrasses them achieves exactly one thing: they stop helping you.
Effective first messages share one structure: cite the invoice precisely (number, amount, due date) · presume a paperwork slip rather than an intention · and close with "our apologies if this has already been paid." That single sentence gives everyone an exit — and it earns you the standing to be firmer in the next message, because you were courteous first.
The leverage point most SMEs never use: the 45-day guideline
Since late 2021, Thailand's Trade Competition Commission guidelines say large buyers should pay SME suppliers within 45 days (30 for agricultural goods). When a large counterparty asks for 90–120 day terms, referencing this guideline politely during negotiation carries real weight — their legal department knows it well. (Enforcement is case-specific; take legal advice before invoking it formally.)
A system that walks the ladder for you
Collection ladders do not fail at design — they fail at consistent execution, the moment the system lives in one person's head.
The B2B Debtor Register & Collection System embeds this ladder in an Excel file: set your own day-thresholds for the four steps · a chase-today screen shows every morning which invoice has reached which step, already ranked · and a message sheet composes three escalation levels with the invoice number, amount and due date filled in, ready to paste into LINE or email — worded to preserve the relationship, as in this article. One purchase includes both the Thai and English (Thailand) editions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1When should chasing start?
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2What if the customer goes quiet after a reminder?
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3What is Thailand's 45-day credit-term guideline?
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4When should deliveries be suspended?
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5Are there legal limits on debt collection?
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