Every December, Bolivian SMEs face the same squeeze at once: aguinaldo, year-end supplier payments, taxes and often a slower January. The invoices your clients owe you are the one source of cash you control without borrowing. If you wait until the last week of the year to chase them, you are competing with every other supplier doing the same thing. Starting now gives you about six weeks to turn receivables into cash.
1. Week 1: Know exactly who owes you
Pull your accounts receivable aging: every open invoice grouped by client and by how overdue it is. Then rank clients by amount owed and by age. In most businesses, a small handful of clients hold most of the money. Those are your sprint targets, not the long tail of small balances.
If three clients account for Bs 120,000 of the Bs 200,000 overdue, your sprint is three conversations, not two hundred messages. Measuring your DSO now gives you a baseline to compare against in January.
2. Week 2: Make contact, with a specific ask
A reminder that says “please pay” gets ignored. A message that says “invoice 1234 for Bs 18,500, due September 30, can you confirm the payment date by Friday?” gets answered. Include the invoice number, amount, due date and a specific date you need back. Call the large debtors, not just message them, and confirm in writing afterward.
3. Weeks 3 and 4: Time your asks around your clients’ cash
Your clients are also paying aguinaldo, which in Bolivia is due by December 20 (see our aguinaldo guide). Many of them will prioritize payroll first and suppliers after. That makes November your best collection month: ask for payment before your clients’ cash is committed, not after. If you wait until mid-December, the answer is often “after the holidays.”
4. Use a discount only when the math works
An early-payment discount can be a good deal or an expensive one. Offering 2% off for payment within 10 days instead of 30 days sounds small, but the math says otherwise:
The calculation is 1,000 ÷ 49,000 × (365 ÷ 20) ≈ 37%. If you can borrow or cover the gap at a lower rate, a discount is expensive financing. If you are about to miss payroll or a key supplier payment, it may still be the right call. Decide the maximum discount in advance, give it a deadline, and offer it only to clients who are otherwise reliable.
5. Weeks 5 and 6: Payment plans and the final push
- Offer a plan to clients who genuinely cannot pay in one go. A written plan with three dated payments beats an invoice that sits unpaid.
- Make paying easy. Send bank details, a QR or a payment link with every reminder.
- Pause new credit for serious late payers. Do not extend more credit to a client who is already 60 days behind. See credit terms that get you paid.
- Escalate with a plan. For clients who stop responding, follow the steps in when a client won’t pay.
6. Close the loop in January
On the first working days of January, rerun your aging report and compare it to week 1. Note which clients paid after one reminder, which needed three, and which never answered. That list is your credit policy for next year.
This article is general information for Bolivian businesses, not tax, legal or financial advice. Figures are illustrative; the cost of a discount depends on your own invoice terms and financing options. Confirm how the rules apply to your business with your accountant, advisor or the SIN before acting.
Turn receivables into cash before year-end
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