Define the records before counting
Record booking date, completion date, payment dates and the report cutoff. Name the question: work completed in September, cash collected in September, or eventual collection from September’s completed jobs. These require different filters even when they use the same records.
A worked example
Fictional case: a job completes September 30 with a recorded $180 amount. The business receives $100 on October 2 and $80 on October 9. September completion count includes one job, September recorded collection for it is zero only if the payment ledger confirms that absence, and October collection is $180. Before checking the ledger, collection remains unknown rather than assumed zero.
Resolve the gap in evidence
Keep payment events separate and join them through the explicit job ID. Display the cutoff and whether the cohort remains open to later payments. If comparing months, do not mix a mature earlier cohort with a still-collecting recent cohort without explaining the difference. Use the reconciliation lab’s collection-date filter to inspect this distinction.
Check whether it worked
At the next close, reconcile later receipts to their original jobs and identify any unresolved balances or missing links. Report how much of the cohort has complete payment evidence. Do not call billed value cash or claim that delayed collection proves an advertising source failed. Review timing and collection processes separately from demand quality.
Put it to work
A record you can use
- Question and reporting basis
- Booking/completion dates
- Payment events and dates
- Cutoff and cohort maturity
- Unresolved links or balances
Plain text. No email required. Store completed records in your approved business systems.
Next useful step
Need help applying this to your marketing? A strategy call starts with your business and the evidence you have.
Talk through your next step →For a general editorial question, email Chris. Please leave out customer details. Questions are private, and no response time is promised.