What is order-to-cash?

Order-to-cash is the whole cycle from receiving an order to having the money: capture, credit and terms check, allocation, fulfillment, shipping confirmation, invoicing, payment, and cash application. It spans commercial, operational, and finance systems, which is why it is where handoffs between them become visible.

In wholesale the cycle routinely runs 90 to 120 days, and every break in it extends that. An invoice that cannot be matched to a delivery receipt does not get paid, however well the fulfillment went.

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