Mail Delivery Change Could Cost a Large Company Up to $100 Million Annually

Typical U.S. companies now take more than five weeks to collect from customers, according to REL’s latest working capital research. REL also estimates that more than 60 percent of all invoices are still delivered by mail, so the elimination of next-day First Class mail delivery is likely to add at least two to four days to the collections cycle for many companies—an extra day or two in the mail before the customer gets an invoice, and another day or two when customers mail their checks back. This will potentially increase days sales outstanding (DSO) for many companies by up to $100 million annually.