Customer concentration should change how a four-week accounts receivable forecast is reviewed, not automatically change the amount. Group invoice assumptions by customer, calculate each customer's share of every forecast week and of the four-week total, and flag weeks whose outcome depends heavily on one customer. Then review the evidence behind those concentrated assumptions separately.
Intuit's AR aging documentation describes summary and detail views for outstanding customer balances. The detail report provides the invoice-level source rows; the concentration view is a management layer built from those rows and the forecast assumptions attached to them.
Build the view from invoice assumptions
Start with the expected amount assigned to each invoice and week. Do not use the full open balance unless every included amount has evidence for that week.
For each customer calculate:
`customer expected amount in week ÷ total expected amount in week`
Repeat the calculation for the four-week total. Leave the value blank when the weekly total is blank. The result is a share of the current planning assumption, not a probability of payment or a credit-risk score.
Add a concentration review table
| Field | Purpose | |---|---| | Customer | Groups related invoice assumptions | | Included invoices | Preserves the source-row path | | Expected amount by week | Shows timing exposure | | Share of weekly total | Reveals concentrated weeks | | Evidence summary | Explains why the week is assigned | | Largest blocker | Shows what could move the assumption | | Owner and review date | Makes the next check operational |
Sort first by share of the weekly total, then by evidence weakness. A large supported assumption and a large unsupported assumption require different actions.
Use scenarios without inventing odds
Create a simple review scenario by moving one customer's supported amount out of its assigned week and leaving all other rows unchanged. The difference shows dependency: what the weekly view looks like if that customer slips beyond the current planning window.
Do not label the scenario “likely,” “worst case,” or attach a probability unless the organization has a documented method and suitable evidence. “Customer A moves one review period” is enough to expose the decision dependency.
Run scenarios for:
- the largest customer in each week;
- a customer with multiple invoices sharing one approval blocker;
- a customer whose payment commitment is conditional;
- a customer whose included amount changed materially since the prior review.
Keep concentration separate from aging
Aging and concentration answer different questions. Aging shows how long balances have been open or past due. Concentration shows how much of a forecast depends on the same customer. A current invoice can create a concentrated week, and an old balance can remain outside the forecast because its timing is unsupported.
Concentration also differs from customer credit analysis. This framework does not predict default, rate a customer's finances, or recommend credit terms. It only makes the construction of the internal cash assumption easier to challenge.
The accounts receivable forecast template provides invoice, evidence, week, owner, and outcome fields. The four-week forecast guide explains how to move from source rows to weekly totals. Use the collection assumptions template when a concentrated invoice lacks clear evidence.
AR Pulse turns an authorized QuickBooks receivables export into a ranked cash-action list and a four-week collections view. It does not promise a collection outcome or contact customers. The one-page example shows how invoice evidence remains visible beside the forecast.