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Quick answer: An accounts receivable virtual assistant handles the follow-up work of getting paid: issuing invoices, sending payment reminders, making collections calls, matching incoming payments to invoices, logging disputes, and keeping the aging report current. You keep every decision that changes what a customer owes, such as credit terms, write-offs, credit memos, and settlements. For a business with steady invoice volume, a dedicated full-time remote hire, for example through Stellar Staff, offers an alternative to an AR outsourcing firm or doing the work yourself.
What Does an Accounts Receivable Virtual Assistant Do Each Week?
An accounts receivable virtual assistant is a remote team member who owns the routine work between sending an invoice and recording the payment. In a typical week, that means issuing invoices once work is delivered, sending payment reminders on a set schedule, calling or emailing customers with past-due balances, applying incoming payments to the right invoices, logging disputes, and updating the aging report so you can see who owes what. The VA works inside your systems, such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, or your billing platform, with the permissions you grant. The role covers follow-up and recordkeeping, not credit judgment. An AR VA doesn't decide which customer gets net 60 terms, approve a write-off, or agree to a settlement. Those decisions stay with you, your controller, or your CPA.
The role fits businesses that send dozens or hundreds of invoices a month and want accounts receivable collections to run on a schedule instead of on the owner's free time. If you want the same person to also handle bills and month-end close support, that's the broader finance virtual assistant role. Accounts payable, the money you owe vendors, is a separate workflow with its own approval rules, so this guide covers receivables only.
Which AR Tasks Can You Hand Off, and Which Stay With You?
Most of the accounts receivable process can move to an assistant, as long as you draw one clear line. The VA can do anything that records what already happened or asks a customer to act. Anything that changes what a customer owes, or how much credit you extend, needs your sign-off. In practice, the assistant issues invoices from approved work, sends reminders, makes collections calls, applies payments, and prepares the aging report. You or your accountant set prices and payment terms, approve credit for new customers, issue credit memos, approve write-offs, agree to payment plans, and decide when an account goes to a collection agency or an attorney. Put this split in writing before the first day. It tells the assistant when to act and when to stop and ask, and it tells you exactly which responsibilities remain with you.
| AR task | What the VA handles | What stays with you or your CPA |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | Creates and sends invoices from approved work, with PO numbers and supporting documents | Pricing, billing terms, and any invoice that differs from the contract |
| Payment reminders | Sends reminders on schedule and logs every contact | Approving the schedule and message templates |
| Collections follow-up | Calls and emails past-due contacts, records promised payment dates | Payment plans, settlements, and sending accounts to an agency or attorney |
| Cash application | Matches payments to invoices and flags unapplied cash | Any adjustment to a customer balance |
| Disputes | Gathers supporting documents, logs the issue, and routes it | Credit memos, rebills, and write-offs |
| Aging report | Updates it and sends it on the same day each week | Credit holds and decisions to stop work for a customer |
If your books are behind, fix that first, because follow-up only works when the balances are correct. Our guide to a bookkeeping virtual assistant covers how to get the ledger current.
How Should Invoicing Work When an Assistant Sends Your Invoices?
Invoicing works best when the assistant issues each invoice from a trigger you define, not from memory. The trigger might be a job marked complete, an approved timesheet, a shipped order, or the first of the month for retainer clients. The VA checks the invoice against the contract or quote, adds the customer's PO number if required, attaches proof of delivery or itemized time records, and sends it to the billing contact on file rather than to whoever signed the deal. Many late payments start right here. An invoice that goes out two weeks late, arrives without a PO number, or lands in the wrong inbox can sit unpaid even when the customer fully intends to pay. Some larger customers also require invoices to go through a supplier portal, and the assistant can handle those submissions and check their status.
Before the first invoice goes out, give the assistant:
- Your rate card, contracts, or quotes
- Billing contacts and customer-specific rules
- Accepted payment methods and your payment link
- A rule for anything nonstandard, such as an invoice above an amount you set
What Does a Payment Reminder Schedule Look Like?
A payment reminder schedule is a written sequence of messages tied to each invoice's due date, so every customer gets the same treatment and nobody has to decide when to follow up. Most B2B schedules start a few days before the due date with a friendly heads-up, confirm on the due date, and then follow up at fixed points, such as 7, 14, and 30 days past due. Each step is a little firmer and moves from email to phone. Your accounting software can send the early automated reminders. The assistant handles what software can't: reading replies, answering questions like "Can you resend the W-9?", calling when emails go unanswered, and recording what the customer said. You approve the templates and the schedule once. After that, the VA runs it and brings you only the accounts that reach your escalation point.
| Timing | Channel | What the message does | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days before due | Friendly reminder with an invoice copy and payment link | VA or software | |
| Due date | Confirms the amount due today | VA or software | |
| 7 days past due | Asks if anything is holding up payment | VA | |
| 14 days past due | Phone and email | Asks for a specific payment date and logs it | VA |
| 30 days past due | Phone and written notice | Restates the payment terms in your contract | VA, using wording you approved |
| 45 days or more | Escalation | Summary of every contact, sent to you | You decide the next step |
Keep the tone factual. A good past-due invoice email names the invoice, the amount, and the due date, attaches a copy, and asks one clear question:
Hi Dana, I'm following up on invoice 1043 for $4,200, which was due on October 3. Could you let me know if anything is holding it up, or share the date we should expect payment? I've attached a copy for your records.
Mention late fees only if your contract or invoice terms already provide for them.
Can an AR Virtual Assistant Make Collections Calls?
Yes. Collections calls are one of the most valuable parts of the job, because a phone call gets answers that emails often don't. A good AR assistant calls the billing contact, confirms the invoice was received, asks if anything is blocking payment, and asks for a specific payment date. Every call ends with a note in your accounting software or CRM: who was reached, what they said, and when the next follow-up is due. The assistant should collect in your company's name, introduce themselves as part of your accounts receivable team, and work from scripts and escalation rules you approve. Owners usually keep the conversations that involve a long-standing customer, a payment plan request, or a decision to pause service. When a customer disputes the work itself, the VA documents the complaint and passes it to the person who managed the job.
When collection laws come into play
If your customers are businesses, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act generally doesn't apply, because it defines "debt" as an obligation from a transaction "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes" (15 U.S.C. 1692a). If you collect from consumers, such as homeowners or patients, the same section excludes a creditor's employees collecting "in the name of the creditor," but it covers a creditor that uses "any name other than his own" in a way that suggests a third party is collecting, a point the FTC has stressed to creditors. An assistant should never call under an invented agency name.
For debt collectors, the CFPB's Regulation F presumes a violation when a collector calls about a particular debt more than seven times within seven consecutive days (12 CFR 1006.14). Some state laws also cover businesses collecting their own consumer accounts, so have counsel review your scripts first. This section is general information, not legal advice.
What Goes Into a Weekly Accounts Receivable Aging Report?
An accounts receivable aging report lists every open invoice by customer and sorts the balances by how long they've been outstanding, usually current, 1 to 30 days, 31 to 60 days, 61 to 90 days, and more than 90 days past due. QuickBooks, Xero, and most billing tools produce the basic report in a few clicks. The version an AR assistant prepares adds what the software doesn't know: the last contact date for each past-due account, the promised payment date, any open dispute, and which accounts the VA recommends for escalation. Send it on the same day every week. Use the report to track balances more than 60 days past due over time. It also helps you review the assistant's work: growing overdue balances and missing follow-up notes are visible in one place.
Beyond the standard buckets, ask for three extra columns: last contact and outcome, promised payment date, and any open dispute waiting on your decision.
How Should Cash Application and Invoice Disputes Be Handled?
Cash application means matching each incoming payment to the invoice it pays and marking that invoice paid in your books. It sounds simple, but customers often pay several invoices in one ACH transfer, pay part of an invoice, take discounts they weren't offered, or mail checks without remittance details. When payments aren't applied correctly, the assistant ends up calling a customer who already paid. An AR assistant applies payments from the bank feed, payment processor reports, and remittance emails several times a week, and flags anything that doesn't match. Each invoice dispute or short payment goes into a log with the amount, the customer's stated reason, and the supporting documents, such as a signed work order or delivery confirmation. The VA routes the item to you, and you decide to issue a credit memo, rebill, or hold firm.
Review the dispute log monthly. If missing PO numbers or unclear line items keep coming up, fix your invoicing rules.
Should You Hire an AR Virtual Assistant, Use an Outsourcing Firm, or Buy Software?
These options solve different problems. Accounts receivable outsourcing firms run the process under their own procedures, usually with a team that works across many clients, and they suit companies that want to hand off the whole function at once. AR automation software sends reminders, offers payment portals, and helps match payments, but someone still has to read replies, make calls, and resolve exceptions. A dedicated accounts receivable virtual assistant is one person who works only on your accounts, inside your software, under your rules. That fits businesses with steady volume that want consistent follow-up while keeping control of customer relationships and credit decisions. Many businesses combine two of these: software for automated reminders and a VA for everything that needs a person. Before you outsource accounts receivable to any provider, ask who will contact your customers, whose name they'll use, and what data they'll see.
| Option | How it works | Usually fits | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated AR virtual assistant | One full-time remote person in your systems, directed by you | Steady B2B invoice volume, owner keeps customer decisions | Access controls, approved scripts, weekly report review |
| AR outsourcing firm | A provider runs receivables with its own team and process | Companies handing off the entire function | Pricing model, who contacts customers, contract length |
| AR automation software | Automated reminders, payment portals, matching tools | High invoice volume on standard terms | Replies and exceptions still need a person |
| In-house AR specialist | A U.S. employee on your payroll | Complex accounts or on-site work | BLS median pay for bill and account collectors: $47,030 a year (May 2025), before payroll taxes and benefits |
| Collection agency | A third party pursues seriously past-due accounts, often for a share of what it recovers | Accounts you no longer expect to collect directly | State licensing, fees, and the customer relationship |
For accounts receivable management as part of a wider handoff, see back office outsourcing. For the full employer cost of a local hire, see virtual assistant vs. employee cost.
What Access Does an Accounts Receivable Assistant Need?
An AR assistant needs enough access to create invoices, record payments, and see customer balances, and no ability to move money out of your accounts. In QuickBooks Online or Xero, that usually means a user role limited to sales, invoicing, and customer records instead of full admin rights. For cash application, bank feeds inside your accounting software or view-only bank access are enough. A shared inbox such as ar@yourcompany.com works better than the assistant's own address, because the history stays with your business if people change. Give the assistant individual logins, never shared passwords, so every change carries their name in the audit log. If customers pay by card, keep card numbers out of email, spreadsheets, and call notes, and send your processor's hosted payment link instead. The PCI Data Security Standard applies to businesses that store, process, or transmit cardholder data.
Invoices also attract fraud. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recommends using "secondary channels and/or two-factor authentication to verify requests for changes in account information" (IC3 warning). Tell customers your payment details won't change by email.
How Do You Hire an Accounts Receivable Virtual Assistant Through an Agency?
Start by writing down the job: your monthly invoice volume, your accounting and billing tools, the reminder schedule, your call scripts, and your escalation rules. That document becomes both the job description and the onboarding plan. With an agency such as Stellar Staff, you share that scope, Stellar recruits and screens candidates, and you interview 2 to 3 finalists and pick one. The search takes 5 to 10 business days. Stellar handles recruiting, payroll, HR, tracking, and replacements, while you direct the assistant's daily work. Vetting includes a 6-step application and 6 individual tests, English verification (written and spoken), reference checks, an equipment check, professional interviews and skill assessments, internal QA, and background checks. Talent comes primarily from the Philippines. In the interview, ask each finalist to draft a past-due invoice email from a sample invoice.
Hand over the work in stages: recording payments and drafting reminders in week one, scheduled reminders in week two, then collections calls once you've reviewed the first batch. If many of your customers prefer Spanish, a bilingual assistant adds $200 a month. The finance VA service page shows how the same assistant can also handle bills and month-end support.
Questions Owners Ask Before Handing Off Receivables
What does an accounts receivable specialist do?
An accounts receivable specialist issues invoices, records customer payments, follows up on past-due balances, answers billing questions, and keeps the aging report accurate. A remote accounts receivable assistant does the same daily tasks, while credit approvals, write-offs, and settlements stay with the owner, controller, or CPA.
Is it better to outsource accounts receivable or keep it in-house?
It depends on how much control you want over customer contact. With outsourced accounts receivable, a firm runs the work under its own process and team. A dedicated hire, local or remote, follows your rules and works only on your accounts. For long-term customer relationships, keeping the work under your direction is usually the safer choice.
Can an AR assistant handle patient balances for a medical or dental practice?
Yes, with extra safeguards. Patient balances are consumer accounts, so collection laws need a closer look, and the assistant will see protected health information. Set up a business associate agreement and minimum necessary access first. Our guide to a HIPAA-compliant virtual assistant covers what to put in place.
Can an accounts receivable virtual assistant work in QuickBooks?
Yes. QuickBooks Online and Xero both let you add users with limited roles, so an AR assistant can create invoices, receive payments, and run aging reports without full admin access. In the interview, ask finalists to apply one payment to several invoices.
Can one assistant handle receivables and bookkeeping?
Often, yes, if your invoice volume leaves room in a full-time week. Many businesses start with AR follow-up and add reconciliations later. If the books are the bigger need, look at a bookkeeping virtual assistant first, and treat collections as part of that role.
How much does an accounts receivable virtual assistant cost through Stellar Staff?
Stellar Staff's Pro plan is $1,999 a month for a full-time assistant working 160 hours a month, about $12.50 an hour. The Executive plan is $2,999 a month. Plans are month to month with no long-term contract, you can cancel with 14 days' notice, and replacements are free, forever, on managed plans.
Hand Off the Follow-Up, Keep the Credit Decisions
An accounts receivable virtual assistant is worth it when the problem is consistency: invoices that go out late, reminders nobody sends, and calls that keep getting postponed. Give the assistant a written schedule, approved scripts, limited access, and a weekly aging report to deliver, and keep the decisions that change what customers owe.
A dedicated AR hire isn't right for every business. If you send only a handful of invoices a month, your bookkeeper or billing software can handle the reminders. If most of your balance is already more than 90 days past due, you may need a collection agency or an attorney, not more follow-up.
If the work fits a full-time remote role, compare plans and pricing or start a search with Stellar Staff, the #2 VA agency on Clutch.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Collection laws vary by state, and questions about write-offs or bad debt deductions belong with your CPA. Sources checked November 5, 2026. Stellar Staff pricing is current as of November 2026.