QuickBooks Online tells you who owes you money. It does not tell you what to do about it today. An AR dashboard fills that gap. It puts your open invoices, your oldest balances and your next follow-ups on one screen.
This guide covers the best AR dashboard options for contractors who use QuickBooks, what a good dashboard should show, and how restoration companies should set theirs up for insurance jobs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- QuickBooks reports show balances. A good AR dashboard also shows what action is next.
- Options range from QuickBooks' own reports, to reporting add-ons like Fathom and Reach Reporting, to AR tools like AR Workflow that pair the dashboard with follow-up.
- Track five numbers: total open AR, amount over 60 days, DSO, invoices with no follow-up, and promises to pay.
- Restoration companies should split AR by payer: carrier, homeowner, mortgage company and property manager.
What an AR dashboard should show
Keep it simple. A contractor's AR dashboard needs five things:
| Number | Why it matters |
|---|
| Total open AR | How much cash is out in the field. |
| Amount over 60 days | The older an invoice gets, the harder it is to collect. |
| DSO (days sales outstanding) | How long, on average, it takes to get paid. Try our DSO calculator. |
| Invoices with no follow-up | These are the ones slipping through the cracks. |
| Promises to pay | Who said they would pay, and when, so you can check. |
Best AR dashboard options for QuickBooks users
1. QuickBooks Online reports
The A/R Aging Summary and A/R Aging Detail reports are built in. They show each customer's balance by age bucket. They are free and accurate. But they are static. They do not show who was contacted, what they said, or what to do next. Learn to read them in our aging report guide.
2. AR Workflow
AR Workflow syncs with QuickBooks Online and pairs the dashboard with the follow-up itself. You see open AR, aging, invoices with no follow-up and promises to pay, and the reminders run on their own. When a customer pays, the payment posts back to QuickBooks and the dashboard updates. See AR reporting software.
3. Fathom
Fathom is a financial reporting tool that connects to QuickBooks. It is strong on charts, KPIs and management reports, and it is popular with accountants who report to owners.
4. Reach Reporting
Reach Reporting builds custom financial reports and dashboards from QuickBooks data. It suits owners who want a monthly reporting package.
5. A spreadsheet
Many contractors export the aging report to Excel or Google Sheets each week. It is cheap and flexible. It also goes stale the moment a payment comes in, and someone has to rebuild it every week.
Reporting tool or AR tool?
Reporting tools like Fathom and Reach show you the numbers. They do not chase anyone. If your problem is that nobody has time to follow up, a dashboard alone will not fix it. Pick a tool that does both, or pair a reporting tool with a follow-up process your team will actually run. Our AR reporting buyer's checklist walks through the questions to ask.
AR analytics for restoration companies
Restoration AR is different. One job can have three or four people who owe money: the carrier, the homeowner's deductible, a mortgage company that has to endorse the check, and sometimes a property manager. A single "customer balance" hides where the money is stuck.
Set up your restoration dashboard like this:
- Split open AR by payer type. Carrier, homeowner, mortgage company, property manager, commercial owner.
- Track claim status, not just age. Estimate sent, under review, approved, check issued, check endorsed.
- Flag supplements. Supplements often sit longest. Give them their own view.
- Watch mortgage-held checks. A check that is "paid" but held by the lender is still not cash.
- Review weekly. Fifteen minutes on Monday is enough to spot the jobs that need a call.
AR Workflow lets restoration teams run separate follow-up for adjusters and homeowners on the same job, and log promises to pay so follow-up pauses until the date. See AR Workflow for restoration and our guide to collecting from carriers, adjusters and homeowners.
See your AR on one screen
Bring your QuickBooks login and one overdue invoice to a demo. We will show you what your dashboard would look like and what follow-up each invoice would get.
FAQs about AR dashboards
Does QuickBooks have an AR dashboard?
QuickBooks Online has an invoices overview and A/R aging reports. They show balances and age. They do not track follow-up or promises to pay.
What is AR analytics?
AR analytics means using your receivables data to spot problems early: which customers pay slowly, which invoices have no follow-up, and how your DSO is trending.
What KPIs should a contractor track for AR?
Start with total open AR, amount over 60 days, DSO, invoices with no follow-up and promises to pay. Add collection rate once those are steady.
How often should I check my AR dashboard?
Weekly is the sweet spot for most contractors. Busy restoration companies after a storm may want a quick daily check.
Can I build an AR dashboard in Excel?
Yes, by exporting the A/R aging report from QuickBooks. It works, but someone must update it every week, and it will not show follow-up history.
.png?width=160&name=QRI%20(3).png)
Keep QuickBooks
Log in
