Credit control fails quietly when limits are set without checks, chasing has no set timeline and the people who may write a debt off are unclear. This template records one bad-debt write-off from start to finish: the customer and its credit history, the debt and its age, the recovery steps taken, the reason it cannot be collected, and the approval. Each page follows the one before it, so the approver can check the trail in order.

The sample shows Ashgrove Wholesale, a fictional customer with an £8,400 invoice that was part paid and then left open, and a request to write off £5,400 after a failed plan. It also carries the policy figures: the chase calendar, the write-off bands and the provision rates. To use it, replace the names, balances and dates with your own case, and set the approval limits and provision percentages from your finance policy.