Collection Effectiveness Index Calculator
Score how much of available receivables you actually collected.
How is collection effectiveness index calculator worked out?
The Collection Effectiveness Index measures how much of the receivables available for collection in a period were actually collected, expressed as a percentage. A CEI near 100% means you collected almost everything that was collectable.
Collection Effectiveness Index Calculator
Collection Effectiveness Index
88.37%
- Collected in the period
- $380,000.00
- Left uncollected
- $50,000.00
- Overdue at period end that was available to collect.
Show the working
| Opening receivables | $240,000.00 |
| Credit sales in period | $400,000.00 |
| Less closing receivables | -$260,000.00 |
| Amount collected | $380,000.00 |
| Amount that was collectable | $430,000.00 |
| CEI | 88.37% |
CEI is a better measure of collections performance than DSO, because it is not distorted by the timing or the shape of sales. It asks a narrower and more honest question: of the money that was available to collect this period, how much did you actually collect?
The formula
CEI = [(beginning receivables + credit sales − ending total receivables) ÷ (beginning receivables + credit sales − ending current receivables)] × 100The numerator is what you collected. The denominator is what you could have collected — everything except the receivables that were not yet due at period end. Subtracting the current portion is what stops recent, not-yet-due sales counting as a collection failure.
Why CEI beats DSO for measuring a collections team
DSO moves when sales move, whether or not collections changed. A strong final month pushes DSO up because receivables grow relative to the period's sales, and a quiet month pulls it down — neither says anything about how well anyone collected. CEI removes that distortion by comparing what was collected against what was collectable in the same period. That makes it the fairer measure of a team's performance, and the one that reacts to actual process changes rather than to the sales cycle.
Getting the closing current figure right
The only input that takes real work is the not-yet-due portion of closing receivables, and it is the one that determines whether the answer means anything. Take it from an aging report as at the period end, using the current bucket. Estimating it, or substituting total closing receivables, collapses the denominator and produces a CEI that flatters or punishes the result arbitrarily.
Reading the score
CEI is expressed as a percentage where higher is better and 100% would mean everything collectable was collected. Scores in the high eighties and above generally indicate a well-run process; sustained scores below eighty usually point at collections capacity or follow-up discipline rather than at customer quality, because the measure already excludes invoices that were not yet due. As with every ratio here, the trend across periods is more informative than any single figure.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the Collection Effectiveness Index?
Add opening receivables to credit sales for the period and subtract total closing receivables to get what you collected. Divide that by opening receivables plus credit sales minus the not-yet-due portion of closing receivables, then multiply by 100.
What is a good CEI score?
Higher is better, with 100% meaning everything available to collect was collected. Scores in the high eighties and above typically indicate an effective process, while sustained scores below eighty suggest collections are not keeping pace with what falls due.
Why use CEI instead of DSO?
DSO is affected by the timing and shape of sales, so it can move without collections performance changing at all. CEI compares what was collected against what was collectable in the same period, which isolates the performance of the collections process itself.
Put the number on an invoice
The free invoice generator builds the document around your figures — line items, tax, payment terms — and downloads a print-ready PDF. No signup required.
Related calculators
- DSO CalculatorCalculate Days Sales Outstanding to see how accounts receivable compares with credit sales.
- AR Aging CalculatorEnter outstanding invoices to see current, 1–30, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ day receivable balances.
- Bad Debt Percentage CalculatorCalculate write-offs as a percentage of credit sales or receivables.
More accounts receivable calculators, or browse all 26 invoice calculators.