Order-to-Cash Cycle is the time taken from the initial order for goods and services, to the moment the company receives payment from the customer. This metric is used mainly by manufacturers with a traditional process flow in which they must pay for materials and make/deliver a product before they can send an invoice.
In some environments, this metric is widely used, for example, in consumer online and in-store sales. In these environments, the consumer customer pays when or even before goods are made or delivered. Many retail cash flow models assume they can be paid before they have to pay suppliers.