Payment reminders and unpaid invoices: handing collections to an AI agent

Chasing a late-paying customer is a task nobody likes, and so it often comes after everything else. The result: longer payment times, and cash flow that suffers. That is why chasing unpaid invoices is one of the first projects we recommend.

Why it makes a good first project

• It comes round every week, with a regular volume.
• The data is in a tool: invoices, due dates, payments received.
• The rules are easy to write: a courteous reminder at D+5, a firm one at D+15, a formal notice at D+30.
• The gain can be measured: the average payment time, before and after.
• It brings in cash, not just time.

What the agent does

1. Spot overdue invoices, every day, by cross-checking due dates and payments received.
2. Prepare the right reminder, according to the stage and the customer’s history: a regular customer slightly late does not receive the same message as a chronic late payer.
3. Attach what is needed: the invoice, the statement of account, the payment link.
4. Submit reminders for approval, in one click.
5. Follow the replies (promise to pay, dispute, request for a payment plan) and pass each one on to the right person.
6. Prepare the formal notice when that stage is reached.
7. Raise an alert when a regular customer starts taking longer to pay.

Example: a maintenance SME has some forty overdue invoices. The agent spots them, prepares graduated reminders in a tone suited to each customer, which the accountant approves in one click; it also prepares the formal notice when needed.

What remains human

• Approving reminders, at least at the start.
• Sensitive customers: a key account, an ongoing dispute, a partner to handle with care.
• Sending a formal notice and any legal action.
• Agreements: extra time, a payment plan, a commercial gesture.

What you need to get started

• Access to your invoicing tool or accounts, and to payments received.
• Your reminder rules, even if they are not written down today.
• The list of customers to exclude or handle separately.
• The current average payment time: that is the indicator.

Task or process?

Sending a reminder when an invoice is past its due date is a task: a Task Automation is enough. Managing the whole of collections (stages, replies, disputes, formal notice, alerts on deteriorating accounts) is a process: that is the work of a Process Agent.

The complete process, with its tasks and an example, is in the AI agent catalogue. To measure the gain: How to calculate the return on investment of an AI agent.