Chase overdue invoices with the right message to the right contact
When an invoice passes its due date, the system checks for open disputes, picks the right contact and sends a reminder in the tone your policy sets for that account. Replies are read and logged. Collectors spend their time on the accounts that need a call. For teams chasing payments from spreadsheets.
Function: Finance · Industry: Any industry
Chase overdue invoices with the right message to the right contact
6 steps
At a glance
- Trigger
- An invoice reaches a day count past due that your collections policy defines.
- Typical inputs
- Open invoice ledger with due dates
- Customer contact roles and payment history
- Dispute and credit-note records
- Collections policy by customer tier
- Systems it usually connects to
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
- HubSpot
- Gmail
- How the work splits
2 rules, 2 model, 2 person steps
How it runs, step by step
6 steps, each tagged by what does the work. Rules are fixed logic, a model reads or drafts, and a person decides.
- Rules Fixed logic in code
- Model AI reads or drafts, with a confidence score
- Person A named person decides
- 1
Find invoices due for follow-up
RulesOverdue invoices are selected by your day-count rules, excluding accounts on hold, in dispute or on a payment plan.
- 2
Choose the contact and template
RulesThe accounts payable contact on record gets the message, and the template depends on the customer tier and how late the invoice is.
- 3
Draft the message
ModelA model personalizes the reminder with invoice details, the payment link and any earlier correspondence.
- 4
Approve sensitive accounts
PersonA collector reviews drafts for key accounts and any customer with a recent dispute before they are sent.
- 5
Read the replies
ModelIncoming replies are sorted: promise to pay with a date, dispute, wrong contact, remittance advice or out of office.
- 6
Work the exceptions
PersonA collector calls customers who ignore reminders and resolves disputes, and the outcome is written back to the invoice.
Where people approve
The decisions that stay with your team, whatever the confidence score says.
- A collector approves messages to named key accounts.
- Finance management approves any change to payment terms or a payment plan.
- Credit holds and account escalations are decided by a person.
KPIs to track
What to measure, before and after. Targets come from your own baseline.
- 01Days sales outstanding, tracked against your own baseline
- 02Share of invoices paid within seven days of the first reminder
- 03Collector hours spent on routine reminders
- 04Disputes opened per hundred reminders sent
Questions about this workflow
Could it send a reminder for an invoice the customer already paid?
It checks the ledger and the latest bank feed before each send, and the message is queued for a person if a payment is unapplied or in flight. Cash application lag is the most common cause of a wrong reminder, so we recommend pairing this with automated cash matching.
Does the tone change by customer?
Yes, within the policy you write. A long-standing customer may get a plain note at 7 days and a call at 30, while a new account may get a firmer sequence. The model fills in wording; the cadence and escalation rules stay in code.
Which steps use rules, a model and a person?
Rules: find invoices due for follow-up; choose the contact and template. Model: draft the message; read the replies. Person: approve sensitive accounts; work the exceptions. Rules are fixed logic in code. A model reads or drafts and reports its confidence. A named person decides.
What do we need to start?
Typically: open invoice ledger with due dates; customer contact roles and payment history; dispute and credit-note records; collections policy by customer tier. You also need read access to QuickBooks, NetSuite, HubSpot and Gmail, or the equivalents you use. A workflow audit measures your volumes and past cases first, then gives a fixed price for the build, so you can decide with real numbers.