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 them 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 Quick Start is enough. Managing the whole collection — 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.

Frequently asked questions

Do reminders go out without any control?

Not by default. The agent prepares, a person approves before sending — in one click for routine reminders. The first courteous reminders can be allowed to go out on their own, if you decide so.

How do we avoid upsetting a good customer?

The agent adapts the tone to the history: a regular customer slightly late does not receive the same message as a chronic late payer. And you can exclude certain customers from any automatic reminder.

Can the agent start debt collection proceedings?

It can prepare the formal notice. Sending it, and taking any legal action, remains a human decision.