In this article
- Why does credit control get left?
- What does late payment cost you?
- Step 1: make the invoice itself easier to pay
- Step 2: put reminders on a fixed rhythm
- Step 3: adapt the tone to the customer
- Step 4: take out the disputed invoices
- Step 5: make the overview visible every day
- What should you watch for with the customer relationship?
- When shouldn't you automate this?
- Frequently asked questions
Chasing unpaid invoices is work nobody enjoys, so it gets left. The result is the same every time: the first reminder goes out after six weeks, the customer has forgotten the invoice, and the conversation is about the reminder rather than the work you delivered.
Why does credit control get left?
Because it's nobody's main job and because it feels awkward. The finance team doesn't want to upset the relationship, the account manager doesn't want to raise it, and so calling becomes something that only happens when there's really no other option.
On top of that, there's no overview. Without a list of who was contacted when and what was agreed, every follow-up starts from scratch. That makes the work harder than it is.
The third issue is order. Whoever shouts loudest gets helped first, while the invoice that has been open for ninety days quietly keeps ageing. A fixed rhythm solves exactly that.
What does late payment cost you?
Every day an invoice stays open, you are financing your customer. Work it out with your own figures: take your average outstanding amount, look at how many days it takes on average to get paid, and set that against the interest you pay on your own financing.
Add the hours that chasing costs now, and the invoices that end up being written off. The calculator in the cost of manual work takes you through it step by step. Set that result against the cost of a fixed follow-up process, and the decision is quickly made.
Step 1: make the invoice itself easier to pay
Don't start with the reminder, start with the invoice. Does it show the purchase order number, the right cost centre, the contact person and a payment link? Large clients reject invoices without those details, and a rejection like that can easily cost you thirty days.
Also check that the invoice reaches the right address. An invoice mailbox nobody reads is the most common reason a payment doesn't arrive, and the easiest one to fix.
Ask new customers for the invoice address, contact person and purchase order number straight away, and store them against the customer rather than the order. Then every later invoice is right automatically.
Step 2: put reminders on a fixed rhythm
Set the schedule and stick to it. A friendly message a few days before the due date, a reminder shortly after, and then an escalating series with a firmer tone. Exactly what you choose matters less than doing it the same way every time.
Let the system keep to that rhythm and prepare the messages. What such a flow looks like is described under credit control with AI. With consumers, rules apply to formal reminders and collection costs, so always have a person confirm that step.
Step 3: adapt the tone to the customer
A customer who always pays on time and is now a week late deserves a different message from a customer who is routinely thirty days over. That distinction is the difference between follow-up and debt-collector language.
Let the system take payment behaviour into account and suggest a suitable tone for each customer. Put large or sensitive accounts on a list that always goes past the account manager before anything is sent.
Step 4: take out the disputed invoices
Some invoices aren't late, they're disputed. A delivery that wasn't right, an hour that wasn't approved, a price that's still under discussion. Sending reminders on those invoices makes things worse.
So have incoming replies read and sorted: a promise to pay, a question, a complaint or an error in the invoice. Only the first category should stay in the automatic rhythm. How to set up that sorting is covered in automating invoice processing.
Step 5: make the overview visible every day
Put what's outstanding on a screen, grouped by age, with the next step and whose turn it is on each line. Not a report that goes round once a month, but a list that is right every morning.
Pull that data straight from your accounting system, so a payment stops a reminder immediately. What that involves for each package is covered under Exact Online and Moneybird, and the rest on our integrations page.
What should you watch for with the customer relationship?
Three things. Never send a reminder for an invoice that has already been paid: it's the fastest way to lose trust, and it happens as soon as your source isn't up to date.
Show the account manager what is going to their customers before it goes out. And make sure every message is easy to reply to, with a person who actually responds. Follow-up that doesn't talk back gets ignored.
Also agree where the line is. At what point does an account move to a conversation, and at what point to debt collection. That's a decision for a person, but you can have the system flag when it's time to make it.
When shouldn't you automate this?
When you have a handful of customers you all know personally. Then a list and a fixed slot in the week is enough. And if your invoices are often disputed, find out why first: the problem is then in the delivery or the quote, not in the follow-up.
What else you can automate on the finance side is covered under AI and automation and invoice processing with AI.
Frequently asked questions
What do you gain from automating accounts receivable?
Mainly that follow-up actually happens, and on time. The gain is in fewer days between invoice and payment, and in hours no longer spent chasing. Work it out with your own outstanding amount and your own payment times.
Won't customers feel pressured?
Not if the tone adapts to their payment behaviour. A customer who always pays on time and is now a week late should get a different message from a habitual late payer. Put large or sensitive accounts on a list that goes past the account manager first.
What do you do with disputed invoices?
Take them out of the automatic rhythm. Have incoming replies sorted into promises to pay, questions, complaints and invoice errors, and keep only the promises to pay in the schedule. Sending reminders on a disputed invoice makes things worse.
Can a system send formal payment reminders on its own?
You can let the standard reminders go out automatically. With consumers, rules apply to formal reminders and to collection costs, so have a person confirm that step. Record for each customer what was sent and when.
Where is the best place to start?
With the invoice itself. Check that it shows the purchase order number, the cost centre and the right recipient, and that it arrives at an address someone reads. A rejected invoice costs you thirty days and can be fixed with one field.
What data do you need?
An up-to-date list of open items from your accounting system, so an incoming payment stops a reminder immediately. A reminder for an invoice that has already been paid is the fastest way to lose trust.
