Industry research, not our client

An accountancy firm tested automated credit control on its own ledger before offering it to clients

Late payment is rarely a strategy problem. It is a Tuesday afternoon problem: nobody has time to chase. One accountancy firm automated the chasing, and tried it on itself first.

Industry research about another organisation, not an InnovAItive engagement. Figures come from a supplier-linked customer story and were not independently measured. The source describes the tool as automation, not AI.

Credit control workflow: invoice becomes overdue, automatic reminder from the finance address, payment received, unusual cases flagged to the team1Invoice becomesoverdue2Reminder fromfinance address3Payment orexception4Team handlesexceptions
Automate the routine, flag the exceptions

The problem

Are you a finance manager, practice owner or business owner chasing late payers?

Most of the firm's customers paid by direct debit, yet unpaid invoices still built up each month. A card failed, or a bank transfer slipped through the cracks, and someone had to notice and chase.

Chasing is low-skill, high-interruption work. It is also exactly the kind of task that gets pushed to the end of the week.

What they did

The firm first trialled an invoice-chasing tool (Trove, working with Xero) on its own ledger, as it does with all new software, before using it with clients.

Follow-ups went to late payers automatically, from the firm's shared finance email address, so customers saw a familiar sender.

What was reported

Overdue invoices within two weeks, as reportedThe published case reports overdue invoices down 60 per cent within two weeks. Before: overdue invoices (indexed to 100)100 Two weeks later, as reported40
Source: customer story published by Capital Accountancy (page undated). Also reported: days sales outstanding improved by 22 per cent, and 98 per cent of invoices now paid within two weeks of the due date. Supplier-linked, not independently measured.

The remaining two per cent or so are exceptional cases, which the tool flags to the team for a human touch.

Where people stay in control

Exceptions go to people

Anything unusual is flagged to the team rather than chased automatically.

Familiar tone and sender

Reminders come from the firm's own finance address, matching how it already speaks to customers.

Lessons for SMEs with late payers

  1. Test on yourself first. Trial any customer-facing automation on your own work before your clients see it.
  2. Count the baseline. Know your overdue total and days sales outstanding before you change anything.
  3. Automation may be enough. Not every gain needs AI. Reliable rules applied every day did the work here.
  4. Design the exception route. Decide who handles the cases the system flags, and how quickly.

Our view

The smartest move in this story is not the software. It is testing it on your own ledger before asking a client to trust it.

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