Categories / Invoicing/
Reddit r/Accounting: A/R follow-up cut collection time ~70%
Multi-channel overdue follow-up (email → SMS → voicemail drop → human call) cut collection time ~70% for an A/R operator — without sounding like a collections agency.
- Task
- multi-channel overdue follow-up without sounding like collections
- Result
- average collection time ~34 days → ~11 days (~68–70%) after four months (per indexed summary)
- Tools
- SMS + voicemail + email sequence with human escalation (tool names not in excerpt)
- Setup
- 7/14/21/30-day ladder across SMS, voicemail and email
- escalate the last step to a human
- keep tone polite
Step-by-step setup guide
Why this way: r/Accounting post (via search excerpt). Rule-based sequences; AI optional only for tone-checking copy.
Prerequisites
- Open-invoice list with phones/emails.
- Gmail + a business SMS channel (your phone, Twilio, or phone system).
- Time: half a day to write templates and a cadence.
Step-by-step setup
Step 1. Cadence: Day 1 email, Day 5 email, Day 10 SMS, Day 15 voicemail + email, Day 21 human call task.
Step 2. Write 4 short templates (no threats; offer a pay link and a "reply if there's a problem" line).
Step 3. Track in a Sheet: Invoice, Stage, Next action date, Owner.
Step 4. Optional: Zapier/Make schedule moves rows to the next stage and creates Gmail drafts.
Step 5. Escalation: disputes and anything over $X go to a person immediately.
Sources
- Reddit r/Accounting A/R follow-up (excerpt-based)
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