Collections
The step-by-step escalation for getting a client invoice paid after normal reminders have failed.
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What it is
Collections is the escalation process for an invoice that remains unpaid after ordinary reminders: confirm the invoice reached the right person, resolve disputes, send formal notices, pause further work if the contract allows it, and decide whether to use an agency or legal route. Dunning is usually an automated failed-payment flow; collections is the broader human process for a debt that stays outstanding.
Start with an aging report and one complete file: signed contract, PO, accepted deliverables, invoice, due date, reminder history, and client responses. Give every escalation an owner, a date, and a promised next step. A disputed invoice needs resolution, not louder reminders, so split real scope or paperwork issues from clients who simply have not paid. The formal notice has a name where you are: a demand letter in the US, a letter before action in England and Wales, where courts expect one before a claim is filed at all.
Gotcha: continuing to deliver while old invoices age turns one collection problem into several. Use the stop-work right you actually contracted for, keep the tone factual, and never bluff about legal action. Agency fees, legal costs, and recovery rules vary, so check the economics and get local advice before handing the debt off.
Ask AI for it
Build a collections SOP for overdue client invoices tracked with the Stripe Invoices API fields `status`, `due_date`, and `amount_remaining`. Create stages for due-date confirmation, friendly reminder, billing-contact check, dispute resolution, formal notice, contract-authorized stop-work, final demand, and review for agency or legal handoff. For each stage give the day offset, owner, channel, message template, evidence to retain, exit condition, and escalation rule. Stop the sequence immediately when `amount_remaining` reaches zero, and never threaten an action the contract or local counsel has not approved.