The verdict in three sentences
For a distribution SME in Abidjan whose days sales outstanding (DSO) has reached 87 days, automating collections costs 3 to 8 million FCFA (about €4,600 to €12,200) and goes live in 6 weeks. By combining email, SMS and WhatsApp Business with a Wave payment link, a realistic target is DSO down to 55 days within six months. Every day gained frees up one day of revenue in cash, which pays back the project in a few months once revenue exceeds 2 billion FCFA.
The dunning sequence that gets invoices paid
Every night the engine reads the aged balance in Sage, segments customers (key accounts, retailers, risky resellers) and triggers the right action at the right time. The message includes the amount, the invoice number and a Wave link that lets the customer pay in two taps from their phone. The payment received is matched automatically and stops the sequence.
| Step | Channel | Content | 2026 unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days before due date | Polite reminder and PDF invoice | Close to zero | |
| Due date | WhatsApp Business | Amount, invoice, Wave payment link | USD 0.03 to 0.08 (18 to 48 FCFA) |
| Due date + 7 | SMS | Short reminder with Wave link | 15 to 25 FCFA |
| Due date + 15 | WhatsApp + CRM task | Reminder and call from the assigned sales rep | USD 0.03 to 0.08 |
| Due date + 30 | Registered email | Formal notice and order block in Sage | Close to zero |
| Due date + 45 | Internal escalation | File handed to the CFO or legal | Human time |
On 1,500 invoices a month and an average of three paid messages per chased invoice, messaging costs about 135,000 FCFA a month (around €205), plus hosting. Wave merchant fees, around 1% in Côte d'Ivoire, remain lower than the cost of collecting by cheque or courier.
How much cash one day of DSO frees up
The maths is simple: one day less of DSO means one day of revenue collected earlier. The table below applies a bank overdraft cost of 9.5% a year, a 2026 order of magnitude for an SME in the WAEMU zone.
| Annual revenue | Cash per DSO day | For 10 days | For 32 days (87 to 55) | Interest saved per year (32 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 billion FCFA | 2.74 M FCFA | 27.4 M FCFA | 87.7 M FCFA | 8.3 M FCFA |
| 2 billion FCFA | 5.48 M FCFA | 54.8 M FCFA | 175.3 M FCFA | 16.7 M FCFA |
| 3.65 billion FCFA | 10 M FCFA | 100 M FCFA | 320 M FCFA | 30.4 M FCFA |
| 5 billion FCFA | 13.7 M FCFA | 137 M FCFA | 438.4 M FCFA | 41.6 M FCFA |
| 10 billion FCFA | 27.4 M FCFA | 274 M FCFA | 876.7 M FCFA | 83.3 M FCFA |
Lower bad debt comes on top of this gain: invoices chased from the due date are far less likely to end up written off than those discovered at 90 days.
The detailed project budget
| Module | 2026 range | What is delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Sage connector | 0.8 to 2 M FCFA | Reads aged balance and receipts, blocks orders |
| Sequence engine | 1 to 2.5 M FCFA | Rules per customer segment, calendar, dispute exclusions |
| WhatsApp Business API | 0.4 to 1 M FCFA | Verified number, message templates approved by Meta |
| Wave payment link | 0.5 to 1.5 M FCFA | One link per invoice and automatic matching |
| DSO dashboard | 0.3 to 1 M FCFA | DSO per customer and per sales rep, cash forecast |
| Total project | 3 to 8 M FCFA | Live in 6 weeks |
The low end covers a single sequence and a single company, the high end several segments, several Sage companies and a customer portal.
Mini case study
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Mariam, CFO of a hygiene products distributor in Abidjan, manages 600 customers for revenue of 3.65 billion FCFA and a DSO of 87 days. The project is billed 5.5 M FCFA (about €8,400), then roughly 2.2 M FCFA a year for messaging and hosting. Six months after go-live, DSO drops to 55 days: 320 M FCFA of cash freed (about €488,000), and the 9.5% overdraft costs 30.4 M FCFA less per year. Net annual gain: 30.4 − 2.2 = 28.2 M FCFA. Payback: 5.5 ÷ 28.2 × 12, about 2.3 months. The two accounting assistants who spent their afternoons on the phone now focus on genuine disputes.
FAQ
Won't customers resent WhatsApp reminders?
Tone and frequency are set per segment: a key account gets one email 5 days before and a single WhatsApp message, a risky reseller gets the full sequence. In practice, 60 to 70% of payments follow the message containing the Wave link, which shows reminders are mostly seen as a service.
Do we need to change accounting software?
No. The connector reads Sage as installed, on-premise or cloud, and only writes matched receipts. Budget 0.8 to 2 M FCFA for this component.
Can we add Orange Money and MTN MoMo on top of Wave?
Yes, each additional payment method adds 0.4 to 1 M FCFA of integration. Wave remains the first choice for its simplicity and fees of around 1%.
How long before DSO starts falling?
The first effects show in month one, on invoices issued after go-live. The 55-day target is realistic within 4 to 6 months, once the legacy backlog is cleared.
What happens to disputed invoices?
They are removed from the sequence as soon as a sales rep or accountant flags them as disputed in the dashboard. This avoids chasing a customer who is waiting for a credit note, the main cause of complaints.
Let's scope your project. Send us your anonymised aged balance and your Sage version: we will price the scope (channels, segments, Wave or Orange Money), an indicative budget between 3 and 8 million FCFA and a 6-week plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
