The verdict in three sentences
An automated overdue-dunning engine for a firm in Toronto costs 5M to 15M FCFA (8,000 to 23,000 EUR) in 2026, depending on channels (email, SMS, call) and depth of billing integration. It cuts DSO by 10 to 20 days by chasing every invoice at the right moment, with no oversight. For a CFO the ROI is obvious: freed cash covers the investment in 3 to 6 months.
The automated dunning scenarios
The engine applies a graduated sequence, tuned to customer risk and amount. Each step triggers automatically based on the due date.
| Step | Trigger | Channel | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtesy reminder | Due date -3 d | Preventive | |
| First reminder | Due date +3 d | Neutral | |
| Second reminder | Due date +10 d | Email + SMS | Firm |
| Sales escalation | Due date +20 d | Call + email | Insistent |
| Formal notice | Due date +35 d | Letter + email | Formal |
| Payment-promise follow-up | On commitment | Auto SMS | Date reminder |
Cost and cash-flow impact
Budget depends on invoice volume and integrations. Here are the tiers and DSO effect. 2026 order of magnitude.
| Tier | Scope | Cost (FCFA) | DSO effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | Email scenarios + dashboard | 5M - 8M | -10 days |
| Standard | + SMS + risk segmentation | 8M - 12M | -15 days |
| Advanced | + escalation + full accounting integration | 12M - 15M | -20 days |
| Annual maintenance | Support & scenarios | 1M - 2M/yr | - |
| Cost / reminder sent | Email/SMS | ~15 - 60 FCFA | - |
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Daniel, CFO of a distribution SME in Toronto, manages 420M FCFA of receivables with a 62-day DSO. Manual dunning is irregular. After a 10M FCFA dunning engine, DSO drops to 46 days, i.e. -16 days. On revenue of 2.5B FCFA/year, this frees 16 x (2.5B / 365) = ~110M FCFA of cash one time. The investment pays back in under 4 months, before counting the drop in definitive bad debt.
FAQ
How does the engine segment customers? It ranks each account by risk level (payment history, age, amount) and adapts the intensity and tone of dunning. A good payer gets a courtesy reminder; a poor payer escalates faster.
Does it integrate with our billing software? Yes: we connect Sage, Odoo or a local solution via API or import. The engine reads open invoices in real time and updates status the moment payment clears, avoiding chasing a customer already up to date.
Is SMS effective for collections? Yes, SMS open rates far exceed email in West Africa and many markets. Coupling email and SMS at key steps markedly raises the collection rate.
What does the collections dashboard track? It shows DSO, receivables by aging bucket, payment promises and the effectiveness of each scenario. The CFO steers collections without re-keying.
What concrete ROI should we expect? Cutting DSO by 10 to 20 days frees cash that, for an SME billing over 1B FCFA/year, far exceeds the project cost. ROI is usually reached in 3 to 6 months.
Let's scope your project. Share your receivables balance, current DSO and billing software; we will price an automated dunning engine with an indicative budget of 5M to 15M FCFA. 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.
