The verdict in three sentences
With 1,500 B2B clients and a 110 day DSO, a Dubai facilities maintenance company is effectively financing its customers' working capital. Automated dunning that combines email, SMS and WhatsApp by invoice age, a payment link and risk-based prioritisation costs, in the UAE market, around 25,000 to 50,000 USD. A realistic target is a DSO of 75 days, freeing 1.2 to 1.7 million USD of cash, with go-live in 8 weeks.
Why phone chasing no longer works
The CFO has two credit controllers. They call clients in aged-debt order, without distinguishing the loyal client who always pays at 70 days from the fragile one sliding towards 150 days. Calls go to large balances, and the 900 small invoices under 1,500 USD are never chased before day 90.
Automation does not replace credit controllers. It handles volume and leaves them the 10 to 15 % of accounts that deserve a call.
| Invoice age | Automatic action | Channel | Human step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days before due | Polite reminder with payment link | None | |
| Day +3 | Reminder 1, invoice attached | Email and SMS | None |
| Day +15 | Reminder 2, request for payment date | WhatsApp Business | If client replies |
| Day +30 | Reminder 3, firm tone, manager copied | Call if risk score is high | |
| Day +45 | Formal notice prepared | Email and courier | CFO approval |
| Day +60 | Service suspension proposed | Internal alert | Commercial decision |
Risk scoring at the core
Each client receives a score refreshed every night from its history: average delay over 12 months, 3 month trend, outstanding balance, open disputes and length of relationship. The score sorts clients into three groups. Safe clients only get automatic reminders. Watch-list clients trigger a call from day 15. High-risk clients go to the top of the morning call list, and new work orders require a deposit.
The payment link also changes behaviour. An invoice arriving with a card payment button or a prefilled bank transfer gets settled faster than a PDF that has to travel through the client's accounts payable team.
2026 budget and options
| Option | 2026 order of magnitude (UAE) | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Current manual chasing | 2 FTE, about 9,000 USD per month loaded | No prioritisation, small invoices ignored |
| SaaS dunning tool | 400 to 1,800 USD per month | WhatsApp and scoring often missing |
| Custom automation | 25,000 to 50,000 USD | 8 week project |
| SMS and WhatsApp sending | 400 to 1,100 USD per month | Depends on reminder volume |
| Payment link fees | 2 to 3 % per card transaction | Bank transfer free |
| Maintenance and hosting | 300 to 700 USD per month | Scenario updates |
At Kolonell, this project falls under our custom application grid, medium level: 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), including accounting system connection, multichannel scenarios and scoring. Maintenance is 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA per month (53, 114 or 183 EUR).
Conditions for success
Clean accounting data. The tool connects to Xero, Zoho Books, Odoo or your current invoicing system. Part-paid invoices, unallocated credit notes and uncoded disputes distort reminders. A week of aged-debt clean-up is almost always needed.
A dispute status. A contested invoice must leave the automatic flow immediately. Nothing damages a relationship faster than a firm reminder about a job the client considers badly done.
Communication rules. WhatsApp messages use Meta-approved templates sent to business contacts who opted in. Client data is processed in line with the UAE Personal Data Protection Law.
A shared dashboard. The CFO tracks DSO weekly, response rate by channel, payment promises kept and amounts collected through the payment link.
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Mini case study
Omar, CFO of the Dubai maintenance company, invoices 13 million USD a year (about 48 million AED). With a 110 day DSO, average receivables are 13M x 110 / 365, about 3.9 million USD.
At 75 days, they fall to 13M x 75 / 365, about 2.7 million USD. Freed cash reaches about 1.25 million USD. With an overdraft costing around 8 % a year, the finance cost saving is roughly 100,000 USD a year.
The project costs 40,000 USD, plus 1,300 USD a month for sending and maintenance, 15,600 USD a year. Payback comes in under 6 months on finance costs alone, before counting lower bad-debt write-offs.
FAQ
Will clients resent automated reminders?
Not if the tone is graduated and the first message arrives before the due date. In practice, 30 to 40 % of invoices are paid after the pre-due reminder or day 3 reminder, without any call.
Is WhatsApp dunning compliant?
Yes, through the WhatsApp Business API with approved templates and opted-in contacts. Each business message costs in the order of a few cents.
Do we need to change accounting software?
No. The tool reads invoices and payments from your current system by API or daily export, then writes payment promises back as notes.
How quickly does DSO improve?
First effects show from month two. A 75 day DSO is usually reached in 6 to 9 months, the time needed to work through older invoices.
What happens to credit controllers?
They focus on 150 to 200 high-risk accounts instead of 1,500 clients, and on negotiating payment plans.
Let's scope your project. We define with you the dunning scenarios, channels, scoring and the link to your accounting system, for go-live in about eight weeks. 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.
