Still chasing down payments manually? It’s time to reduce your time spend on collections admin. Stop chasing late payments, sending reminders, and manually tracking outstanding invoices. These are all tasks that can be handled in a few seconds with a few quick clicks.
It’s time to automate your collections.
When you automate collections, you free up energy, time, and the bandwidth to focus on growth. Automation allows you to eliminate human error, improve process efficiency, reduce delays, and build a system where you can predict your cash flow and control your financial future.
When you’re a leader in the restoration industry (and we know you are), the cost of misused time and money increases exponentially. Stop hamstringing your business. Instead, make the single business adjustment that our industry’s power-players swear by.
Read on to discover how automating your accounts receivable (AR) collections will transform your business, boost your cash flow, and finally allow you to unlock effortless collections.
Why Automate: Maximize Your Efficiency
While automation often gets a bad rap in the news, we’ve found very few people actually mind it once they see the benefits. Automation doesn’t mean slashing hours or cutting your team. It means streamlining your admin and repetitive tasks to let your team focus on the work they deem most important.
Here are some of the benefits to expect when you bring automation to your organization:
Effortless Consistency
One of the biggest problems with manual collections is inconsistency. Different team members each handle accounts in their own way. One employee might be diligent with reminders, while another lets delinquencies slip through the cracks. While we’re all about individuality, this lack of consistency impacts your cash flow and diminishes your company’s reputation. What if you could save time and improve consistency without having to retrain or micromanage your team?
With automation, you set the rules, and the system follows them—every time. Easy.
No more missed follow-ups. No more inconsistent communication. No more human error or wounded egos. Plus, your team gets to focus on their engaging, higher-value work. And every customer gets the same process and treatment, which means you get consistent results and happy customers.
Scale Without Sacrifice
You want to grow your business, right? We thought so.
But more growth means more customers, more projects, and more invoices to manage.
When you rely on manual processes, scaling your business can feel like a burden because every aspect of growth means additional time adding, adjusting, and trying to keep up.
Automation gives you the ability to scale effortlessly. Handle more accounts, more customers, and more work without ever sacrificing quality or missing a beat. Trust us, this is a systems change that no systems administrator will fear, resist, or resent. It will only make their life easier.
Faster Payments and Fewer Delays Even your very best employees make mistakes. Maybe someone forgets to send an invoice, maybe the wrong amount gets entered, or maybe you miscalculate a due date.
Whatever the reason, those mistakes lead to payment delays. And those delays? They steal from your bottom line.
Automation eliminates human error. Increase accuracy and save your team time, shame, and the need for avoidable discussions. Instead, let them focus on the work that’s most exciting to them. It’s definitely not the admin; we all know that.
More Time for Strategy Instead of manually sending out reminders, following up on payments, and dealing with disputes, have a system that does it all for you. Get out of grinding, and instead, focus on strategy.
Automation takes repetitive, low-value tasks off your plate so you and your team can instead channel your energy into the activities that will make the biggest impact on your bottom line.
Curious how to make all of the above so? Let’s take a moment to talk about AR Workflow.
AR Workflow is an accounts receivable automation platform that we’ve designed specifically for the restoration business to help business owners get paid faster.
With AR Workflow you can build a process that guarantees every customer gets the right message at the right time, every time. Streamline payment collection processes through automated follow-ups, customizable workflows, and real-time tracking.
With a system like AR Workflow, every task is completed on time, every invoice is accurate, and every reminder goes out as scheduled. Enjoy increased professionalism and improved cash flow. Fewer disputes, faster payments, and a smoother process await you and your customers.
Liberate your team to focus on more engaging and strategic items than mindless follow-up. That’s what we call supercharging your business and your team’s impact.
Want effortless consistency, scale without sacrifice, faster payments, and more time for strategy? We bet you do. Let’s dive into tactics.
The Three Automated Tools That Make the Difference
Now that you understand the benefits that await after automation, let’s get into the brass tacks that’ll make it so: automated reminders, workflow automation, and process automation.
Automated Reminders: Get Paid Faster How often do you find yourself waiting on payments, wondering if your customer just forgot?
Honestly, they probably did. But you don’t have to wait for them to remember or remind them. Not if you have automated reminders going.
Automated reminders take the stress off you and your team while ensuring that your customers always have payment top of mind. Stop wasting time on calls, emails, and follow-ups.
Here are 3 automated reminders that we recommend adding to your process:
Pre-Due Date Reminders
Set it and forget it – ahead of time. With automated pre-due date reminders, you can send a gentle nudge a few days before that invoice is due.
This reminder can include a direct link to your payment portal, making it easy for your customer to pay without having to think twice. By giving them a heads-up, you’re not only helping them out, but you’re also ensuring you get paid faster.
Try It Yourself: Set up a reminder to be sent five days before the due date, letting your customer know their payment is coming up soon. Watch the results (and cash) flow in. Feel free to tell us about it - we love success stories.
Due Date Reminders
When the due date arrives, set up your system to send out another reminder day-off letting the customer know it’s time to pay up.
These reminders can be polite but firm, reinforcing the expectation that payment is now due.
Let your system do the hard work for you. You get to skip the excuses and yet, those payments will come in.
Post-Due Date Reminders
If your customer misses the due date, automation doesn’t let it slide. Automation also doesn’t get uncomfortable reminding them they’re overdue.
With post-due date reminders, the system follows up right away, so customers are reminded again (and potentially again) to make their payment.
This reminder should include a note about any late fees or penalties to create a sense of urgency, remind the customer of expectations, and encourage prompt payment.
AR Workflow lets you fully customize these reminders to match your brand’s tone and style. Whether you prefer a friendly reminder or a more formal approach, you’re always in control, but the system does all the heavy lifting.
Save time. Get paid faster. Stop feeling bad or getting annoyed about asking for what’s yours. Get your time back with automation.
Workflow Automation: Take Control of the Entire Collections Process
You know what’s better than sending automated reminders?
Automating your entire collections process.
With workflow automation, you can build a process that handles everything—from first invoice to the last payment follow-up. And it’s simpler than it sounds. We promise.
Here are 3 ways to start bringing automation to your workflow.
Customized Workflows for Customers & Circumstances
One of the most powerful features of workflow automation is the ability to create customized workflows based on different types of customers or varying scenarios.
By customizing your workflows, you can offer different communications and reminders to new customers versus returning customers or handle customers with a history of late payments differently. You can even customize your workflow based on project type or adjust your communication depending on the style of the customer. It’s all customizable and will have a clear impact on your response time and bottom line.
You build it, the system runs it.
Read our article 5 Communication Hacks to Get You Paid Faster to learn how to segment your customer base based on their customer style.
Automated Task Assignments
The next hack for workflow automation is automated task assignments for your team.
Implementing automated task assignments ensures that each account receives timely attention. Set up rules that automatically assign tasks to team members based on specific criteria, such as account type, payment history, or overdue duration. This targeted approach ensures that the appropriate team member addresses each situation promptly and properly and in a way that plays to your team member’s strengths.
For example, if a customer isn’t responding to reminders, the system can trigger a task for one of your team members to follow up via phone call or send a more formal message.
Automated task assignments allow you to create customizable assignment rules. Tailor follow-up actions based on various factors, including account size, client relationship, or payment patterns. By aligning tasks with team members' expertise and the account's requirements, you can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your collections process.
Automated Escalation Processes
Stop late payments from escalating into a crisis by also adding escalation processes into your automated workflow. Systemize and automate the steps that occur if a payment is overdue for a certain amount of time for more control and more timely settlements.
When a customer doesn't respond, you can configure escalation protocols that trigger additional actions, such as assigning a follow-up task to a senior team member or scheduling a more formal communication. This helps prevent accounts from becoming delinquent by ensuring persistent and appropriate follow-up.
For example, after 30 days, your automated workflow might escalate the issue to a higher level, trigger a demand letter, or even involve legal action if necessary.
For payments that remain unpaid beyond a critical threshold (e.g., 60 or 90 days), the workflow can also escalate the issue by notifying the legal department to consider further action, such as engaging a collection agency or initiating legal proceedings.
By automating these escalation steps, you address payment issues proactively, demonstrating to customers your commitment to timely payments and reducing the risk of accounts becoming significantly delinquent.
With AR Workflow, each workflow can have its own steps and style of communication. Whether it’s sending reminders, scheduling follow-up calls, or escalating late payments to a manager, we have an automated, yet customized approach for every scenario.
Beyond that, you can easily create automated task assignments and escalation processes to keep your business moving smoothly without any delay or drama.
Once you dip your toe into workflow automation, you’ll suddenly see all the places you can automate and will be joyously shocked at how much time you suddenly have.
We’ve found that business owners often save up to 20 hours a week when they automate their workflows. What would you do with 20 more hours a week? We can’t wait to hear about the solutions you’ve found and the time you’ve saved.
Automation Beyond Collections: Elevate the Customer Experience
Automation isn’t just about making your collections process easier. It’s also about improving your overall customer experience. When you automate, you’re giving your customers a seamless, efficient, and hassle-free way to manage their payments. This builds loyalty and your professionalism.
Here are two ways to bring automation into your customer process for a more human-forward experience.
Keep a Personal Touch with Thank Yous and Reminders
Set up reminders for upcoming services and send automated thank-you notes when payments are made.
These small touches can have a big impact on customer loyalty. Keep the lines of communication open without it taking up your time. By automating the communication that matters most to you, you’ll stay consistent in tone and courtesy and you’ll never miss a beat.
Get Better Every Day with Feedback Collection
Major industry leaders are always improving. How? They’re collecting feedback. We know that getting feedback can often be a chore. But, this too, you can automate.
After a payment is made or a project is completed, automatically send a survey to gather insights into your customers’ experience. Continuous improvement is key to staying competitive. Make improving effortless with automation.
AR Workflow can send feedback collection requests and even comes with over 30 industry-tested copy-and-paste-ready templates that will cut your collection time in half.
Use our success-vetted templates to draft collection emails, send SMS reminders, make collection calls, and discover where you have room to grow.
Take Control of Your Cash Flow with Automated Collections
You deserve to get paid on time. It’s time to take control of your accounts receivable and make sure your collections process is working as hard as you are.
Stop wasting time on manual tasks. Stop seeing payments slip through the cracks. Start automating and take your business to the next level.
Automation with AR Workflow is your path to effortless collections, faster payments, and more control over your business.
Try our 14-day free trial of AR Workflow to see the difference automation makes. We’re invested in your success - join us.
Free yourself from the grind and step into a future where your collections process runs like a well-oiled machine. Are you ready to unlock effortless collections?
Take control today—and watch your business thrive
So, what are you waiting for? Start implementing these strategies today. Take action. Make it easier, make it faster, and make it better for your customers. Find the best tool for you.
The result? A business that’s more profitable, more efficient, and more successful than ever. And you’re more organized and spending less time on admin. Grow your business without the stress. Your business deserves it, and so do you.
We’re invested in your success. Try our 14-day free trial and see the AR Workflow difference for yourself.
Turn Theory into Success with AR Workflow
While the above may all sound well and good, how are you going to work this advice into already existing workflows and project processes? We know you’re already overworked, exhausted, and pushed to your limit.
Being professional, organized, and befriending your adjuster can be easy. We like to use all of the above with AR Workflow. While there’s plenty of project management tools out there, we designed AR Workflow for our industry and restoration professionals like you
Consolidated Documentation
Remember what we said about thorough documentation and transparent communication?
That can start with AR Workflow.
With AR Workflow you’re always ready for questions or conversations. Keep all photos, notes, communications, and status updates in one place. Save time, while you level up the quality of your project management. Build comprehensive dossiers for each project to accelerate project completion, easy communication, and your payment timeline.
Customized Analytics & Insights
AR Workflow helps you keep your own stress low and your head clear with easy-to-understand, real-time insights and analytics on your project. By knowing what’s going on, you’ll be able to successfully communicate and negotiate skillfully with your adjuster. Make data-driven decisions, standardize operating procedures, and refine your process. Success starts with these real-time AR Workflow insights.
Automated Email & SMS Reminders
Lastly, AR Workflow keeps your communication with your adjuster consistent and professional with reminders, automation, and customizable email and SMS templates. Communicate clearly to accelerate your project, and always be ready and prepared for a successful encounter with your adjuster.
Sound like the kind of business you’d like to be running? We think so.
Try our 14-day free trial and see the AR Workflow difference for yourself.
The Path to Faster Payments and Long-Term Success
The restoration business is tough, but when you master the art of working with insurance adjusters, you unlock the door to faster payments, repeat business, and long-term success.
Understand their challenges, build trust through professionalism and consistency, and document everything with precision. When you do this, you’re not just another contractor—you’re the contractor they trust and want to work with. And use this article to guide your success to becoming “that contractor.”
By leveraging tools like AR Workflow to streamline your documentation, communication, and project management, you make it even easier for adjusters to say “yes” to your claims. And the more “yeses” you get, the faster you’ll get paid and the stronger your relationship with your adjuster.
This is your time. Step up and become the contractor who makes adjusters’ lives easier. It’s time for your business to take off. Faster payments, stronger relationships, and endless opportunities are all within your reach—go after them by adjusting your relationship with your adjuster. That change starts today!
Take Back Control of Your Payments
and Your Restoration Business
Mortgage companies might be shaping the future of restoration payments, but that doesn’t mean you have to be at their mercy. By understanding their processes, building strong relationships, streamlining your operations, and managing your cash flow, you can take back control of your payments—and your business.
This is your business. Rise above the challenges, take control of the process, and create the space for exponential growth. The future is in your hands—are you ready to seize it?
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