It starts from your rules, such as the due date, how many reminders you allow and which channels it can use, then adjusts for each customer using their own history: when they've paid before and which messages they've responded to. Anything the customer does changes the plan, so a payment stops chasing, a promise to pay pauses it and a dispute hands it to you. A new customer with no history gets your default schedule.
In this article
The short version
- AI timing starts from your rules, then adjusts to each customer's payment history and response record.
- Useful patterns are specific to one customer, such as a payment run date or a preference for texts.
- 22% of customer-initiated payments in Adfin's data arrive on the due date, so clear terms matter.
- Payments stop chasing, promises pause it and disputes pass the account to you.
- New customers get your default schedule until a pattern builds.
What the software works from
Every timing decision draws on four kinds of information. You supply the rules, and the customer's own behaviour supplies the rest.
| Input | What it holds | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Your rules | Due dates, how many reminders, minimum gap between contacts, allowed channels | What you set up |
| Payment history | How early or late this customer usually pays, and after which kind of message | Their past invoices with you |
| Response record | Which channel they open or reply to, and how quickly | Your past contact with them |
| What's happening now | Replies, promises, payments, disputes | The current invoice |
A basic reminder tool uses the first row only: the second reminder goes seven days after the due date, for everyone. AI timing uses the other three to decide, within your rules, when this customer should hear from you and how. So if a product tells you it chases intelligently, ask which of those inputs it actually uses.
How a customer's history changes the timing
The useful patterns are specific to one customer. A few examples of what software can pick up from a record:
- A client who always pays in their fortnightly payment run, so a reminder sent just before the run is more useful than one sent the day after it.
- A client who leaves reminder emails unopened but pays within a day of a text.
- A client who pays as soon as they get a statement of everything they owe, but ignores reminders about single invoices.
- A client who's paid on time for two years and is a day late for the first time, who probably needs a light touch, if anything.
None of these is a rule about businesses in general. There's no reliable evidence for a best day or hour to chase across all customers, so treat any product that promises one with some caution. A record tells you something narrower and more useful, which is what this particular client has done before.
The due date carries a lot of weight too. In Adfin's own payment data, 22% of payments made by customers themselves arrive on the due date itself. Customers tend to work to the date you give them, so clear terms on the invoice and a short note a few days beforehand are likely to matter as much as anything that happens afterwards. Software can send that note earlier to customers whose history suggests they'll be late, and skip it for those who never are.
Records also change. A new finance manager at a client's business can reset their pattern overnight, so the software needs to keep reading the latest behaviour instead of treating a customer's profile as fixed.
What pauses or stops a reminder
Some events should change the plan straight away:
- A payment arrives and is matched to the invoice: chasing stops.
- A part payment arrives: chasing continues for the balance, with the amount updated.
- The customer promises a date: the next reminder waits until after it.
- The customer raises a question: it's sorted by what it's about, and anything that needs you is passed to you.
- The customer disputes the invoice: chasing stops and the account comes to you.
- A direct debit is already scheduled for the invoice: there's nothing to chase unless the collection fails.
You'll also want to pause individual customers yourself, for example while you're agreeing a payment plan or when someone tells you they're going through a hard time. Check that a pause applies across every channel at once, so a customer you've paused by email doesn't still get a text.
What it can't take into account
A brand new customer has no history, so they'll get your default schedule until a pattern builds. For a new account, clear terms and a confirmed due date at the start are likely to do more than any timing decision.
Software also can't see what's outside your records. A client whose own biggest customer has just failed looks like a normal payer until the day they don't pay, and a phone call is still the quickest way to find that out.
Adfin's collection agents work this way. You set the rules for each group of customers, including the channels (email, SMS or WhatsApp) and how persistent the chasing can be, and you can let AI choose the timing and channel for each customer from their own history. A reply that needs you is passed to you, and you can pause any single customer whenever you need to.
Common questions
How does AI decide when to chase an invoice? It combines the rules you set with each customer's own record: when they've paid before and which messages they've responded to. Replies and payments on the current invoice can change the plan at any point.
Is there a best time of day to send a payment reminder? No hour has been shown to work best for every business. A client's own record of when they open messages and pay is a better guide for that client.
What happens with a brand new customer? They get your default schedule until there's enough history to adjust it. Clear terms and a confirmed due date matter most at that stage.
Does chasing earlier get you paid faster? For customers who tend to pay late, a short note before the due date is likely to bring payment forward. Software can send it only where a customer's history suggests it's needed.
What happens if a customer promises to pay on a certain date? The next reminder is held until after that date. If the money doesn't arrive, chasing picks up again with a reference to the promise.
Can I override the timing for one customer? Yes. You can pause chasing for a single customer, or move them to a group with different rules, without affecting anyone else.
Sources
- Adfin Help Centre - How to get paid with customer agents (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15288807-how-to-get-paid-with-customer-agents
- Adfin Help Centre - How to pause reminders and collection in Adfin (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/13870679-how-to-pause-reminders-and-collection-in-adfin
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
