The starting point

Take an SME that sends around fifteen reminders a week. This volume is there to illustrate the method; it is not a market average. Before any trial, measure over a representative week the time spent on each step: finding the invoice, checking for payment, reading through the client's history, drafting, getting approval, sending. Separate the simple cases (a forgotten payment) from disputes and requests for information.

Who does what

  1. The accounting software (Bexio, Abacus or another) supplies the list of overdue invoices, the amount and the due date. These figures are never typed in by AI.
  2. AI prepares the text of the reminder from this data and a template approved by the company, adapting the tone to the reminder level and the client history it is allowed to see.
  3. A person checks the recipient, the amount, the due date and the client's situation (payment under way, special arrangement, dispute), then sends it.
  4. The software records the reminder in the client's file.

A dispute, an incomplete file or a payment arrangement leaves the standard flow and is handled by a person. A reminder must never invent a commercial or legal decision (a discount, an extension, a threat of debt collection proceedings).

When can a reminder go out on its own?

We apply the same rule everywhere: at the start, every reminder is an approved draft. Automatic sending is only allowed for one specific, low-risk category, here the first standard reminder for an undisputed invoice, after at least four weeks of approved drafts in that category without any substantive correction, and on a written decision by the person responsible, who can stop it at any time. Later reminders, formal notices, clients in dispute and any change to amounts or terms remain approved by a person. You also need a log of what has been sent, limited rights in the accounting software and a procedure for when a reminder goes to the wrong recipient or with the wrong amount.

Calculating a net gain

Calculation assumption: fifteen reminders a week, ten minutes actually saved per reminder (review included) and a fully loaded hourly cost of CHF 80. The calculation gives 15 × 10 ÷ 60 × 80 = CHF 200 a week, or about CHF 867 a month (52 weeks ÷ 12). That is capacity expressed in francs, before licences, running costs and set-up, and not necessarily a cash saving.

Replace the ten minutes with the measured difference between before and after, checks and corrections included. If only eight reminders go through the new flow, count eight. Then subtract the monthly costs and the share of set-up costs for the period. Compare several weeks before drawing conclusions. Our ROI guide sets out the method with a full example.

Assistant or automation?

At low volume, an assistant is enough: the person pastes in the invoice details and gets a draft. With high volume and accounting software that can export its data, automation that prepares all the week's reminders becomes worthwhile. Our analysis of team assistant or automation gives the four questions that settle it.

What budget should you plan for?

A half-day AI Workshop (CHF 1,900 excluding VAT) is enough to break down the process, write the reminder template and start a trial with an assistant. Connecting AI to your accounting software falls under our AI Engineering offer: one to three weeks of scoping, then a firm quote that separates process analysis, the connection, testing and follow-up. The steps for a fuller agent are described in our guide to putting an AI agent on a real process.