Finance Agent
Chases what you are owed, politely and without fail.
What is finance agent?
A finance agent is software that pursues outstanding invoices on a defined schedule, escalating tone as they age, stopping the moment payment arrives, and matching incoming receipts including mobile money against what is owed.
Unpaid invoices sit because nobody enjoys chasing them. The reminder due on Tuesday gets postponed, then the relationship feels awkward, then a month has passed and the conversation is harder than it would have been.
The cost is rarely the eventual write off. It is the working capital tied up in invoices that would have been paid on a polite reminder nobody sent.
An agent sends the reminders on schedule, escalating in tone as an invoice ages, and stops immediately when payment arrives so nobody is chased for money they already sent.
What we will not do with collections
Duara deploys finance agents from Nairobi for businesses where receivables have drifted well past terms and chasing has become nobody job in particular.
We refuse to build aggressive collection sequences. Escalating tone reaches a firm but professional limit and stops, because a supplier who damages a customer relationship over an invoice usually loses more in future orders than the invoice was worth.
Who this is for
- Invoices are paid late because nobody chases
- Matching payments takes hours each week
- Customers get chased for invoices already paid
- Nobody owns receivables in particular
Industries we serve
- Distribution and wholesale
- Construction and trades
- Professional services
- Equipment hire
- Logistics operators
- Manufacturing
Problems this solves
These describe a receivables position that is losing working capital to process rather than to bad debt.
- Reminders that never get sent. Chasing is unpleasant and postponable, so it is postponed, and the invoice ages past the point where a gentle reminder would have worked.
- Chasing customers who already paid. Payments are not matched promptly, so reminders go to people who settled last week, which damages the relationship badly.
- Manual reconciliation consuming hours. Matching mobile money receipts against invoices by eye takes a large share of the finance week.
- Nobody accountable for receivables. Collection belongs to whoever has time, which means it happens sporadically and stops entirely when the business is busy.
What we deliver
Scheduled reminders with escalating but bounded tone, automatic cessation on payment, continuous matching of receipts including M-Pesa, and flagging of anything that does not reconcile.
Scheduled payment reminders that escalate over time
Chasing stopped automatically the moment payment arrives
Payments matched against invoices, including M-Pesa
Unusual or unmatched items flagged for review
Accounts you can exclude from chasing entirely
Reporting on days outstanding and recovery
Features
- Bounded escalation. Tone firms up as an invoice ages and then stops at professional. We do not build aggressive collection language.
- Immediate stop on payment. Matching runs continuously so a customer who has paid never receives the next reminder in the sequence.
- Account level exclusions. Specific customers can be excluded entirely, because some relationships are handled by a person and always should be.
- Mobile money reconciliation. M-Pesa receipts matched against invoices using rules built from your own payment history.
- Dispute detection. A customer replying with a query is routed to a person rather than receiving the next scheduled chase.
Benefits
- Working capital returns sooner. Most late payment responds to a timely polite reminder, which is precisely what does not get sent manually.
- Relationships stay intact. Bounded tone and immediate stopping mean chasing does not cost you the customer.
- Finance stops reconciling by eye. Continuous matching removes the largest manual task in most Kenyan finance teams.
- Receivables get an owner. The chasing happens on schedule regardless of how busy the week is, which is what nobody manages manually.
Technologies we use
- Accounting integration. Reading invoice and payment status from QuickBooks, Xero, Sage or Zoho Books so chasing reflects reality.
- M-Pesa matching. Reconciling mobile money statements against outstanding invoices by reference and amount.
- Sequence scheduling. Reminder timing and tone progression, with hard limits and stop conditions.
- Reply detection. Identifying queries and disputes so those conversations reach a person immediately.
- Exclusion rules. Account and invoice level suppression for relationships handled personally.
Payment matching speed determines whether this helps or harms. An agent chasing customers who already paid does more damage than not chasing at all.
How the process works, step by step
A finance agent is usually chasing live invoices within three to four weeks, starting with the oldest and least sensitive accounts.
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Step 1
Free receivables review
We look at days outstanding, how much is past terms, and how chasing currently happens.
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Step 2
Tone and limits agreed
Reminder wording and the escalation ceiling are agreed with you, along with which accounts are excluded.
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Step 3
Matching connected first
Payment reconciliation goes live before any chasing, so nobody is pursued for a settled invoice.
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Step 4
Chasing on old invoices
The agent starts with the oldest accounts, where the relationship risk is lowest and the value highest.
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Step 5
Full sequence live
Chasing extends to current invoices once matching accuracy and tone have both been proven.
Quality assurance and how we work
The commitments attached to an agent that contacts your customers about money.
- Matching goes live before chasing. Reconciliation is connected first, so nobody is ever pursued for an invoice they have already settled.
- Escalation has a ceiling. Tone firms to professional and stops there. We decline to build aggressive collection sequences.
- Disputes go to a person immediately. A customer who replies with a query never receives the next scheduled chase.
- You control exclusions. Any account can be excluded entirely, because some relationships should only ever be handled by a person.
- It cannot write off or discount. The agent chases and reports. Every decision about money owed stays with your team.
Frequently asked questions about finance agent
Will it annoy good customers?
Tone and timing are yours to set, escalation stops at professional, and any account can be excluded entirely from chasing.
Why does matching go live before chasing?
Because chasing somebody who has already paid does more damage than not chasing at all. Reconciliation must be reliable first.
Can it write off or discount an invoice?
No. It chases and reports. Every decision about money owed remains with your team without exception.
What happens if a customer disputes an invoice?
The reply is detected and routed to a person immediately. That customer receives no further scheduled reminders.
Does it handle M-Pesa?
Yes, reconciling mobile money receipts against outstanding invoices by reference and amount, using rules built from your own history.
How aggressive do the reminders get?
They firm up as an invoice ages and stop at professional. We decline to build aggressive collection language regardless of the request.
Why refuse aggressive sequences?
Because a supplier who damages a customer relationship over one invoice usually loses more in future orders than the invoice was worth.
Which accounting systems does it work with?
QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and Zoho Books among others, read directly so chasing reflects the actual payment position.
How long until it is chasing?
Three to four weeks, with matching connected and proven before any reminder is sent.
Can we exclude specific customers?
Yes, at account level, and most clients exclude their largest relationships so those stay with a person.
Does it phone customers?
Not by default. Written reminders only, unless you specifically want voice chasing scoped separately.
What if a payment reference is missing?
The receipt is flagged as unmatched rather than guessed, and chasing on the related invoice pauses until it is resolved.
Will it help our cash position?
Usually, because most late payment responds to a timely polite reminder, which is exactly what does not get sent manually.
Can it write to customers in Swahili?
Yes, and reminders can go in either language depending on the customer.
Can it escalate to a person automatically?
Yes, at an ageing threshold you set, so genuinely difficult accounts reach your team rather than continuing in sequence.
How do we measure the effect on collections?
Days sales outstanding and the proportion of invoices past terms, compared against the baseline from the receivables review.
What about customers on payment plans?
Those are excluded from standard sequences and tracked separately, since chasing them on normal terms would be wrong.
Does it send statements?
Yes, on a schedule, which frequently resolves more than reminders because it surfaces invoices the customer had not recorded.
Is our customer financial data secure?
It stays within your accounting system, and is never used to train public AI models.
What are the running costs for finance work?
Invoice and reminder volume determine it, quoted from your own receivables figures before anything is agreed.
Glossary of terms
Receivables vocabulary in plain language.
- Days sales outstanding
- The average time invoices take to be paid, and the main measure of receivables health.
- Ageing
- How long an invoice has been outstanding, used to determine reminder tone and priority.
- Reconciliation
- Matching payments received against the invoices they settle.
- Dunning
- The formal term for the sequence of reminders sent about an overdue invoice.
- Dispute
- A customer query about an invoice, which should stop chasing and reach a person.
- Working capital
- Money tied up in the business, including in invoices that have been issued but not paid.
Related services in AI Agents
Talk to us about finance agent
Work out how much is currently past terms and how many of those invoices have had a reminder. The gap is usually the whole argument.
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