The problem
Commercial pest contracts are steady work, but restaurants, managing agents and small food firms often pay late. Invoices sit in someone's inbox until you ring. Chasing 12 overdue invoices a month at around 20 minutes each, across calls and emails, is 4 hours a month, usually done in the evening.
What the AI does
ServiceM8's quote and invoice follow-up lets you build a sequence of up to five email and text follow-ups that go out when an invoice hasn't been paid. Each invoice can carry a link to an online invoice and card payment page, so the client can pay there and then. You only step in for the ones the sequence doesn't move.
A worked example
A pest control firm in Cardiff invoices 35 monthly contract clients and a steady flow of one-off jobs through ServiceM8. They set a three-step follow-up for unpaid invoices: a friendly reminder, a second with the payment link, and a firmer final note.
Before
12 overdue invoices a month chased by hand, about 4 hours of calls and emails
After
Most paid after an automatic reminder; the owner rings only the 2 or 3 that are left, about 1 hour a month
What it's worth
About $120£90€107A$173C$169 a month in time saved, against $33£25€30A$48C$47 to $78£59€70A$113C$111 for the software. That is 3 hours a month less chasing (4 hours down to 1), at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour, before counting the benefit of being paid sooner.
How to set it up
- Choose a ServiceM8 plan that covers your monthly jobs: Starter is $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month for 50 jobs, Growing $78£59€70A$113C$111 for 150, excluding VAT.
- Connect ServiceM8 Pay or your payment provider so invoices carry a card payment link.
- Set up an invoice follow-up sequence of two to four steps and write each message in your own words, starting polite.
- Put your payment terms on every invoice and contract, so the reminders refer to something the client agreed.
- Check the overdue list each Friday and ring anyone the sequence hasn't moved.
What goes wrong
- Card payments through ServiceM8 Pay cost 1.65% + 20p for standard UK cards on its page; larger contract clients may prefer to pay by bank transfer.
- A reminder that reaches the wrong person in a big organization gets ignored. Ask each client for their accounts payable email address.
- Don't send a firm reminder to a client who has already told you about a dispute. Pause the sequence for that invoice and talk to them.
- If you also send invoices from Xero, make sure only one system is chasing, or clients will get two sets of reminders.