· Reviewed by Nimra Khalid
What are dunning services?
Dunning services are the structured sequence of reminders a business sends when an invoice is due or overdue: a courtesy note before the due date, then escalating messages by email, text and phone until the invoice is paid or a dispute is raised. Outsourced dunning means a remote team runs that sequence under your brand and records every step.
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Payment reminders: what we do and how it runs
Dunning services are the structured sequence of reminders a business sends when an invoice is due or overdue: a courtesy note before the due date, then escalating messages by email, text and phone until the invoice is paid or a dispute is raised. Outsourced dunning means a remote team runs that sequence under your brand and records every step.
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What it is
Dunning services are the structured sequence of reminders a business sends when an invoice is due or overdue: a courtesy note before the due date, then escalating messages by email, text and phone until the invoice is paid or a dispute is raised. Outsourced dunning means a remote team runs that sequence under your brand and records every step.
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What you get
Written reminder cadence by aging bucket, sent in your name
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How it runs
Email, SMS and phone from one dedicated specialist through DunningDesk
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Discovery call
A 20-minute call to understand your customers, terms, current reminder habits and where the relationship risks are. We agree tone: friendly, firm, or somewhere in between.
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A named accountant, a backup and a team lead
Inside your own software, on a fixed close calendar, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or start a quote.
Get a custom quote 06 / 06
Who it is for
Owner-operators
You send reminders when you remember, usually when cash is short, and you hate making the calls. You want a calm, consistent sequence that runs whether or not you are busy.
Bookkeepers and office managers
You already post payments but have no time to chase, and generic software reminders are being ignored. You want a person behind the reminders who can answer a reply.
Subscription and retainer businesses
Failed cards and lapsed retainers drift for weeks. You want the first reminder out within a day and a promise to pay followed up on the day it falls due.
What's included
- Reminder cadence designed with you: timing, tone and channel per bucket
- Pre-due courtesy note with invoice copy and payment link
- Escalating email reminders at fixed days past due
- SMS reminders where the customer has opted in
- Phone follow-up in your name from the agreed bucket onward
- Promise-to-pay log with automatic follow-up on the promised date
- Replies, queries and invoice-copy requests answered from your branded mailbox
- Disputes logged and removed from the cadence until resolved
- Failed card and expired card sequences for subscription clients
- Cadence pauses for sensitive accounts and payment plans
- Weekly report of contacts made, responses and payments received
- Monthly collection-rate and reminder-effectiveness review
Deliverables and KPIs
| Deliverable | KPI we report | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Reminders sent | Every overdue invoice contacted within 1 business day of entering a bucket | Per invoice |
| Promise-to-pay follow-up | Every broken promise contacted on the next business day | Weekly |
| Reply handling | Customer replies answered within 1 business day | Weekly |
| Contact log | Every email, SMS and call recorded against the invoice | Per invoice |
| Collection report | Collection rate and days-to-pay by bucket with month-on-month movement | Monthly |
KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement.
How it works
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Discovery call
A 20-minute call to understand your customers, terms, current reminder habits and where the relationship risks are. We agree tone: friendly, firm, or somewhere in between.
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Cadence and templates
We draft the reminder cadence, email and SMS templates and call scripts in your voice and send them for approval. You grant access to your accounting or reminder tool and a branded mailbox within 48 to 72 hours.
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Dedicated specialist assigned
A named billing specialist, a backup and a team lead run the sequence. The first two weeks run with a daily summary so you can adjust wording before it settles.
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Weekly run and monthly review
Reminders go out daily, replies are handled, promises to pay are tracked and payments are posted. Each month you receive the collection report and we tune timing and wording based on what customers responded to.
Software we work in
How much does payment reminders cost?
Payment reminder services are priced as a share of a dedicated billing specialist's time, sized by the number of overdue invoices each month and the channels you want, or per invoice chased for high-volume, low-value billing. There is no setup fee and engagements run month-to-month. Pricing depends on volume and scope, so we send a custom quote within 1 business day.
What moves the quote
- Number of invoices entering the reminder sequence each month
- Channels used: email only, or email plus SMS and phone
- Countries called and the recording and consent rules that apply
- Whether replies, disputes and payment posting are included
Market benchmarks
| Market | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | Dedicated offshore billing staff $8 to $35 per hour all-inclusive; US-based equivalents $40 to $75 per hour | Madras, Acculink, Rose Talent (2026) |
| UK | Bookkeeping and credit control support £20 to £55 per hour; fixed fees £100 to £1,500 per month | UK provider pricing surveys (2026) |
| Canada | Freelance bookkeeping and AR support C$30 to C$90 per hour | Outsource Bookkeeping CA, TheAccTaxCo (2026) |
Third-party ranges for orientation, not our prices.
Get a custom quote No setup fee. Month-to-month.
Payment reminders for your industry
Case study
90+ day AR down 62%
Case studyCutting 90+ day AR by 62% for a home-care agency
A home-care agency in the Midwest billed a mix of Medicaid waiver programs, managed-care plans, long-term care insurance and private-pay families. Claims went out, but nobody owned the follow-up. Denials sat in the clearinghouse, family invoices were sent once and forgotten, and the 90+ day bucket grew every month. The agency engaged LedgerBPO for home-care billing, accounts receivable and AR follow-up calls. A named billing specialist, a backup and a team lead worked inside the agency's scheduling software, clearinghouse and QuickBooks Online. Over the engagement the 90+ day AR balance fell by 62%. The agency did not add staff, change payers or switch software. It added a team whose only job was to bill cleanly and follow every unpaid claim and invoice to a resolution.
Security and compliance
- Customers pay through your portal or bank; agents never take or store card details
- TCPA and FDCPA-aware scripts in the US; PECR, ACMA and CRTC rules elsewhere
- Branded mailbox and phone line with MFA; every contact logged and reviewable
Full control list on the security page and country rules on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Frequently asked questions
How much do dunning services cost?
Pricing depends on volume and scope, and we send a custom quote within 1 business day. As a market reference, dedicated offshore billing staff cost $8 to $35 per hour all-inclusive, compared with $40 to $75 per hour for US-based staff (Madras, Acculink, Rose Talent, 2026). Email-only sequences for a few dozen invoices need only a small share of a specialist; phone follow-up adds time per account.
What does a typical reminder cadence look like?
A courtesy note three days before the due date, a friendly reminder on day one past due, a firmer note at day seven, a phone call at day fourteen, and a final notice at day thirty stating the next step you have chosen. Timing and tone are set with you and can differ by customer group. Nothing goes out that you have not approved.
Will reminders damage my customer relationships?
Not when they are courteous, accurate and consistent. Most late payments are forgetfulness or a missing PO number, and a polite reminder with the invoice attached resolves them. Because every reminder carries the correct invoice and a payment link, customers see organization rather than pressure. Sensitive accounts can be paused for your personal call.
Do reminders go out in my name?
Yes. Emails come from your domain, SMS from your number, and calls are made as your accounts team. Templates use your wording and your signature block. Customers never see the LedgerBPO name unless you choose to mention it. If you already use Chaser or Xero reminders, we run them from those tools under the same branding.
What happens when a customer promises to pay?
The promise is logged with the date and amount in the promise-to-pay log and the cadence pauses. If payment arrives, it is posted and the invoice closes. If it does not, the specialist follows up on the next business day. Repeated broken promises are flagged so you can decide on a credit hold or a payment plan.
Are your calls and texts compliant?
Calls and texts follow TCPA and FDCPA-aware scripts in the US, PECR and Ofcom rules in the UK, ACMA rules in Australia and CRTC rules in Canada. SMS is only sent where the customer has opted in, calls are made in permitted hours, and recording notices follow each country's requirements. Our payment reminder calls service page describes the calling rules in detail.
Can you chase failed card payments for subscriptions?
Yes. For Stripe, Invoiced and similar platforms we run a failed-payment sequence: retries on the processor's schedule, then emails and SMS with a secure update-card link. Customers update their card in your portal. Our subscription billing service covers the full recurring billing operation if you need more than reminders.
What if reminders do not work?
The account moves to our first-party collections service, where a specialist makes structured, courteous calls in your name and works toward a payment date or a payment plan. If that fails, we hand you the complete contact history so you can decide on the next step yourself. We do not refer accounts to third parties.
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