Case study
How a construction services company streamlined invoice follow-ups with AI-powered collections
A construction and engineering services provider implemented Squirrels.ai to automate customer follow-ups, improve accounts receivable visibility, and reduce the manual effort required to manage overdue invoices.
Real-time visibility
into customer responses and payment status
Multi-channel outreach
across calls, emails, and texts
Automated follow-ups
for overdue invoice communication
Overview
A construction and engineering services company specializing in commercial infrastructure projects wanted to improve the efficiency of its accounts receivable operations.
The company managed a high volume of customer invoices that required regular follow-ups through phone calls, emails, and text messages. While the finance team maintained strong customer relationships, the repetitive nature of invoice reminders consumed valuable time and limited their ability to focus on strategic financial activities.
The company explored how AI could help automate routine communication while maintaining a professional customer experience.
After evaluating multiple AI use cases, the company partnered with Squirrels.ai to implement an AI AR Collections agent designed to manage invoice reminders, capture customer responses, and provide better visibility into collection activity.
Client at a glance
Industry
Construction and engineering services
Primary challenge
Managing high-volume invoice follow-ups with limited accounts receivable resources
Business model
Project-based infrastructure and commercial service contracts
AI solution implemented
AI-powered accounts receivable collections automation
Customer base
Commercial and emergency response organizations
The challenge
Manual invoice follow-ups consumed valuable team time
The company’s accounts receivable team regularly managed overdue invoices that required customer communication and follow-up.
Each reminder involved multiple steps, including reviewing invoice information, contacting customers, answering questions, documenting responses, and determining the next action.
As invoice volume increased, managing these conversations manually became difficult to scale.
Customer responses were difficult to track consistently
Customers responded in different ways. Some confirmed payment timelines, some requested additional information, and others raised concerns or disputes.
Without an automated system capturing and organizing these responses, the team had limited visibility into overall collection progress and which accounts required immediate attention.
Follow-up processes depended heavily on manual effort
The finance team relied on phone calls, emails, and text messages to maintain communication with customers.
While these methods were effective, they required significant time and coordination. The company wanted a solution that could handle routine outreach while allowing employees to focus on more complex customer situations.
Adding more staff was not the ideal solution
Increasing invoice volume would typically require additional accounts receivable resources.
However, hiring additional collection specialists would increase operational costs while still leaving the company dependent on manual communication processes.
The company wanted a scalable alternative that could support its existing team without increasing headcount.
The solution
Squirrels.ai implemented an AI AR Collections agent to support the company’s invoice follow-up workflow.
The solution was designed to handle repetitive communication tasks while keeping the finance team involved in important customer decisions.
Automated invoice reminders
The AI agent began managing routine invoice follow-ups through multiple communication channels, including phone calls, emails, and text messages.
Instead of manually contacting every customer, the finance team could allow the AI agent to handle initial outreach and reminders based on customized communication sequences.
Intelligent customer conversations
The AI agent was configured with company-specific information, communication guidelines, and frequently asked questions.
During customer conversations, the agent could respond naturally, provide relevant information, and capture important outcomes.
Customer responses such as payment commitments, questions, or disputes were recorded for team review.
Real-time collection insights
The company gained improved visibility into collection activity through centralized reporting.
The platform tracked:
- Customers contacted
- Conversation outcomes
- Payment commitments
- Follow-up requirements
- Accounts needing human attention
This helped the finance team prioritize their efforts and focus on exceptions rather than manually monitoring every account.
Integration with existing financial workflows
The AI Collections agent was connected with the company’s existing accounting workflow to access relevant invoice information and support automated follow-ups.
This reduced manual data entry and allowed the team to maintain accurate communication records.
Human oversight remained central
The AI agent handled repetitive outreach, but the finance team maintained control over complex conversations, customer relationships, and final decisions.
This approach allowed the company to introduce automation while preserving the personal relationships that are important in construction services
Results and impact
After implementing Squirrels.ai, the company gradually expanded the AI Collections workflow across its accounts receivable process.
The initial focus was automating routine reminders and improving communication consistency. As the team became more comfortable with the platform, they increased automation coverage and used AI-generated insights to improve collection workflows.
Reduced manual follow-up workload
The AI Collections agent gradually took over repetitive reminder activities that previously required manual calls, emails, and text messages.
This allowed the accounts receivable team to spend less time managing routine outreach and more time handling complex customer situations.
More consistent customer communication
Customers received timely and consistent reminders through their preferred communication channels.
The AI agent maintained a professional tone throughout interactions and ensured follow-ups continued without delays caused by team availability.
Improved response tracking
As more customer conversations moved through the platform, the company gained clearer visibility into invoice statuses and customer responses.
The team could quickly identify accounts that had committed to payment, required additional attention, or needed human follow-up.
Better prioritization of collection efforts
With automated summaries and conversation insights, the finance team could focus their attention on accounts requiring direct involvement.
This helped create a more organized approach to managing outstanding invoices.
Scalable collection operations
The company established a more scalable accounts receivable process without relying solely on additional hiring.
As invoice volume changes, the AI agent can support increasing communication needs while allowing the finance team to maintain control.
TESTIMONIAL
Why companies choose Squirrels.ai
Squirrels.ai helps businesses automate repetitive communication workflows through AI agents that work across calls, emails, and text messages.
Companies use Squirrels.ai to:
- Automate invoice reminders and customer follow-ups
- Reduce repetitive accounts receivable tasks
- Capture customer responses automatically
- Track payment commitments and disputes
- Improve visibility into communication outcomes
- Create customized outreach sequences
- Connect AI agents with existing business systems
- Support finance teams without adding additional headcount
- Maintain human oversight for important customer interactions
- Expand automation into sales, recruitment, reminders, and other workflows
Improve customer communication, reduce manual follow-ups, and give your team more time for high-value work with AI-powered automation.