Case study
How a retail rent-to-own company cut collections write-offs and recovered lost sales leads with Squirrels.ai
AI agents that follow the script, work every account, and never lose their patience.
Higher recovery
on 15+ day overdue accounts that were previously written off
Faster response
to inbound leads, from hours or days down to minutes
100% script
adherence on every collections and sales conversation
Overview
A high-volume retail rent-to-own business in Atlanta was running its weekly collections operation through a 100-plus-person team of in-store collectors. The model worked for accounts that were a few days late, but broke down on aged receivables: write-offs were sitting at 3 to 3.5% of revenue, scripts were inconsistently followed, and customer tone varied widely across stores. At the same time, inbound sales leads coming through the company’s website and HubSpot CRM were being followed up on too slowly, costing the business deals it had already paid to generate.
The company partnered with Squirrels.ai to deploy two AI agents trained on its own scripts, FAQs, and SOPs. An AI AR Collections Specialist took over outreach on overdue accounts across email, SMS, and phone, working with every account with the same patience and tone. An AI SDR was connected to HubSpot to engage inbound leads within minutes and book store visits automatically. The result was a more consistent, compliant, and scalable motion across both collections and sales, with the human team freed to focus on conversations that needed a person.
Client at a glance
Industry
Retail rent-to-own (wheels and tires)
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Customer base
Roughly 2,700 to 2,900 overdue customers each week
Avg. weekly payment
~$140 per ticket, 90% paid by credit card
Collections team
100+ store-based collectors
Use cases deployed
AR Collections Specialist and AI SDR for inbound lead follow-up
The challenge
The company runs a high-volume rent-to-own operation across multiple stores in Atlanta. Two long-standing problems were eating into both revenue and growth.
- Collections that stalled past day 7
More than 100 in-store collectors were handling weekly outreach manually. The team performed reasonably well on accounts that were 1 to 7 days late, but recovery dropped sharply on accounts that aged past two weeks. Conversations were inconsistent, scripts were not always followed, and some customers were treated rudely, which cost the business future payments. Despite the volume of effort, write-offs were running at 3 to 3.5% of revenue.
- Inbound sales leads going cold
Pre-qualified leads were arriving through the website and flowing into HubSpot, but store-level follow-up was slow and uneven. By the time a representative reached out, many prospects had already gone elsewhere. The leadership team knew they were losing deals they had already paid to generate.
Additional constraints
- An end-of-life industry-specific accounting platform with no API support, with a migration to a new platform planned for later in the year.
- Strict TCPA and state-level requirements around contact hours and call frequency.
- Budget sensitivity, with a clear preference to start small and prove value before scaling.
The solution
Squirrels.ai deployed two AI agents for the company, configured to mirror their company-approved scripts, tone, and legal guardrails.
AI AR Collections Specialist
The agent was trained on the company’s own collections SOPs, FAQs, and call scripts (uploaded as text documents). Where the team had video training materials, transcripts were converted into training documents in a few days.
- Multi-channel sequences: the agent runs a coordinated cadence of emails, SMS, and phone calls across overdue accounts, escalating in tone where appropriate.
- Context-aware conversations: every call references prior emails and texts so the customer never feels like they are starting over.
- Auto-stop on payment or dispute: outreach pauses immediately when a customer pays, sets up a payment plan, or disputes a charge.
- Compliance controls: calling windows, days of the week, and per-customer contact frequency are configured by state so the system respects TCPA and local collection law.
- Spam-rate protection: outbound calls and texts are distributed across multiple numbers and inboxes to avoid carrier flags as volume scales.
- Full auditability: every email, text, and call recording is logged for QA, legal review, and continuous script improvement.
AI SDR for inbound lead follow-up
The second agent was connected directly to the client’s HubSpot CRM. New inbound leads are picked up automatically and engaged within minutes, rather than hours or days.
- Instant outreach: as soon as a lead completes the online pre-qualification form, the AI SDR follows up by call, text, and email.
- Appointment booking: each store is set up as its own “mission” with its address and hours so prospects can self-schedule a visit, with automated reminders sent ahead of time.
- Lead qualification: the agent qualifies interest, flags hot leads for human reps, and politely closes the loop on prospects who are no longer interested.
- Brand-consistent voice: every conversation follows the same approved script and tone, regardless of which store is receiving the lead.
Data and integration approach
- Excel uploads were used as the interim data path while the company finished migrating off its legacy accounting platform.
- HubSpot was integrated via API from day one so sales leads flowed automatically into the AI SDR.
- A direct API integration with the new accounting system is planned post-migration, so overdue invoice data will sync in real time.
Results and impact
Squirrels.ai launched with a focused pilot across two stores with manageable collection volumes, then expanded. Within the pilot, the company saw clear improvements across both use cases.
What changed in the business
- Aged accounts stopped slipping through the cracks. Every overdue customer now receives the same patient, polite, and persistent sequence of reminders, including those past 15 days, where human collectors used to give up.
- Write-offs moved in the right direction. By recovering more of the long-tail overdue balances, the company is on track to bring write-offs below the previous 3 to 3.5% of revenue baseline.
- Lost leads turned into booked visits. Inbound prospects are engaged within minutes, and a meaningful share now self-book a store appointment before they have a chance to shop elsewhere.
- Store teams stayed focused on closing. Reps no longer juggle cold lead follow-up alongside in-store customers. They spend their time on qualified, ready-to-buy prospects.
- Compliance is enforced by design. Calling hours, days, and frequency are set per state, and every interaction is recorded, transcribed, and auditable.
- Brand reputation is protected. Customers receive a consistent, respectful tone on every contact, removing the variability that used to come from a 100-person collections team.
Why Squirrels.ai
Squirrels.ai deploys AI agents that handle calls, emails, and texts at scale, trained on a company’s own scripts, FAQs, and SOPs. The platform lets the client:
- Stand up two production agents (AR Collections and AI SDR) without rebuilding their tech stack.
- Start with a focused pilot on Excel data, then scale into API integration as their accounting platform modernizes.
- Stay in full control of legal guardrails, contact windows, scripts, and tone.
- Pay based on contact volume and channel mix rather than committing to a large up-front platform investment.