The Perfect Dunning Sequence: Why 7 Touches Before Escalation Beats Random Follow-Up

Your AR team sends the first payment reminder on day 31. Polite. Professional. Clear payment link.

86% open rate. 12% pay immediately.

The other 74%? Silence.

So your team waits. Gives them "a few weeks." Doesn't want to seem pushy.

Day 45 rolls around. Still nothing. Now they send a follow-up. "Just checking in."

By day 90, the tone shifts to urgent. The debtor finally replies: "Oh, we didn't realize this was serious."

They did. They were testing whether you'd enforce your terms.

You failed the test.

A dunning sequence is a pre-planned series of touches designed to escalate pressure systematically. Not randomly. Not emotionally. Systematically.

Here's the 7-touch framework that resolves 63% of receivables before external escalation:

Touch 1: Day 1 (Invoice Due Date)

Channel: Email Tone: Friendly reminder Goal: Catch the 12% who forgot or need a nudge Template: "Hi [Name], invoice #[X] for €[amount] was due today. Payment link: [URL]. Questions? Reply here."

Result: 12% pay. 86% open but don't act.

Touch 2: Day 7

Channel: Email Tone: Professional follow-up Goal: Remind without accusation Template: "Following up on invoice #[X] (€[amount], now 7 days overdue). Payment link: [URL]. Let us know if there's an issue."

Result: Another 8-10% pay. Rest continue ignoring.

Touch 3: Day 14

Channel: Phone + Email Tone: Direct inquiry Goal: Break the silence, identify blockers Action: Call the AP contact directly. If no answer, leave voicemail + send email referencing the call.

Result: 15-18% pay or commit to payment plan. You start identifying genuine issues (wrong PO number, missing documentation, etc.).

Touch 4: Day 21

Channel: Email (cc: decision-maker if known) Tone: Escalation notice Goal: Signal this is no longer routine Template: "Invoice #[X] is now 21 days overdue. We're escalating internally and copying [decision-maker]. Payment required by [date] to avoid further action."

Result: 12-15% pay. Decision-makers often weren't aware of the delay.

Touch 5: Day 28

Channel: Email + Registered Letter (if amount > threshold) Tone: Final internal notice Goal: Last chance before external involvement Template: "This is our final notice before referring invoice #[X] to external collections. Payment due by [date]."

Result: 10-12% pay. Some propose payment plans.

Touch 6: Day 35

Channel: Pre-Collection Letter Tone: Formal legal notice Goal: Demonstrate you're serious Action: Letter from collections partner or legal letterhead warning of imminent action.

Result: 5-8% pay. Rest are now confirmed non-cooperators.

Touch 7: Day 42

Channel: Handoff to External Collections / Legal Tone: N/A (now specialist-managed) Goal: Recovery through escalation

Result: Varies by jurisdiction, amount, debtor solvency.

Structured sequences:

• Create predictability (debtors learn what happens next)
• Remove emotion (it's process, not personal)
• Scale across hundreds of invoices (automation-friendly)
• Build credibility (you do what you say)

Ad-hoc follow-up:

• Trains debtors to wait for your panic
• Inconsistent (some invoices get 2 touches, others get 10)
• Emotionally draining for your team
• Easy for debtors to game

The data is clear: Companies with structured 7-touch sequences resolve receivables 27% faster than those using ad-hoc follow-up.

They stop at touch 3.

Why? Because touch 3 feels awkward. You've called. You've emailed. They're ignoring you.

Touch 4-7 feel like "being difficult."

But here's the truth: Your debtor is COUNTING on you stopping at touch 3.

They've learned that most creditors give up after 2-3 attempts and wait another month before trying again.

Touches 4-7 are where you separate yourself from the creditors who quit early.

Shorten it if:

• Invoice amount is large (>$100K)
• Debtor history shows pattern of delay
• Industry norms support faster escalation (e.g., perishables)

Lengthen it if:

• Long-term strategic relationship
• First-time late payment from otherwise reliable customer
• External factors (natural disaster, market crash) affecting debtor

Skip it entirely if:

• Debtor has filed for bankruptcy (go straight to legal)
• Amount is below cost-of-collection threshold
• Fraud suspected (escalate immediately)

The 7-touch sequence is a starting framework, not dogma. Adjust based on context.

Running 7-touch sequences manually across 200 invoices is impossible.

You need:

1. AR automation platform that triggers emails based on aging
2. Task management for phone call reminders
3. Template library for each touch (no reinventing emails)
4. Tracking to know which touch each debtor is on

Or you outsource the entire dunning process to specialists who run these sequences daily.

Collecty manages dunning sequences for B2B exporters. We handle touches 1-6, escalating to legal action only after the sequence is exhausted.

1. One reminder is not a strategy. Build a 7-touch sequence.
2. Predictability works. Debtors learn to pay at touch 3 when they know touch 7 is coming.
3. Automation is required. You can't manually track 200 sequences.
4. Touch 4-7 are where you win. Most competitors quit at touch 3.
5. Customize by context. Strategic partners get flexibility. Repeat offenders get compressed timelines.

The perfect dunning sequence isn't about being aggressive. It's about being systematic.

Ad-hoc follow-up trains debtors to ignore you.

Structured sequences train them to pay.

Collecty runs proven dunning sequences for international B2B receivables. We handle the full 7-touch process and escalate only when necessary.

If your AR team is drowning in manual follow-up, let's talk.

Contact Collecty to discuss your receivables process.