Late payments are not just a cash flow problem — they derail forecasting, create bottlenecks, and increase workload. Accounts receivable (AR) teams spend significant energy on routine tasks like chasing invoices, resolving disputes, and updating reports.
According to Chaser's 2022 late payment report, 87% of businesses are paid late, with invoices on average 25 days overdue. In the UK, small businesses spend around 56.4 million hours each year chasing late payments — equating to more than one working week per business — increasing both stress and operational drag (QuickBooks). Xero data also shows that businesses regularly wait 28–29 days for invoice payments, with an average delay of 9–10 days past due (Xero).
These delays translate into significant cost: QuickBooks reports the late-payment process consumes over 56 million productive hours annually, worth approximately £6.3 billion GBP (QuickBooks). Meanwhile, UK small businesses are owed around £24,000 GBP at any one time in overdue invoices (Xero).
Large language models like ChatGPT offer an effective alternative — enabling AR teams to generate emails, summarize reports, document SOPs, and analyze data simply through natural language prompts.
Download the free prompt cheat sheet for accounts receivable teams.
Why use AI prompts for receivables tasks?
Accounts receivable teams frequently perform tasks that are repetitive, urgent, and communication-heavy. Some examples include:
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Writing or editing payment reminders and escalation emails
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Responding to customer disputes or objections
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Generating weekly or monthly status updates for leadership
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Summarizing large volumes of invoice or aging reports
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Documenting internal processes or onboarding materials
QuickBooks research shows businesses spend an average of 14 working days per year chasing overdue invoices (QuickBooks UK). That is nearly three weeks of effort that could be significantly reduced through prompt-based automation.
With a simple instruction like "Rephrase this escalation email to a more neutral tone" or "Summarize this aging report by risk and balance," teams can complete tasks in under a minute instead of spending 15-45 minutes manually.
Why ChatGPT is useful in accounts receivable — even if you’re not “tech-savvy”
You don’t need to be a software engineer or data analyst to use ChatGPT effectively. All you need is the ability to describe what you're trying to do — and optionally paste in a bit of text or data.
For example:
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Instead of formatting a table manually, you can ask ChatGPT:
“Summarize this overdue invoice list by risk level and due date.” -
Instead of rewriting a firm email five times, try:
“Make this payment escalation email clearer and more professional.” -
Instead of explaining a spike in DSO, prompt:
“Help me explain why DSO increased this month, using this data.”
This not only reduces manual effort — it also improves accuracy, consistency, and the professionalism of your output.
What’s included in the cheat sheet
The downloadable ChatGPT prompt sheet includes over 25 templates across critical AR workflows:
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Customer communications
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Invoice and payment insights
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KPI and performance reporting
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Dispute management
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SOP creation and onboarding
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Automation and efficiency hacks
These prompts are formatted to work with ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and similar AI tools. They are available as both a printable PDF and mobile-optimized image.
Download the free prompt cheat sheet for accounts receivable teams
The cheat sheet is free to download, and you can start using the prompts immediately in ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, or any other LLM interface.
Download the PDF version for your desktop.
Save the mobile-friendly version for quick access on the go.
Bonus prompts to extend accounts receivable capabilities
Here are additional prompts that help handle deeper AR challenges:
Customer communication
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"Draft a voicemail script for 30-day overdue invoices"
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"Rephraze emails with a formal tone"
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"Respond professionally to payment extension requests"
- "What are the best softwares for helping manage accounts receivable?
Data and risk analysis
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"Identify customers with repeated late payments"
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"Flag accounts for escalation based on overdue history"
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"Compare average payment delays between quarters"
- "What are the best tools for getting better visibility over my accounts receivable?"
Reporting and process improvement
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"Create onboarding checklists for temporary AR staff"
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"Summarize regional collections performance monthly"
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"Convert aging report tables into bullet-list insights for executives"
- "What are the best softwares for helping manage accounts receivable?"
These prompts enable teams to work more strategically and consistently.
Common receivables pains that prompt design solves
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Constantly rewording follow-ups for different customer types
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Juggling follow-up schedules, disputes, and reports without centralized tools
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Unclear handovers during staff turnover or sick leave
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Difficulty communicating payment issues tactfully with clients
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Pressure to reduce DSO but not enough time or tools to prioritise wisely
A prompt-based workflow doesn’t eliminate these challenges — but it dramatically reduces the time spent reacting to them. More importantly, it allows teams to standardize quality while staying agile.
Efficiency gains and financial impact
According to PwC, top-performing companies collect cash 17 days faster than median peers. While ChatGPT cannot collect payments directly, improving communication speed, clarity, and reporting consistency contributes to faster collections and better DSO outcomes.
By automating administrative overhead, AR teams can focus more on relationship-building and strategic receivables management — accelerating cash flow and reducing exposure.
Want to go further with AI in your AR process?
With automated reminders, human-like tone settings, AI-generated email replies, and full visibility into customer communication, Chaser empowers AR teams to take control of overdue invoices without compromising customer relationships. Ready to see what’s possible?
Streamline your accounts receivable process with Chaser. This tool offers features designed to automate and simplify the management of outstanding invoices, helping businesses improve cash flow and reduce admin. Try it for free, or speak to an expert about Chaser today.
