How Penny works: your AI credit controller, explained

Penny chases your overdue invoices, picks up the phone when they are ignored, and negotiates, all under rules you set. Here is exactly how she works.

Most tools that "automate credit control" send reminders. Penny is closer to hiring a credit controller: she reads every customer, chases them the right way, picks up the phone when emails are ignored, and handles the reply, all under rules you set and control you keep. Here is how she works, start to finish.

Not a reminder tool, a credit controller

A reminder is a nudge on a timer. Penny is different: she looks at each customer's history, decides who needs a gentle prompt and who needs a firmer approach, writes the message herself, and escalates to a real phone call for the ones who ignore everything else. The chasing is the easy part to automate. The judgement is the bit that used to need a person. That is the bit Penny does.

Step 1: Connect your accounting

Penny plugs into Xero, with QuickBooks and FreeAgent on the way. She reads your invoices and customers so there is no data entry, no spreadsheets, no copy-paste. The connection is read-only: Penny sees what is owed, but never changes your books.

Step 2: Set the rules, you are the boss

Before Penny sends anything, you set the policy on one simple page: your payment terms, whether to apply statutory late fees, the tone of voice (from gentle to firm), how often to chase, which channels to use, and quiet hours. You set the rules. Penny stays inside them. Change your mind any time and she adjusts on the next chase.

Step 3: Watch her work before she sends a thing

You are never thrown in at the deep end. Penny starts in a preview mode: she works your real overdue ledger and shows you exactly what she would send, without a single message going out. When you are comfortable, you move her to co-pilot, where she drafts every chase and you approve each one with a tap. Once she has earned it, you can let her run on autopilot. You decide how much rope she gets, and you can pull her back a step whenever you like.

How she chases, and when she calls

Penny sends the right message to each customer, from your business, with a secure "pay now" link so the chase actually collects rather than just nags. If a customer keeps ignoring the emails and texts, she escalates to a phone call, the thing most tools cannot do.

On that call she is straight with people: she says she is an AI calling on behalf of your business, and she passes a security check (confirming the company, invoice and amount) before she will discuss anything. She only calls in business hours, every call is recorded and disclosed, and if anyone says "stop", she stops, on every channel, for good.

She negotiates, and knows when to stop

When a customer replies, Penny reads it and responds in the moment: answering questions, nudging for a date, or proposing a payment plan. But she knows her limits. The second someone says they have already paid, or raises a genuine dispute, she stops and hands it straight to you rather than plough on. No awkward "we have no record of that" when the money is already in.

What Penny will never do

She never touches your customers' money. Payments go straight to you; you stay the merchant of record.
She never writes to your accounts. Late fees are calculated and quoted, never posted to your ledger without your say-so.
She never pretends to be human, and never bullies. Firm and polite, never threats.

Getting started

Connect Xero, set your rules, and watch Penny work your ledger before she sends a thing. Most of the work is done in the first ten minutes. After that, getting paid stops being your job.