FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
Accounts Receivable & Chasing
[YourCompany.com] · Finance Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for the automated Accounts Receivable & Chasing process. It explains what the automation does on your behalf, what your team still needs to do (and when), how to handle exceptions, and who to call when something goes wrong. FullSpec has built and configured the full end-to-end flow. Your team's responsibility is limited to one human checkpoint and occasional maintenance tasks described in Section 05.
01Process overview
The AR Chase Agent runs every day on a scheduled poll of Xero. When it finds an invoice that has passed its due date with an outstanding balance, it checks the Google Sheets chase log to determine how many reminders have already been sent, selects the correct tiered email template, sends the reminder via Gmail, and records every action back to the log. If an invoice crosses the 60-day threshold or receives three or more reminders without payment, the agent posts an escalation alert to Slack so your Finance Manager can decide on next steps. When a matching payment arrives in the Xero bank feed, the agent reconciles it, marks the invoice paid, and logs a note on the client record in HubSpot. The only step left for your team is reviewing escalation alerts and deciding whether to involve a debt collector or legal notice.
Process name
Accounts Receivable & Chasing
Trigger
An invoice in Xero passes its due date with an outstanding balance, detected on a daily scheduled poll.
Final output
Tiered reminder emails sent, chase log updated in Google Sheets, Slack escalation alerts posted for aged accounts, and payment notes written to HubSpot.
Agents running
AR Chase Agent
Tools involved
Xero, Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, HubSpot
Weekly volume
~60 invoices/month processed; automation runs daily
Human checkpoint
Finance Manager reviews Slack escalation alerts for accounts 60+ days overdue or with 3+ reminders sent (approx. 20 min per review)
Process owner
[Your name] — fill in once confirmed
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02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: There is one human step in this process. When the AR Chase Agent posts an escalation alert to Slack (because an invoice is 60+ days overdue or has had three or more reminders with no payment), the Finance Manager must review the alert and decide on further action, such as a phone call, a payment plan, or referral to a debt collector. Everything else in the list below is handled automatically without anyone on your team needing to act.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
The automation platform polls Xero once per day. Any invoice that has passed its due date with a balance outstanding is identified and queued for processing.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
2
The agent reads the Google Sheets chase log to check how many reminders have already been sent for each flagged invoice and when the last one was sent. This prevents duplicate or out-of-sequence emails.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
3
Based on the reminder count and days overdue, the agent selects the correct email template: a polite first notice, a firm second reminder, or a final notice. The email is personalised with the client name, invoice number, amount, and days overdue, then sent via Gmail.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
4
A new row is written to the Google Sheets tracker recording the client name, invoice number, reminder number, date sent, and email subject line. The log is always current after each run.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
5
The agent checks whether the invoice is more than 60 days overdue or has received three or more reminders without payment. If either condition is met, a formatted escalation alert is posted to the finance Slack channel.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
6
The Finance Manager receives the Slack alert and reviews the account. They decide whether to make a direct phone call, offer a payment plan, or refer the matter to a debt collector or legal team. Any decision or note should be recorded in the Google Sheets log or HubSpot.
Finance Manager
Human
7
When a matching payment is detected in the Xero bank feed, the agent applies it to the open invoice, marks it paid, and removes it from the active chase list. No manual reconciliation is needed.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
8
The agent logs a note on the client's HubSpot contact record confirming either that payment has been received or the current reminder stage, keeping the CRM aligned with the finance system at all times.
AR Chase Agent
Automated
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03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
Invoice is missing client email address in Xero
The agent detects that no email address is present for the contact and skips sending. It logs a row in Google Sheets marked 'Email missing' and does not retry until the next daily run.
Open Xero, add the correct email address to the client contact record. The agent will pick it up and send the appropriate reminder on the next scheduled run.
A duplicate reminder is about to be sent (client already received one today)
The agent reads the Google Sheets log before every send. If a reminder was already sent to this client for this invoice within the same day, the send is skipped and no duplicate is logged.
No action needed. If you believe a duplicate was sent in error, check the Google Sheets log to confirm the send history and contact FullSpec support if the log shows unexpected behaviour.
Client invoice cannot be found or has already been marked paid in Xero
If the invoice status is 'PAID' or 'VOIDED' in Xero at the time of the run, the agent skips it and removes it from the active queue. No email is sent.
If an invoice shows as paid in Xero but the client is still receiving reminders, check that the payment was reconciled correctly in Xero and that the bank feed match is confirmed. Contact FullSpec support if reminders continue after reconciliation.
Finance Manager does not act on a Slack escalation alert within 48 hours
The agent does not re-send escalation alerts automatically. The invoice remains on the active chase list and will continue to be included in daily log updates. No further automated action is taken beyond what the escalation rules specify.
The Finance Manager should action or acknowledge every Slack escalation within 48 hours. If the alert was missed, check the Slack finance channel history and review the Google Sheets log for the relevant invoice. Agree internally on a standard response time for escalation alerts.
Client does not respond after three reminders and is not yet 60 days overdue
The agent continues to send reminders according to the configured reminder schedule. A Slack escalation alert is triggered once the 60-day threshold or three-reminder count is reached.
No action is required before the escalation threshold. If you want to intervene earlier for a specific client, add that invoice to the exclusions list in Google Sheets so it is paused from automated chasing, then contact the client directly.
Xero, Gmail, Slack, or HubSpot is temporarily unavailable
The automation platform retries the failed step up to three times with a short delay between attempts. If all retries fail, the run is marked as errored and an alert is sent to the process owner's email address. The agent does not skip ahead; it retries the same step on the next scheduled run.
Check the error notification email for which step failed and which tool was unavailable. If the outage is resolved, the agent will retry at the next scheduled run without any manual restart needed. If the tool remains unavailable for more than one business day, contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com so the team can assess whether a manual fallback is needed for that day's reminders.
04Who to contact and when
Fill in the rows below once your team is confirmed. Keep this table updated whenever a role changes so that everyone knows who to reach in each situation.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (internal)
[Your name]
[Your email / phone]
Bookkeeper
[Your name]
[Rep email]
Finance Manager
[Your name]
[Rep email]
Operations Lead
[Your name]
[Rep email]
FullSpec builder
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
Contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com for any of the following: a step is failing repeatedly after retries; reminders are being sent to the wrong clients; the Xero connection has been revoked or re-authenticated; Gmail sending limits are being hit; or you need to change the escalation thresholds, reminder schedule, or email templates at the automation level.
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05Ongoing maintenance
Whenever client contact details change
Update the email address and contact name on the client record in Xero and in HubSpot. The agent reads directly from Xero, so an outdated email there will cause missed reminders.
Bookkeeper
Whenever reminder tone or wording needs updating
Contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com with the revised template text. Do not edit the templates directly in the automation platform without FullSpec guidance, as formatting errors can break email delivery.
Process owner + FullSpec
Monthly spot-check (first week of each month)
Open the Google Sheets chase log and scan the previous month's rows. Confirm that reminder counts are incrementing correctly, that paid invoices are no longer appearing, and that no client has received more reminders than expected.
Bookkeeper
Weekly error-log review (every Monday)
Check the automation platform's run history or the error notification email for any failed runs from the previous week. Note which step failed and whether it resolved on retry. Escalate to FullSpec if any step is failing on more than one run per week.
Process owner
Whenever a team member joins or leaves
Update the contact table in Section 04 of this runbook. If the Finance Manager changes, update the Slack channel membership so escalation alerts reach the correct person. Notify FullSpec if the Slack channel name or webhook destination needs to change.
Operations Lead
Quarterly volume review (every 3 months)
Review the total number of invoices processed, average days to payment, and number of escalations raised. Compare against the KPI targets: 100% of reminders sent within 24 hours, chase log completeness at 100%, and AR chasing time held at or below 0.8 hours per week. Share findings with the Finance Manager and contact FullSpec if thresholds or escalation rules need adjusting to match changed invoice volume.
Finance Manager + Process owner
The most common maintenance issue for this process is a lapsed or revoked Xero OAuth connection. Xero requires periodic re-authorisation of connected applications, and if the token expires the daily poll will stop silently. If reminders appear to have stopped sending, the first thing to check is whether the Xero connection in the automation platform is still active. Contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com and the team will guide you through re-authorising the connection without disrupting the rest of the flow.
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