Step-by-Step: Using GoHighLevel to Manage Collections for Small Local Businesses

Managing collections is a huge challenge for our small business clients. It is something that used to plague CS Outsource a few months ago. We would issue out invoices and find ourselves with a massive bucket of outstanding payables at 30+ days.

This hit especially hard for a business like ours where payroll is everything. We have a team of 250+ virtual assistants that we are responsible for paying on time every month. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't worried about making payroll.

And I know I'm not alone in that fear. Many other entrepreneurs I work with share the same fear and issues.

The good news is that we leveled up our game and built a finance system that actually works.

And it starts with automating outreach immediately. Seriously, it is not that hard. The key to collections is consistent follow up. One of the keys to effective routine follow-ups is automation.

Now we have an entire process that helps us get paid quicker. And just like we all have the concept of "speed to lead," the same applies to collections. And let's coin this term "Speed to collect."

So if you are having issues with collections, just about everything you know about being quick to respond and nurture leads... This is precisely what you need to do for your collections department. And everything I talk about applies to:

• Property Managers (e.g., Tenants)

• Airbnb Co-Host (e.g., Owner Clients)

• Home Service Companies (Cleaning, HVAC, Roofing, etc.)

• And any other local business in between

GoHighLevel is an extremely practical solution to streamline collections, automate follow-ups, and make it easy for clients to pay helping you get paid faster and with less manual effort.

Managing Collections for Small Local Businesses

Before you dive deep into this, note that some additional setups and automation are required to ensure every feature works as described. For the sake of keeping things digestible, I will gloss over some of the more advanced setups. If you need help setting this up, reach out to me, and I can connect you with our GoHighLevel virtual assistants.

Step 1: Define and Create Custom Fields

1. Navigate to Settings → Custom Fields.

2. Create the following fields for Opportunities object:

   • Invoice Date (Date Picker): The date the invoice was issued.

   • Due Date (Date Picker): The payment due date.

   • Amount Due (Currency): The outstanding amount.

   • Days Late (Number, calculated): Will be used for automation.

   • Payment Status (Dropdown): Values such as Paid, Unpaid, Partial.

Step 2: Set Up Your Collections Pipeline

1. Go to Opportunities → Pipelines.

2. Create a new pipeline named “Collections.”

3. Add stages (buckets):

   • Current (Not Due)

   • 1–7 Days Late

   • 8–14 Days Late

   • 15+ Days Late

   • Paid

Step 3: Automate Days Late Calculation

1. Go to Automation → Workflows.

2. Create a new workflow.

3. Add a trigger: "Invoice Sent" (Supported Invoice Triggers include Invoice Sent, Paid, Partially Paid, Viewed, Voided)

4. Add a Math Operation action:

   • Calculate: Current Date - Due Date

   • Store result in the Days Late custom field.

5. Schedule workflow to run daily to ensure Days Late is always current. NOTE: Out of the box HighLevel does not have a native "run this workflow daily for all records" trigger. Workflow triggers are event-based. But there are some workarounds that our team is aware of for setting this up.

Step 4: Automatically Move Opportunities to Correct Pipeline Stage

1. In the same workflow, add If/Else conditions:

   • If Days Late = 0, move to “Current.”

   • If Days Late between 1–7, move to “1–7 Days Late.”

   • If Days Late between 8–14, move to “8–14 Days Late.”

   • If Days Late > 14, move to “15+ Days Late.”

   • If Payment Status = Paid, move to “Paid.”

2. Use the “Move Opportunity” action to update the stage automatically

Step 5: Trigger Automated Reminders and Escalations

1. Add Wait steps and Actions:

   • Wait until Days Late ≥ 1, then send SMS/email reminder with payment link.

   • Repeat with increased urgency at each stage (e.g., after 7 and 14 days).

2. Personalize messages using merge fields (client name, amount due, payment link).

Here is what a sample campaign might look like:

• Day 1: Friendly Email Reminder

• Day 3: SMS Reminder

• Day 5: Follow-up Email with Payment Options

• Day 6: Automated Voicemail Drop

• Day 7: SMS + Email Combination

• Days 8-14: Late - Standard Follow-up Sequence (Email, SMS, Voice AI, Voicemail Drops)

• Days 15-30+: Late - Urgent Collection Sequence (Email, SMS, Voice AI, Voicemail Drops)

Step 6: Mark as Paid and Stop Automation

1. Add a trigger: "Payment Received" (from payment gateway or manual update).

2. Actions:

   • Update Payment Status to "Paid."

   • Move opportunity to "Paid" stage.

   • Stop all further reminders for this client.

Step 7: Reporting and Monitoring

1. Use the pipeline board to view:

   • Number of records in each stage.

   • Total dollar amount outstanding per stage.

   • Days in Each Stage (Custom Automations Required to Set This Up)

2. Export data if deeper analytics are needed (e.g., average time in stage).

Summary Table: Key Fields and Automations

• Invoice Date: Track when invoice was sent (Used for reference)

• Due Date: Track payment deadline (Used for Days Late calculation)

• Amount Due: Outstanding balance (Used in reminders, reporting)

• Days Late: Auto-calculated daily (Drives pipeline movement, reminders)

• Payment Status: Paid/Unpaid/Partial (Stops automation on payment)

• Pipeline Stages: Collection buckets (Visual and workflow segmentation)

Tracking Collections in Pipeline Stages (Reporting & Analytics)

As you saw in Step 2, I set up pipeline stages. Why? Because you can use GoHighLevel's pipeline features to report on collections across different buckets (pipeline stages).

GoHighLevel provides a visual pipeline board where each stage (bucket) represents a different part of your collections process (e.g., "Invoice Sent," "7 Days Late," "14 Days Late," "Final Notice," "Paid").

You can easily see the number of records (clients/accounts) in each stage at a glance.

What I like about this is that each opportunity (client/account) in the pipeline can have a dollar amount attached. The pipeline view and dashboard summarize the total dollar value in each stage, allowing you to quickly see how much is outstanding in each category. These totals help you identify where the largest overdue balances are concentrated.

You can also get sophisticated with a few custom fields and automation to track the duration each record spends in a pipeline stage, which helps you identify bottlenecks or slow-moving accounts.

So to sum things up, with our pipelines we can see:

• Number of accounts in each stage

• Total dollar value per stage

• Visual progress of accounts through the pipeline

Payment Methods Available?

GoHighLevel enables seamless integration with popular payment processors, including Stripe, PayPal, and Square, as well as supporting Authorize.net, NMI, and regional options such as Razorpay.

You need this if you want to unlock most payment-related features, including collections automation, invoicing, and Text2Pay functionality.

My recommendation is to simply set up Stripe. When it is connected as your default payment provider, GoHighLevel supports these payment methods.

Digital Payment Methods

• Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc.)

• Apple Pay (requires registered domains)

• Google Pay

• ACH Direct Debit (US bank transfers)

• Link (Stripe's saved payment method)

• Amazon Pay

• CashApp

Buy-Now-Pay-Later Options

• Klarna (requires shipping address)

• Affirm (requires shipping address)

• Afterpay/Clearpay (requires shipping address)

Multi-Channel Payment Collections

Once everything is set up you can collect payments through:

• Email invoices with embedded payment buttons

• SMS payment links via Text2Pay

• Website order forms and checkout pages

• Mobile POS for in-person collections

• Voice AI can reference payment links during calls

Payment Plans and Installments

You can also offer flexible payment options:

• Split invoices into multiple installments

• Set up percentage-based or fixed-amount splits

• Automatic reminders for each installment due date

• Auto-payment capability for recurring installments

Can GoHighLevel’s Voice AI Handle Outbound Calls?

No, as of now it is just inbound calls. Although the capability for outbound calls will be available soon.

For outbound calls we will integrate GoHighLevel with Vapi. VAPI makes outbound calls and reports results back to GHL. You can also check out tools like Retell AI, PreCallAI.

Regardless of what you use, here is what you'll need to set them up:

• Primary Goal: Collect payment information and secure commitment

• Data Collection: Name, preferred payment method, payment date commitment

• Follow-up Actions: Schedule callback, send payment link, escalate to human

For Voice AI you need to tee it up with a prompt. Here is example you can set for the outbound calling agent:

[Style]

• Be conversational and approachable.

• Use simple and clear language avoiding technical jargon.

• Infuse a helpful and reassuring tone throughout the conversation.

[Response Guidelines]

• Break down complex information into easy-to-understand segments.

• Allow pauses for user inputs and confirmations.

• Avoid giving overly technical explanations without request.

• Limit inquiries to one question at a time to maintain clarity.

[Task & Goals]

1. Welcome the user warmly and ask how you can assist with their payment processing needs.

2. If the user encounters an issue with a payment, gather specific details such as the nature of the transaction and any error codes or messages they received.

3. Provide clear steps to resolve common issues, such as verifying payment details, checking internet connectivity, or ensuring sufficient funds.

"Hello [First Name], this is [AI Assistant Name] calling from [Business Name] regarding your account. I see you have an outstanding balance of $[Amount Due] that was due on [Due Date]. I'm calling to help you resolve this today. What would be the best way for you to take care of this balance?"

If customer requests payment plan:

"I can definitely help you set up a payment arrangement. What amount would work best for you to pay today, and when could you pay the remaining balance?"

If customer disputes amount:

"I understand your concern. Let me transfer you to our billing specialist who can review your account in detail and resolve any discrepancies."

Overview

The reason I am breaking down this information into such great detail is that I want you to think beyond what my example suggests.

Topics such as estimates, invoicing, payments, and collections are a massive subject, and there are numerous use cases in which GoHighLevel can automate or, at the very least, streamline the process.

I hope this is thought provoking.

Contact Us

If you’ve got a GoHighLevel project that's been sitting on your desk, I would love to introduce you to our GoHighLevel and marketing automation virtual assistants who specialize in this work.

They've helped us and clients build out a lot of the marketing automation that I talk about in these posts.

Check us out: https://www.csoutsource.com/why-cs-outsource/