From Collections Chaos to Cash Flow Command: How ERTC Doubled Yield with AI

#Introduction: Cash (Conversion) Is King

Cash conversion is essential, especially when your business model relies on deferred payments and navigating complex external processes. John Souza, CEO & Co-Founder of ERTC Express, a specialized tax advisory firm managing a $100M+ Accounts Receivable portfolio, found himself facing this exact challenge. While a large customer base provided potential, it amplified the operational friction. His business is based on deferred payment and long cycle times he couldn’t influence, creating significant cash flow pressure.

#The Struggle: Drowning in Data, Losing Trust

John's team was struggling. Each collection call required reps to manually sift through potentially years of emails, HubSpot tickets, internal notes, and even call recordings – often taking up to an hour just to get critical context. "With lots of open loops to deal with, my team was struggling to keep track," John explained. This crippling inefficiency severely limited outreach volume.

Worse, the disjointed process damaged client relationships. "Robert calls you for the 8822B, Jenna calls you for the 2848... It just doesn't lead to a relationship – it seems as if we didn't know what we're doing" John lamented. Amidst this storm, he knew they were losing trust of their customers through appearing unprofessional.

Furthermore, prioritization was non-existent or based on flawed metrics like call dials, not outcomes. For example:

• Which accounts truly needed attention now?
• Which had missing documents (like an expired 8822B Power of Attorney) actively blocking payment and putting cash flow at risk?
• Which represented the largest potential value?

The team was flying blind, making "random calls" or focusing on volume over impact, leading to a stagnant ~43% collection yield. "How do we make sure they're calling out for the right reasons?" John asked. He needed a way to make data-driven decisions but felt the team lacked the tools.

#Seeking a "Magic Wand": The Need for Context and Priority

John knew the ingredients for success were somewhere within their systems – HubSpot tickets held deficiency details, call recordings contained crucial nuances, emails tracked commitments. He knew he had all the ingredients: Emails, tickets and notes were logged, documents were stored, and the team was sitting on 1.3m call recordings.

He sought a way to automate the busywork and leverage this scattered data. To do so, he needed two things: A reliable system to prioritize work and a way for his reps to get up to speed more quickly. Essentially, a "magic wand" to provide context and guidance.

#Narratic AI: The Dual Solution for Efficiency and Effectiveness

Narratic AI delivered that "magic wand" by acting as an intelligent layer connecting HubSpot, call data (transcripts generated from recordings), and internal systems. It tackled both core problems:

1. Instant Context (Efficiency Boost): Narratic's AI automatically ingested and synthesized years of interaction history for each client. It generated concise, actionable summaries highlighting payment status, open tickets, key issues (like missing forms), and relevant conversation points. This slashed prep time by over 50 minutes per call, dramatically increasing the potential outreach volume. Reps could now get "up to speed within just a matter of seconds."

2. Intelligent Prioritization (Effectiveness Boost): Crucially, Narratic didn't just enable more calls, it ensured they were the right calls. The AI continuously analyzed all accounts, automatically identifying and ranking those needing urgent attention. It factored in:

   • Payment risk & amount due.
   • Detected blockers (e.g., expired 8822B, missing documents flagged in tickets).
   • Recent communication patterns (or lack thereof).
   • Promise-to-pay adherence.

This meant the team's increased capacity was focused squarely on the accounts most critical to accelerating cash flow. As John put it, "What would be the most efficient ways for us to determine which accounts have the highest priority on any given day? And of the highest priority, who are the people that should make those calls?"

#The Transformation: Doubled Yield, Accelerated Cash Flow

The synergy of instant context and intelligent prioritization yielded dramatic results:

• Collection Success Rate Doubled: Yield skyrocketed from ~43% to 82% as the team executed more, highly targeted, informed calls daily.
• Prep Time Obliterated: Saving 50+ minutes per call directly fueled the increase in productive outreach.
• Cash Flow Accelerated: Proactively identifying and resolving payment blockers (like missing forms) significantly shortened the time to collect.
• Team Confidence & Client Trust Restored: Reps felt empowered and prepared. "They're going to like their job a hell of a lot better when we're providing them with the tools," John predicted. More professional, informed interactions rebuilt client trust. The goal outcome shifted towards: "Wow – they really know what they're doing."

As Sarah Martinez, Head of Collections Operations, stated: “Narratic AI transformed our collections process. Instant context lets us focus on meaningful conversations. Knowing who to call and why, based on the AI’s prioritization, ensures we’re effective, not just busy.”

#Beyond Busywork: Achieving Cash Flow Command

ERTC Express moved from operational chaos to cash flow command. They stopped throwing bodies at the problem and instead empowered their team with AI-driven intelligence. By tackling both inefficiency and ineffectiveness, they unlocked significant trapped revenue.

The example is representative for a large number of clients we've worked with: Despite rich data, blind spots are all around and insights are near-zero. Our mission is to change that and help the Johns of this world take back the steering wheels of their businesses.