Dunning Software: Best Tools for Accounting Teams (2026)

55% of B2B invoices are paid late.

What should be a straightforward payment quickly turns into follow-up emails, uncomfortable calls, and eventual write-offs that drain cash, time, and trust..

That’s why dunning software exists: to bring structure, automation, and professionalism to the collections process, without damaging customer relationships.

This guide explains what dunning software does, why it matters, which tools are best today, and how Eleven fits into the dunning landscape.

What Is Dunning Software?

Dunning software helps businesses follow up on unpaid invoices in a consistent and organized way.

Instead of relying on scattered emails, spreadsheets, or manual reminders, a dunning system brings structure to the collections process. It sets clear rules for when an invoice is considered overdue and what should happen next.

In practical terms, dunning software shows which invoices are unpaid, helps decide when customers should be contacted, and ensures follow-ups are not forgotten or delayed. This makes the process more predictable for both finance teams and customers.

Some dunning management software automates these steps by sending reminders and escalating follow-ups automatically. Other platforms, including accounting software, support dunning by providing clear accounts receivable data and reliable invoice tracking.

At its core, dunning software exists to reduce late payments and protect cash flow, either through automation or by giving finance teams the visibility they need to take action at the right time.

What Does Dunning Software Do?

Most dunning software supports the same underlying workflow:

• Tracks unpaid and overdue invoices
• Applies rules based on due dates or aging buckets
• Sends reminders or flags accounts for follow‑up
• Escalates actions if invoices remain unpaid

More advanced tools may also include payment retries, dispute tracking, or predictive analytics.

Importantly, dunning software is not just about chasing payments, it’s about standardizing collections so they’re timely, consistent, and aligned with your brand tone.

Why Dunning Matters

Dunning matters because late payments are one of the most common causes of cash-flow problems. Even profitable businesses can feel financial pressure when invoices are paid late.

Without a clear dunning process, overdue invoices often slip through the cracks. Reminders are sent too late or not at all, messages vary from one person to another, and follow-ups depend on individual habits instead of a shared process.

Over time, this leads to higher days sales outstanding (DSO), more write-offs, and strained customer relationships.

Effective dunning brings structure to accounts receivable. It makes overdue invoices easy to spot, follow-ups more consistent, and communication more professional.

For accounting firms and family offices handling multiple entities, currencies, and stakeholders, this structure is key to maintaining clear and reliable financial oversight.

Before choosing a dunning approach, it helps to see how much cash is tied up in overdue invoices. This calculator provides an estimate based on your receivables (*not legal advice):

Key Features of Dunning Software

While features vary by tool, most dunning software includes some combination of the following:

1. Invoice Aging & AR Visibility

A dunning system must clearly show which invoices are overdue, how long they’ve been unpaid, and how exposure is distributed across customers or entities.

This is the foundation of any effective dunning process.

2. Automated or Semi‑Automated Reminders

Dedicated automated dunning software sends scheduled reminders based on predefined rules. Accounting platforms may instead support manual or semi‑automated follow‑ups using AR data.

3. Workflow Rules & Escalation Logic

Many dunning management tools support multi‑step processes:

• Friendly reminder
• Firm notice
• Final notice
• Escalation to collections or account review

4. Customer Segmentation

Advanced tools allow different dunning strategies by customer type, invoice size, or risk profile.

5. Reporting & Analytics

Reporting helps teams track overdue balances, DSO, and collection effectiveness over time.

6. Accounting & ERP Integration

Dunning works best when tightly connected to accounting data. Integrations ensure invoices, payments, and credits stay in sync.

This is where accounting‑first platforms like Eleven have a structural advantage.

Popular Dunning Software (and How They Compare)

Dunning software comes in several distinct categories.

Each category serves a different type of business and use case. Understanding these differences is more useful than comparing feature lists.

Below is an overview of widely used dunning and dunning‑adjacent tools, grouped by category.

SaaS‑Focused Dunning Platforms

Paddle Retain

Built primarily for SaaS businesses, Paddle Retain focuses on failed payments, retries, and churn reduction rather than classic invoice‑based AR. It excels in subscription dunning but is less relevant for traditional accounting workflows.

ChurnBuster

ChurnBuster specializes in recovering failed subscription payments with smart retries and customer‑friendly messaging. It is highly effective for SaaS but not designed for multi‑entity accounting or professional services.

AR & Collections‑Focused Dunning Tools

Gaviti

Gaviti is a full AR collections platform designed for finance teams managing large invoice volumes. It offers automated reminders, workflows, and analytics but is typically adopted by mid‑to‑large enterprises.

HighRadius

HighRadius provides enterprise‑grade collections and dunning automation with AI‑driven prioritization. Powerful, but complex and resource‑intensive.

Accounting Platforms With Dunning Support

Eleven

Eleven is not a dedicated dunning system, but it supports dunning as part of a modern accounting platform.

Eleven provides:

• Clear accounts receivable visibility
• Invoice tracking and aging
• Multi‑entity accounting support
• Multi‑currency handling
• Bank reconciliation
• Integrated document management

For accounting firms and family offices, this means dunning is handled within the accounting workflow, not bolted on as a separate system.

Rather than replacing specialized dunning software, Eleven complements or supports the dunning process by ensuring AR data is accurate, centralized, and actionable.

Choosing the Right Dunning Software

Choosing the right dunning software depends less on feature checklists and more on how dunning fits into your broader financial operations.

To make the decision clearer, it helps to break the evaluation into a few core dimensions:

Business Model Fit

The first consideration is your business model.

Subscription-based companies typically benefit from automated dunning software designed around failed payments, card retries, and churn reduction. These tools are optimized for recurring billing rather than traditional invoicing.

Invoice-based organizations, such as professional services firms, family offices, and operating companies, often require dunning that is tightly connected to accounts receivable rather than standalone payment recovery. In these cases, visibility into invoice status and aging is often more valuable than aggressive automation.

Level of Automation vs. Control

The second consideration is how much automation you actually need.

High-volume finance teams may benefit from fully automated, multi-stage dunning workflows with escalation logic and prioritization rules.

Other organizations prefer greater control. They may rely on accounting data to identify overdue balances and then handle outreach manually or semi-automatically. For these teams, accuracy, consistency, and auditability matter more than hands-off automation.

Accounting Complexity

Entity and currency complexity plays a major role in dunning effectiveness.

Managing overdue invoices across multiple legal entities, jurisdictions, or currencies significantly increases the importance of centralized and reconciled accounting data.

In complex environments, dunning is only as effective as the ledger behind it. Inaccurate balances or unreconciled transactions undermine even the most advanced dunning automation.

Where Eleven Fits

This is where accounting-first platforms like Eleven play a distinct role.

Eleven does not attempt to replace specialized automated dunning software. Instead, it ensures that any dunning process, manual, semi-automated, or automated, is built on reliable, multi-entity accounting data.

For accounting firms and family offices, this approach aligns dunning with core accounting workflows rather than treating collections as a separate operational layer.

Final Thoughts

Dunning software is about staying in control of late payments. It helps teams protect cash flow, communicate clearly, and reduce the risk that unpaid invoices create.

Some organizations need dedicated dunning management software to automate reminders and scale collections. Others benefit more from strong accounting foundations.

Platforms like Eleven support dunning by keeping accounts receivable data accurate, visible, and easy to manage. When dunning is handled within the accounting process, it is more consistent and far less disruptive.

If you want to see how this approach works in practice, book an Eleven demo to see how clear AR visibility, multi-entity accounting, and reconciled data help teams manage late payments with more confidence.