# AI in dunning: what it takes over and what stays a rule > In dunning, AI is genuinely good at two things: watching dates and drafting text. The third thing most people expect — deciding whether your customer is actually in default — it cannot do better than a spreadsheet, because that is not a judgement call. It is a rule in § 286 BGB. Source: https://back-bone.io/en/blog/ki-mahnwesen Published: 2026-09-03 · Updated: 2026-10-07 Category: Guides ## What "AI dunning" actually means in practice The term rarely hides a language model reasoning about law. It hides an automation that takes over four tasks — and those four are precisely the ones freelancers otherwise forget or put off: - Watch open invoices and spot the due date — not the invoice date, which is a different day - Stage the escalation: reminder, first notice, final notice, each with its own interval - Draft the text — friendly the first time, firm the third, without you rethinking it three times - Send it, so you never have to pick the moment you can bring yourself to do it The fourth point is the real one. Most unpaid invoices stay open not because someone refuses to pay, but because nobody followed up. Automation solves exactly that problem — and only that one. > Chasing payment is the part of being self-employed I put off longest. Not because it is hard, but because every reminder feels like risking a relationship to get money that was already yours. > > That is exactly why I build it into Backbone. When the reminder goes out automatically it stops being personal — it is just the process. That takes the weight out of it, and it gets you paid along the way. ## The part that needs no AI: default is a rule Whether a customer is in default is not estimated. § 286 BGB knows three routes there, and every one of them is computable: **First**, you send a reminder after the due date — default starts immediately (para. 1). **Second**, you agreed a calendar date — then no reminder is needed at all (para. 2 no. 1). **Third**, 30 days have passed — after *both* the due date and receipt of the invoice, not from the invoice date (para. 3). The third route carries a catch that automations like to miss: against a consumer it only applies if the invoice expressly pointed out that consequence. Without that sentence the 30-day automatic route does not run, and you need the reminder from route one. ## What you may charge — and where automation gets dangerous Default interest tracks the base rate, which changes on 1 January and 1 July. Since 1 July 2026 it stands at 1,52 %. That gives **10,52 %** between businesses (9 points, § 288 (2) BGB) and **6,52 %** as soon as a consumer is involved (5 points, para. 1). This is precisely where blind automation gets expensive. The 40 € flat fee under § 288 (5) BGB exists **only** in the B2B case. A system that staples it to every overdue invoice asserts a claim against private customers that does not exist. That is not an AI problem — it is a configuration problem, which is why "business or private" belongs in the customer record, not in the reminder text. The full calculation with a worked example and a template is in the [post on default interest](https://back-bone.io/en/blog/verzugszinsen-berechnen-mahnung-muster), and the wording for each stage is in the guide to writing reminders. ## Where the automation should stop One thing should never happen automatically: the final stage. A reminder and a first notice are routine and can run on their own. From the point where you threaten collection, court proceedings or the end of the working relationship, you are deciding about a business relationship — and a person who knows that customer should make that call. Good automation is judged not by how much it takes over, but by where it stops to ask. ### How Backbone does this Backbone spots overdue invoices by their due date rather than the invoice date, and the assistant sends reminders and formal notices on your schedule. Default interest is computed from the current base rate. Every stage goes out automatically. If you want to decide the final one yourself, pause dunning for that invoice or client and send it from the invoice when you are ready. The stages, the schedule and the interest calculator are on the [Dunning](https://back-bone.io/en/features/dunning) page. Last updated 7 October 2026. Verified against § 286 and § 288 BGB (§ 286 BGB, gesetze-im-internet.de); base rate verified on 28 August 2026 with Deutsche Bundesbank. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does AI actually do in dunning? Three things reliably: watch open invoices so a due date is never missed, draft the reminder or formal notice, and send the escalation stages on schedule. What it does not do is the legal assessment — whether default has occurred is set out in § 286 BGB and is arithmetic, not judgement. ### When is a customer automatically in default? Under § 286 (3) BGB at the latest 30 days after BOTH the due date and receipt of the invoice — it takes both events, not just the invoice date. Against a consumer this route only works if the invoice expressly pointed out that consequence. A reminder issued after the due date triggers default immediately (§ 286 (1)), so the 30 days are a backstop, not a waiting period. ### May an AI send payment reminders automatically? Technically yes, and that is the most useful part of automating this. The limit sits elsewhere: automatic dispatch must not assert legal positions that were never checked — charging default interest or the €40 flat fee against a consumer, for instance. Set the escalation stages deliberately once, then let them run. ### What default interest may I charge? In pure B2B dealings 9 percentage points above the base rate, currently 10,52 %. Where a consumer is involved it is 5 points, so 6,52 %. The 40 € flat fee under § 288 (5) BGB exists only in the B2B case.