Mary - Failed Payment Reminder
In this article
In this article group
Mary texts your members about the money side of their membership: a renewal coming up, a payment that didn't go through, or a membership bill that's past due. She works the way a good office manager works through the renewals and past-due report, using only what your ServiceTitan account tells her.
So when Mary does something you didn't expect, the answer is almost always in your ServiceTitan records: a membership's expiration date, an invoice balance, a due date, or whether a card is on file. This article explains each rule she follows and why it's there. You can change most of them yourself by asking Jenny.
If you're here because Mary texted a member and you're not sure why, skip to Why did Mary text this member? near the end.
What Mary does
Finds members who fit one of your Mary campaigns: a renewal coming up, a failed payment, or a past-due membership bill.
Sends one short, friendly text explaining what's coming up or what's needed.
When the member wants to renew, update their card or pay, flags the conversation so your team can take care of it, and tells the member someone will reach out.
Mary never takes card numbers or payment over text, and never moves money. Your team handles payment the way you do today. If a member texts card details anyway, Mary doesn't repeat them. She tells your team payment details were shared in the conversation.
Mary doesn't renew or change memberships in ServiceTitan, and doesn't handle billing disputes or refunds. Those go to your team.
Where Mary gets her information
Mary reads your ServiceTitan account, refreshed throughout the day:
Memberships: who's active, on which plan, and when each membership expires or renews.
Invoices: membership invoices and other invoices, their balances and due dates.
Payments: whether a member's recent payments went through automatically, which tells Mary whether a card is likely on file.
Customer records: phone numbers, do-not-contact and do-not-service status, and tags.
Why this matters: Mary can only be as accurate as your records. If a payment was taken but not posted in ServiceTitan, she'll think the bill is still due. If an expiration date is wrong, she'll remind the member at the wrong time. Fix it in ServiceTitan and it's fixed for Mary too.
Who Mary reaches out to
Each Mary campaign is built around a group of members, described from your ServiceTitan data. Your account can run one campaign or several. Some groups contractors use:
An upcoming renewal with no card on file. For example, members whose membership renews in the next 30 days and who haven't had an automatic payment in the last 45 days.
A membership payment that didn't go through. For example, members with a membership invoice that's 30 to 180 days past due.
Any past-due balance. For example, active members with an unpaid invoice over $100 that's 1 to 90 days past due.
A one-time renewal push. For example, members whose memberships expire on December 31st, reached in the fall.
If you can describe the group, Jenny can build the campaign and show you who's in it before anything sends.
When Mary adds a member to her list
Every campaign has a window.
Example: with an upcoming-renewal campaign that looks 30 days ahead, a membership that renews November 15th puts the member on Mary's list on October 16th.
Example: with a past-due campaign that starts at 30 days, a membership invoice due September 1st puts the member on Mary's list on October 1st, if it's still unpaid.
Why 30 days: it gives a member time to act before their plan lapses, without a reminder so early it's forgotten. For past-due bills, it gives your normal billing process time to work first.
Who Mary skips
Even if a member fits a campaign, Mary won't text them if any of these are true:
Their membership isn't active, on most campaigns.
The bill is paid, or the balance is $0.
They're on auto-pay, for upcoming-renewal campaigns. Their renewal will go through on its own.
Mary already texted them about this recently. Most campaigns wait 30 days before Mary texts the same member again.
They're marked do-not-contact or do-not-service, or have one of your exclusion tags. These always win.
They've ignored recent texts. If a member's number has gone unanswered in two conversations with any of your agents in the last 60 days, no agent texts them until that 60-day stretch passes.
When Mary texts
Mary works her list on weekday mornings, usually at 9:30 a.m. your shop's local time.
Each campaign has a daily limit, set per account.
If the member doesn't reply
Mary sends one text. Some accounts add one short reminder the next weekday.
She doesn't keep following up, and she doesn't flag a member to your team if they never reply. Why: payment is a sensitive topic, and repeated texts about money feel like collections, not service.
What happens when a member replies
They want to renew, update their card, or pay: Mary tells them she can help, flags the conversation for your team, and lets them know someone will reach out shortly. Your team takes the payment or updates the card.
They have a question about the bill or the plan: she answers what she can from their records, and flags anything else for your team.
They dispute a charge or ask for a refund: she flags it for your team right away.
They want to cancel: she passes it to your team.
"Stop": she marks them do-not-contact, and that holds for every agent.
Flagged conversations show as needing attention in your Conversations inbox, and your team is notified through the path set up for your account. For how escalation works, see Working Your Conversations Inbox.
How to change how Mary works
In ServiceTitan, your team controls the records Mary reads:
Membership status, expiration and renewal dates.
Invoices, balances, due dates, and posted payments.
Cards on file and auto-pay.
Do-not-contact, do-not-service, and your exclusion tags.
From Mary's page in UpSmith:
Pause and resume her sends.
Change her send time, on the Settings tab under Schedule & limits.
With Ask Jenny, you can change who Mary texts and how. Tell Jenny what you want in plain language. She shows you a before-and-after, and an audience preview for targeting changes, and nothing changes until you confirm. For example:
"Remind members 45 days before their renewal instead of 30." (changes the window)
"Only text about past-due balances over $50." (changes the minimum)
"Start a one-time renewal campaign for memberships expiring December 31st." (starts a new campaign)
"Leave our commercial members out of Mary's texts." (changes who she covers)
"Make Mary's texts warmer." (changes her tone)
See Build & Edit Campaigns with Ask Jenny and Adjust Your Agent's Persona & Objectives.
If you'd like help putting a change into words, or Jenny tells you something is outside what she can do, email support@upsmith.com and we'll take care of it.
Common questions
Why did Mary text this member?
They fit one of your Mary campaigns and none of the skip rules applied. For example, their membership renews in the next 30 days and there's no card on file, or a membership invoice is past due. Ask Jenny to show you that campaign's rules, or send us the conversation.
Why did Mary text a member who already paid?
Usually the payment isn't posted in ServiceTitan yet, or it was applied to a different invoice. Post or apply the payment and Mary stops.
Can Mary take a payment?
No. Mary never takes card numbers or payment over text. When a member wants to pay, she flags it for your team.
A member sent their card number to Mary. What happens?
Mary doesn't repeat it, and her handoff to your team only says that payment details were shared. Call the member to take the payment properly.
Why didn't Mary follow up with a member who didn't reply?
By design. Mary sends one text, or one text and one reminder on some accounts, and doesn't flag members who never reply.
How do I stop Mary texting one member?
Mark them do-not-contact in ServiceTitan or add one of your exclusion tags; that stops every agent. To keep them away from Mary only, ask Jenny to exclude them from Mary's campaigns.
Can I see how Mary is doing?
Yes. Ask Jenny how many members Mary texted, how many replied, and how many renewals or payments followed.