---
title: "Track cash, unpaid invoices and margins in real time | C-Esium"
description: "Cash, unpaid invoices and margins kept up to date: where the data comes from, which indicators to track, how due dates work, the Tech-O case, cost and limits."
url: https://c-esium.com/en/use-cases/real-time-cash-and-unpaid-invoices/
---

Use case

# Tracking cash, unpaid invoices and margins in real time

Tracking cash, unpaid invoices and margins in real time requires each piece of data (hours, purchases, invoices, payments) to be entered once, when it happens, in a tool that calculates the indicators as you go. In the internal software C-Esium built for Tech-O, management queries the cash position, unpaid invoices, customers with unpaid invoices and the revenue trend from Claude or ChatGPT, read-only.

By [Noé Fantino](https://c-esium.com/en/about/), founder at C-Esium · Updated 6 October 2026 · 5 min read

Many business owners discover their real margin at year-end closing, months after the fact. The monthly dashboard is rebuilt by hand from exports, and unpaid invoices are tracked in a file kept by a single person. The problem is almost never the reporting tool. It is the data: entered late, in several places, sometimes never.

Real time cannot be bought as a dashboard. It is built upstream, where the work happens.

## How does real-time financial tracking work?

In internal software built by C-Esium, financial indicators are a consequence of daily work, not an extra data entry task:

1.  **Hours** are logged against the job or the project. They feed both the margin and payroll.
2.  **Purchases** are linked to the case that used them.
3.  **The invoice** is triggered by the field, when the job report is approved (see [automatic invoicing after each job](https://c-esium.com/en/use-cases/automatic-invoicing-after-each-job/)).
4.  **Payments** come back from accounting: invoices and payments flow automatically between the two tools.
5.  **Reminders** for overdue invoices go out automatically, according to your rules.
6.  **Indicators** are calculated as you go: margin per job, project, customer or branch, revenue, outstanding amounts, unpaid invoices, cash.

You see these figures in the software’s dashboard, or by asking the copilot in plain language, from the app’s chat, Claude or ChatGPT. AI assistants access the data through a read-only MCP connector, restricted to authorised users and logged ([how it works](https://c-esium.com/en/connect-chatgpt-claude-to-company-data/)).

### Which indicators should you track, and where does the data come from?

| Indicator | Where the data comes from | Example question for the copilot |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unpaid invoices | Invoices issued and payments from accounting | “Which invoices are overdue and still unpaid?” |
| Customers at risk | Payment history per customer | “Which customers have the most unpaid invoices?” |
| Cash | Receipts and invoice due dates | “Where does our cash stand this month?” |
| Revenue | Invoices issued | “How has revenue changed since January?” |
| Margin per case | Hours logged, purchases linked, invoice | “Which projects have a lower margin than planned?” |
| Work done, not invoiced | Approved job reports with no invoice | “Which completed jobs have not been invoiced yet?” |
| Pending quotes | Quotes and their status | “Which quotes have been waiting for a reply for more than 15 days?” |

## How are payment terms and due dates handled?

Tracking unpaid invoices means knowing the due date of every invoice. In the internal software, your payment terms are set per customer, in line with your contracts and the applicable rules. The due date of each invoice is therefore known as soon as it is issued, and an overdue invoice appears immediately in the tracking and in the reminders.

The reminder sequence follows your rules, for example when the first reminder goes out and which customers are chased by phone rather than by email. These rules are set at scoping.

## At Tech-O

[Tech-O](https://c-esium.com/en/case-studies/tech-o/) is a network of non-destructive water-leak detection companies, rooted in rope-access work and organised as a franchise network, with branches in Saint-Étienne, Ambérieu-en-Bugey, Annecy, Limoges, Bourg-en-Bresse and the Lyon area (France). It is a services company.

In the internal software built by C-Esium:

-   **invoicing is triggered automatically by the job report**, unpaid invoices are chased automatically, and accounting is synchronised both ways with Pennylane;
-   the **MCP connector in production**, with about 35 read-only tools, covers among other things the dashboard, alerts, invoices and unpaid invoices, payments, customers with unpaid invoices, the cash position and the revenue trend;
-   sales, scheduling, technicians, head office and accounting work in the same tool, so management’s figures come straight from the activity.

Across the whole software, the results are **more than 3,000 hours saved per year, 30% operational gains and 20% fewer human errors**. These are estimates made by C-Esium with Tech-O across field work, organisation, accounting, payroll, HR and management (figures published in October 2026).

## What changes by sector?

-   **Services**: margin per job, per technician and per branch, unpaid invoices per customer. This is the Tech-O case.
-   **Construction**: margin per project, comparing planned and actual (hours, purchases), and progress billing.
-   **Industry**: margin per order or production order, material costs and stock. Same approach, no published reference yet.
-   **Health and social care**: budget tracking per activity or per facility. If the same tool holds health data, the hosting arrangement is defined at scoping, in line with the applicable health-data rules; by default, AI assistants only access data that is not health data, such as invoicing or scheduling.

## How much does it cost and how long does it take?

Real-time tracking is only worth having if the data comes from the activity, which is what a complete internal software delivers. A focused project can be a first step: an AI connector on your current tools, so that management can query them from ChatGPT or Claude, or automations between invoicing and accounting. It will only be as up to date as the tools it reads.

-   **Price**: as a [focused project](https://c-esium.com/en/focused-project/), from AED 40,000; inside a complete internal software, from AED 200,000 (excluding VAT; €10,000 / €50,000 in France). The exact price is set after scoping in a firm quote, paid in milestones. Maintenance is optional, as a monthly package.
-   **Timeline**: a V1 on a first focused scope is delivered in 1 to 2 months. Software covering the whole company takes from 6 months to more than a year, delivered in batches.
-   **Accounting**: the accounting treatment of the software itself is decided with your accountant.

Budget benchmarks are on the page [custom internal software](https://c-esium.com/en/custom-business-software/#pricing).

## When is it not the right option?

-   **Your first need is a cash forecast based on your bank accounts.** An off-the-shelf cash management tool, connected to your banks, may be enough.
-   **Field data is not entered as the work happens.** Without logged hours and up-to-date job reports, there is no real time. We start with field data entry, for example with [AI field reports from voice notes](https://c-esium.com/en/use-cases/ai-field-reports-from-voice-notes/).
-   **Your accountant’s monthly reporting is enough** for your decisions.
-   **Nobody in-house can lead the project**, or your budget is below AED 40,000.

To find out where margin is lost in your organisation (re-keying, waiting, errors, reminders), the [assessment](https://c-esium.com/en/software-ai-assessment/) starts with a 30-minute call, free and with no commitment.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does a real-time dashboard replace my accountant?

No. Internal software built by C-Esium gives you an up-to-date management view: margins, unpaid invoices, cash. The books and annual accounts stay with your accountant or your accounting team, with whom invoices and payments are synchronised automatically.

### Can we ask ChatGPT or Claude about our cash position?

Yes, if you allow it. C-Esium connects a read-only MCP connector to your internal software, logged and restricted to authorised users; at Tech-O, it covers among other things the cash position, unpaid invoices and the revenue trend. C-Esium recommends business plans that do not use your data for training.

### How soon do we get reliable figures?

As soon as the data is entered at the source. At C-Esium, a focused V1 is delivered in 1 to 2 months; the indicators become reliable as teams enter hours, purchases and job reports in the tool, which is why getting every user on board matters.

## Read next

[### Automatic invoicing after each job

Send the invoice as soon as the job report is approved, with no re-keying: how it works, business rules, options compared, the Tech-O case, cost and limits.

Read](https://c-esium.com/en/use-cases/automatic-invoicing-after-each-job/)[### Connect ChatGPT and Claude to your data

How read-only MCP access works.

Read](https://c-esium.com/en/connect-chatgpt-claude-to-company-data/)[### Case study: Tech-O

3,000+ hours saved per year in a multi-branch network.

Read](https://c-esium.com/en/case-studies/tech-o/)

## Your software, built for your company.

30 minutes to understand your organisation, your tools and what an internal software with AI would change for you. No commitment.

[Book a call](https://c-esium.com/en/contact/)[contact@c-esium.com](mailto:contact@c-esium.com)