Greatwell Homes was Commended in the Digital Transformation category of the Housing Technology Awards 2026 after it partnered with Voicescape to transform its rent income recovery with AI-powered tools.
Inadequate income recovery
Managing approximately 5,500 homes across Northamptonshire, we were constrained by an inadequate rent income recovery system. With our arrears running at 2.5 per cent and our income officers managing 125 cases each week, we faced numerous critical problems that prevented effective income management.
These problems included inaccurate case recommendations leading to unnecessary customer contact, a lack of performance tracking or segmentation left our management blind to the effectiveness of our income team, and time-consuming navigation drained time and resources from meaningful customer engagements.
Our system simply wasn’t fit for purpose – it was basically just a glorified list and we had no visibility, no prioritisation and no way to track or audit our performance. We therefore recognised the opportunity to modernise our approach as part of our wider digital transformation strategy.
Real-time recommendations
We partnered with Voicescape to implement its Caseload Manager, an AI-powered income recovery platform that uses machine learning to provide intelligent, real-time case recommendations and automate resident engagement. The solution integrates seamlessly with our Orchard housing management system, delivering daily synchronisation that provides our income officers with current, accurate information.
The Voicescape platform uses AI-driven algorithms, based on behavioural science principles, that analyse patterns to identify the most relevant cases requiring intervention. The integrated SMS and email functionality includes an Allpay payment link to enable instant mobile payments. Customisable dashboards give our income officers and management team visibility into cases, performance and complete audit trails.
Voicescape’s implementation process also aligned with our digital transformation strategy. Rather than a one-time deployment, we embraced continuous improvement, with ongoing enhancements including the payment link integration that has generated around £130,000 in the past 16 months.
What was originally a glorified list has now become an AI-driven platform delivering real-time recommendations, seamless Orchard integration and complete performance visibility.
Beyond rule-based systems
The project demonstrates genuine innovation for income recovery, moving beyond static rule-based systems to adaptive AI that learns and improves over time. Our three-year journey has highlighted how advanced technologies can function as continuously-evolving assets rather than as a fixed, one-time deployment.
The innovation centres on several key elements. Firstly, AI-driven case prioritisation and machine-learning algorithms have replaced manual list-making with intelligent pattern recognition that surfaces the cases genuinely requiring interventions, eliminating our wasted efforts on low-priority accounts.
Secondly, real-time integration with our Orchard HMS avoids the frustrating scenario of chasing residents who’ve already paid. Algorithms continuously analyse patterns to prioritise cases requiring intervention, replacing static rule-based approaches with adaptive intelligence that improves over time.
The third element is proactive vulnerability identification. The AI tool detects benefits problems early, such as suspended housing benefit or underpaid universal credit, shifting from reactive arrears collection to preventative resident support. This early identification enables our team to support our residents before their arrears escalate, changing the entire dynamic of the relationship.
Reduced caseloads
The Voicescape platform mirrors our Orchard system, but with added intelligence. Everything’s visible, such as notes, balances and numbers, and I can even audit accounts in seconds.
Our income officer caseloads have been reduced by 30 per cent, from 125 to 87 recommendations per week (221 fewer cases per week across the team). Real-time synchronisation eliminates wasted effort chasing customers who’ve already paid, while our audit processes that previously required long manual reviews now take seconds.
The impact on the performance and motivation of our team has been equally important. Complete visibility into team performance and case prioritisation means everyone understands our priorities and can track their progress. The team trusts and enjoys using the system because they now have time for meaningful customer engagement rather than system navigation.
Lower arrears & higher income
Our arrears have fallen from 2.5 per cent to 1.1 per cent. Furthermore, this sustained improvement over the past three years demonstrates how the benefits compound over time as the AI learns and the team becomes more proficient.
The surplus funds we’ve generated through improved collection rates are now redirected to estate improvements and net-zero goals, creating a virtuous cycle where better technology enables better outcomes for our residents and the environment.
Most importantly, our team has moved from reactive crisis management to proactive support. Early identification of problems with residents’ benefits enables us to offer proactive support before their arrears escalate, fundamentally changing the resident experience.
A roadmap for arrears modernisation
By demonstrating how AI can enhance (but not replace) human judgement, our partnership with Voicescape offers a great example for other housing providers wanting to modernise their income-recovery operations.
The key lesson from our three-year journey is that digital transformation delivers extraordinary long-term value when approached as continuous evolution rather than as a one-time deployment. Technology that learns and adapts, combined with a partnership that embraces ongoing improvement, creates compounding benefits that static systems simply can’t match.
The right technology hasn’t just made our existing processes faster; it has enables entirely new ways of working that benefit both our organisation and the residents we serve.
Selina Bhambra is the income recovery team leader at Greatwell Homes. The housing provider was Commended in the Digital Transformation category at the Housing Technology Awards 2026.
