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Automated payment reminders that chase invoices so you do not have to

Doing the work is the fun part. Chasing the money is not. Most owners put off reminder emails because they feel awkward, then the invoice is 30 days old and harder to collect. Automated payment reminders take the awkward part out: the same polite message goes to every customer on the same schedule, and it stops the moment they pay. Here is what late invoices cost, a reminder schedule you can copy, and how Dheed sends automatic invoice reminders for clients.

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What late invoices cost a small business

An unpaid invoice is money you already spent. You paid for materials, fuel and labor, and now you are lending that money to the customer for free. Late payments also eat your evenings, because someone has to notice, write the email and keep track of who was reminded.

Example: a landscaping company sends a $480 invoice for a spring cleanup with 14 days to pay. Nobody follows up, and it is paid on day 52, after the owner finally calls. Meanwhile the company covered a mulch order and a payroll on its own cash. Nothing went wrong with the work. The gap was the follow up.

A reminder schedule that stays polite

  1. Send the invoice the day the work is done, with a clear due date and an invoice pay link.
  2. First reminder a few days after the due date. Assume they forgot.
  3. Second reminder about a week late. Restate the amount and the link.
  4. Third reminder about two weeks late. Offer a call if something is wrong.
  5. Then a person calls. Software should not be the last step.
  6. Thank them when they pay with a receipt, so the relationship stays good.

How Dheed sends automated payment reminders

Invoices in Dheed come from a job, from a signed estimate or from scratch. Each one has a customer page with a Pay button, and card payments go through Stripe into your own Stripe account. Learn more in estimates and invoices and online payments.

The Overdue invoice reminders recipe sends the customer an overdue invoice reminder email 3, 7 and 14 days after the due date. Before every email, Dheed checks the invoice again. If it is paid, the reminders stop. Days overdue triggers are checked during business daytime hours, so reminders do not land at 3 AM. The Payment receipt recipe sends a payment receipt email when an invoice is paid.

If someone pays by cash, check, bank transfer or Zelle, record it by hand on the invoice, and Dheed treats the invoice the same way. Reports show what is unpaid by age and what you collected each month.

Fees, stated plainly

Online card payments carry Stripe's fee plus a Dheed platform fee: 1% on Free and Starter, 0.5% on Pro and 0.25% on Business. Payments you record by hand carry no Dheed fee.

Setting it up in Dheed

  1. Connect Stripe in Settings, Payments.
  2. Connect your business email in Settings, Email, so reminders come from your own address.
  3. Set a due date on each invoice. Reminders count from it.
  4. Open Automations and turn on Overdue invoice reminders and Payment receipt. Recipes start turned off.
  5. Read the built in emails listed on the Automations page before you switch them on.
  6. Use test mode to see which invoices would have been reminded in the last 30 days, without sending.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

  • Be specific: invoice number, amount, due date and the link. Vague reminders get ignored.
  • Do not threaten in an automatic email. Save firm words for a phone call.
  • Record offline payments the same day, or a paid customer may get a reminder.
  • Add a task step on the 14 day reminder so someone calls the customer.
  • Small crews, like handyman businesses and landscaping companies, often bill many small jobs, which is where steady automated payment reminders save the most evenings.

Automated payment reminders are one part of the all-in-one business platform that carries a job from quote to paid. See plans and pricing, or start free.

Frequently asked questions

How do automatic invoice reminders for clients work in Dheed?

Turn on the Overdue invoice reminders recipe. Dheed emails the customer 3, 7 and 14 days after the due date, each with the invoice link and its Pay button. Before each email it checks the invoice again and stops once it is paid.

Do payment reminders stop if a customer pays by check?

Yes, once you record the payment. You can record cash, check, bank transfer, Zelle or a card taken elsewhere by hand. When that marks the invoice paid, the remaining reminders do not go out.

What does Dheed charge on online invoice payments?

Card payments go to your own Stripe account. They carry Stripe's processing fee plus a Dheed platform fee of 1% on Free and Starter, 0.5% on Pro and 0.25% on Business.

Can payment reminders go out by text?

The recipe uses email. If you have the business texting add-on, you can build your own automation on the invoice overdue trigger with a text step, which only goes to customers who agreed to texts.

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