Are You Sending Automated Invoice Reminder Emails in QuickBooks Online?

Collecting unpaid invoices is probably one of the most unpleasant tasks you must complete to keep your company’s finances going. No one likes contacting a customer and requesting that an outstanding bill be settled. But you know your cash flow will suffer if you don’t do this when needed.

Putting it off leads to an uneven collections schedule for your business. Plus, your customers never know when they might hear from you about a debt.

Setting up automated invoice reminder emails in QuickBooks Online solves that problem. It can also ease at least some of your anxiety about overdue payments. Here’s how you can get started.

A Simple Process

The mechanics of setting up automated invoice reminders aren’t complicated. The hardest parts are deciding on the timing of reminders and setting the right tone in your emails.

Start by clicking the gear icon in the upper right. Click Account and Settings under Your Company. Scroll down to the Sales tab and click it, then scroll to the Reminders section. If Automate Invoice Reminders are set to Off, click it, then click the toggle button to turn it to On. QuickBooks Online allows you to set up three different reminders for different periods. Click the down arrow on the Reminder 1 line.

Three Different Reminders

Each reminder is labeled with QuickBooks Online’s suggested timing (before the due date, on the due date and after the due date). You don’t have to follow this approach. You can specify the number of days you want the email reminder to go out before, on or after the due date for the first and third reminders. Reminder 2 only allows you to have the email sent on or after the due date. So, if you want, you can have all the reminders arrive after the due date, which is more typical.

You can select an email greeting (Dear, etc.) and specify whether full name, first name, company name, etc., should address the recipient. You can also modify the subject line to whatever you’d like it to say.

Below this heading information is the email message that will go out to the customer. QuickBooks Online supplies a boilerplate message, but you can edit it or rewrite it entirely.

Preparing Your Email Messages

You’ll notice that the invoice number and company name appear in brackets ([]). You’ll understand this concept if you’ve ever done a mail merge. If not, you should know that data in brackets gets replaced by actual data from your QuickBooks Online file. So, if one of the companies you’re writing to is Copy City, that name will replace the boilerplate text in brackets. The customer’s actual invoice number will appear in that field.

Of course, you’ll want to write separate messages for each reminder depending on when it will be sent. For example, your language will be a little more potent if the payment is 30 or more days late rather than seven days late. Give your customers the benefit of the doubt, at least on your first reminder. The customer may have missed the invoice or not have noticed the due date.

When you’re done setting up your reminders, click Save. Automatic invoice reminders only apply to new invoices. You can modify or turn off your reminders anytime. If you want to send an individual reminder to a customer about an invoice, hover your mouse over Sales in the toolbar and click Invoices. Click the down arrow in the Action column on the appropriate line and select Send Reminder.

Do You Need Your Own Reminders?

QuickBooks Online displays a list of Tasks that need to be done on its opening (Home) page. It provides various ways to get invoice information quickly. For example, you can scroll down on the Home page to the Income box to learn about open and overdue invoices.

You can also hover your mouse over Sales in the toolbar and click All Sales. You can see how much revenue is tied up in Estimates and Unbilled Income. Click the colored bars to see a list of transactions of each type. You can also see a list of Overdue Invoices. Look in the Action column to see what your options are. And there are always reports like Accounts Receivable Aging Detail, Open Invoices, Unbilled Charges, and Unbilled Time.

New Year, New Habits?

Perhaps one of your resolutions for 2025 is to improve your cash flow. Setting up automated invoice reminders as described here is one way to work toward that, but there are others. If you’re interested in exploring how QuickBooks Online can help, contact the office to set up a training session once you’re caught up with your 2024 accounting work. There’s always more you can learn about QuickBooks Online.