Automated payment reminders and follow-ups

Purpose

1. Reduce overdue invoices by automating payment reminders and follow-up messages to clients.

2. Eliminate manual tracking of unpaid bills, enhancing the efficiency of finance teams.

3. Ensure steady cash flow for amusement machine suppliers by prompting timely payments.

4. Deliver reminders via multiple channels (email, SMS, WhatsApp, phone) for comprehensive reach.

5. Capture payment confirmations and escalate non-responses for further action.

6. Integrate with accounting, CRM, and ERP systems for unified finance operations.

Trigger Conditions

1. Invoice creation date and due date from accounting system.

2. Outstanding payment surpasses a defined threshold (e.g., 3, 7, 14 days overdue).

3. Partial payment received but balance remains unpaid.

4. Payment status updated on external payment gateway.

5. Customer segmentation (VIP, regular, delinquent) for tailored reminder sequences.

6. Manual trigger for exceptional cases (escalated collections).

Platform Variants

1. Twilio (SMS, WhatsApp)

• Feature/Setting: Programmable Messaging API — automate personalized SMS or WhatsApp reminders.
  
• Sample: Schedule reminders with status tracking using Twilio's Message resource.
  

2. SendGrid (Email)

• Feature/Setting: Marketing Campaigns & Transactional API — send templated reminders to overdue accounts.
  
• Sample: Use dynamic fields in email templates to auto-insert payment links.
  

3. Stripe (Accounting/Payment Integration)

• Feature/Setting: Customer, Invoice, and PaymentIntent APIs — trigger reminders for unpaid invoices.
  
• Sample: Fetch overdue invoices and send reminders via webhook triggers.
  

4. Xero

• Feature/Setting: Invoices endpoint (GET/POST), Webhooks — detect overdue status and initiate reminder routines.
  
• Sample: Poll invoices daily and initiate workflow if PaymentDueDate < today.
  

5. QuickBooks Online

• Feature/Setting: Transactions API, Webhooks — monitor invoice payment status and auto-send reminders.
  
• Sample: Configure workflow using SalesReceipt and Invoice objects.
  

6. Zoho Books

• Feature/Setting: Automation Rules and Webhooks — trigger email reminders based on invoice state.
  
• Sample: Set criteria “invoice overdue” as trigger for workflow.
  

7. Mailgun

• Feature/Setting: Messages API — dispatch batch reminders via email with dynamic fields.
  
• Sample: Use recipient-variables for personalized reminder content.
  

8. Slack

• Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhooks & Chat.PostMessage API — notify internal teams of chronic non-payments.
  
• Sample: Create channel alerts for invoices > 14 days overdue.
  

9. Microsoft Teams

• Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhook Connector — post automated financial alerts to channels.
  
• Sample: Send daily overdue summary to “Finance” team.
  

10. HubSpot CRM

• Feature/Setting: Workflows, Email Automation — send reminders and track customer engagement.
  
• Sample: Trigger email to contact when associated invoice is overdue.
  

11. Pipedrive

• Feature/Setting: Activities API, Workflows — schedule follow-up activities for sales/account managers on late payers.
  
• Sample: Auto-create “Payment collection” task for overdue deals.
  

12. Salesforce

• Feature/Setting: Process Builder, Flows — trigger custom reminders and tasks from unpaid invoices.
  
• Sample: Flow to update “Reminder Sent” status and escalate based on customer response.
  

13. ActiveCampaign

• Feature/Setting: Automations, Email Sequences — create custom follow-up reminder series for outstanding invoices.
  
• Sample: Time-series reminders linked to contact payment fields.
  

14. FreshBooks

• Feature/Setting: Events & Emails — auto-send payment extensions and overdue notifications.
  
• Sample: Enable built-in automatic reminders with customized frequency.
  

15. Intercom

• Feature/Setting: Messaging Automations — send In-App or email reminders to contacts with open debts.
  
• Sample: Tag overdue contacts and trigger message sequence.
  

16. Google Sheets

• Feature/Setting: Apps Script & Triggers — scan payment columns and email late payers.
  
• Sample: OnEdit trigger for payment column update; auto email when due date passes.
  

17. Zendesk

• Feature/Setting: Triggers & Automations — create support tickets for unresponsive or problematic debtors.
  
• Sample: Trigger with “Invoice overdue” condition to auto-create ticket.
  

18. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Power-Ups & Webhooks — create cards for finance to track collection actions.
  
• Sample: “Overdue Invoice” label auto-applied and assigned to collectors.
  

19. Monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Automations — auto-notify stakeholders and move items between “current” and “overdue” boards.
  
• Sample: If “Payment status = overdue,” notify finance and move to Overdue board.
  

20. Zoho CRM

• Feature/Setting: Workflow Rules — send automated reminders by SMS or email for overdue payments.
  
• Sample: Set rule “If Invoice.Status = Overdue, send SMS via ClickSend integration.”
  

21. ClickSend

• Feature/Setting: SMS & Email API — multi-channel reminder scheduling and escalation.
  
• Sample: Use API to send SMS reminder 1 day before, on, and after due date.
  

22. DocuSign

• Feature/Setting: Envelopes API — send contract renewal/collection forms with built-in reminder schedules.
  
• Sample: Configure recurring reminders on unsigned payment authorization envelopes.
  

Benefits

1. Cut down administrative time spent on payment collections.

2. Boost collection rates and accelerate cash flow for amusement machine suppliers.

3. Reduce disputes and customer churn due to missed or forgotten payments.

4. Deliver consistent, timely, and traceable communication across preferred customer channels.

5. Enable granular reporting and tracking of reminder outcomes for continuous process optimization.

6. Facilitate escalations and legal follow-ups automatically for chronic non-payment cases.