Automated payment reminders to clients

Purpose

1.1. To automate the process of sending payment reminders to clients, ensuring timely invoice settlements for architectural design practitioners.
1.2. Automates the follow-up process, reducing manual intervention, preventing overdue payments, and improving cash flow by leveraging preconfigured schedules and channels across diverse platforms.
1.3. Delivers automated notifications via SMS, email, messaging apps, or calls, enabling professional consistency and increasing collection efficiency for architectural firms.
1.4. Enhances professionalism, tracks reminder status, and offers automated escalation for persistent overdue accounts.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Invoice due date approaches (e.g., 7, 3, 1 day(s) before due).
2.2. Invoice overdue status detected in accounting software.
2.3. Partial payments not matching invoice amount after automated reconciliation.
2.4. No payment confirmation or receipt uploaded post-payment window.

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio SMS
• Feature/Setting: Send SMS via programmable API; configure account SID, Auth Token, and recipients list for automated reminders.
3.2. SendGrid
• Feature/Setting: Email automation with scheduled sends; configure Single Send Campaign API, recipient segmentation, and dynamic fields for personalized reminders.
3.3. Gmail API
• Feature/Setting: Automated “Send Message” endpoint; preset templates with merge tags for invoice details, filter outgoing reminders.
3.4. Outlook 365 Graph API
• Feature/Setting: Automated “SendMail” function; trigger from invoice due data, automate recipient lookup, and attach e-invoice PDF.
3.5. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Automated DM or channel message via Webhooks; mapping client’s Slack ID with invoice due dates.
3.6. Microsoft Teams
• Feature/Setting: Automated message via Bot Framework; scheduled or triggered by approaching invoice due dates.
3.7. WhatsApp Business API
• Feature/Setting: Automated proactive messaging; configure message templates with dynamic variables, recipient mapping, and timing rules.
3.8. Facebook Messenger API
• Feature/Setting: Automated message send function; triggers mapped to client Messenger IDs and invoice timelines.
3.9. QuickBooks Online
• Feature/Setting: Invoice automation with “Send Reminder” API; set custom rules for overdue invoice detection and reminder frequency.
3.10. Xero
• Feature/Setting: Automated invoice reminder settings; enable time-based automated reminders directly from Xero’s Sales Invoice APIs.
3.11. FreshBooks
• Feature/Setting: Automated client reminder rules in Recurring Invoices; enables automating emails to clients for unpaid invoices.
3.12. Zoho Books
• Feature/Setting: Automated reminder configuration per client/invoice; dynamic reminder templates via Workflow Rules API.
3.13. HubSpot
• Feature/Setting: Sequence automation for payment reminders; schedule automated follow-ups via connected CRM workflows.
3.14. Salesforce
• Feature/Setting: Workflow automation in Process Builder; automatically triggers “Send Email” action on invoice status change.
3.15. Stripe
• Feature/Setting: Automated email notices for unpaid invoices using “Invoice.upcoming” and “Invoice.payment_failed” events in Webhooks.
3.16. PayPal
• Feature/Setting: Automated reminders via “RemindInvoice” API; triggers email reminders for pending payments.
3.17. Mailgun
• Feature/Setting: Use Messages API to send custom, automated reminders using templates and dynamic recipient lists.
3.18. Mailchimp
• Feature/Setting: Triggered email automation; schedule payment reminders via customer tags and custom segments.
3.19. Google Calendar API
• Feature/Setting: Automated event reminders to clients by creating or updating calendar events with notifications enabled.
3.20. Monday.com
• Feature/Setting: Automates reminder pulses and email notifications based on invoice status columns and automations center rules.
3.21. Trello
• Feature/Setting: Card due date automation with Butler; trigger reminders and notifications via email or app notification as invoices near due.
3.22. ClickSend
• Feature/Setting: Automated SMS or email send schedule; configure invoice triggers, recipient groups, and message templates.

Benefits

4.1. Accelerates payment collection by automating reminders, reducing cash-flow delays for design practitioners.
4.2. Reduces manual tracking—automation ensures reminders go out at the exact right times, no human error.
4.3. Enables uniformity and professionalism—automated messaging removes variability and subjective tone.
4.4. Improves client satisfaction by sending timely, informative, and persistent notifications.
4.5. Frees staff to focus on architectural design and client work, automating repetitive financial follow-up.
4.6. Enables escalation automation—persistent non-payment can automatically escalate to collections or management.
4.7. Automation ensures audit-friendly records for all reminder interactions, supporting compliance and financial transparency.