Payment follow-ups and reminder automations

Purpose

1. Automate timely and repeated follow-up reminders to clients for pending invoice payments to ensure healthy cash flow.

2. Reduce manual tracking, eliminate human error, and ensure every unpaid invoice receives appropriate reminders per pre-defined schedules.

3. Integrate with core financial, CRM, email, SMS, and messaging platforms to deliver reminders in the client's preferred communication channel.

4. Enable escalation logic for high-value or overdue accounts, with notifications sent to internal stakeholders as necessary.

5. Log each reminder activity and update payment status automatically upon receipt.

Trigger Conditions

1. Invoice generated and sent, marked as pending within the financial system.

2. Payment due date approaching (configurable: e.g., 7, 3, 1 day(s) before due date).

3. Invoice past due (e.g., Day 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90 after due date).

4. Manual override/trigger, e.g., finance team initiates reminder for specific accounts or high-importance invoices.

5. Partial payments received, or payment arrangements entered—trigger custom reminders accordingly.

Platform Variants

1. Twilio SMS

• Feature/Setting: Use SMS API; configure "Message Create" endpoint, payload includes invoice details, dynamic variables for due date and link.
  

2. SendGrid

• Feature/Setting: Use "Mail Send" API; set up dynamic email templates for payment reminders with placeholders for client/invoice details.
  

3. DocuSign

• Feature/Setting: Envelope status trigger; use Connect webhook to notify if payment confirmation is pending after invoice e-signature.
  

4. QuickBooks Online

• Feature/Setting: On "Invoice Due" webhook; trigger reminder via Notes API and push notification to client's email/SMS.
  

5. Xero

• Feature/Setting: Invoice status monitoring via API; use "GET Invoices" for overdue filtering, trigger custom email reminders.
  

6. Slack

• Feature/Setting: Push reminders to dedicated finance channel; use "chat.postMessage" API with invoice link and client status.
  

7. Microsoft Teams

• Feature/Setting: Use "Send message" via Graph API in channel of finance/accounts receivable.
  

8. Salesforce

• Feature/Setting: Use Process Builder/Flow to trigger outbound reminder email/task creation when invoice status = "Overdue."
  

9. Zoho Books

• Feature/Setting: Setup "Workflow Rules" for reminders; trigger email/SMS using Zoho Books API when invoice marked overdue.
  

10. Stripe

• Feature/Setting: "Invoice.payment_failed" event via webhook; initiate SMS or email using external API.
  

11. PayPal

• Feature/Setting: Via "Notifications API," detect incomplete payments, send follow-ups using a dedicated communication workflow.
  

12. FreshBooks

• Feature/Setting: Use API to pull overdue invoices, send reminders via integrated email/SMS plugin.
  

13. HubSpot

• Feature/Setting: Use Workflow Automation to send reminders; trigger based on "Deal Stage" = Payment Pending.
  

14. Gmail API

• Feature/Setting: Automate reminder email directly from business address; use "users.messages.send" to schedule communication.
  

15. WhatsApp Business API

• Feature/Setting: Use "messages" endpoint for sending reminders; enable transactional messaging template with invoice details.
  

16. Mailgun

• Feature/Setting: Automate transactional reminder emails with scheduling; use "messages" API to track status.
  

17. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Create card/task for financial team as overdue escalation; use REST API for card creation in ‘Payment Follow-up’ list.
  

18. Pipedrive

• Feature/Setting: Trigger reminder via Activity API when deal/invoice is marked overdue.
  

19. Intercom

• Feature/Setting: Use "Messages" API to push automated in-app reminders to logged-in clients.
  

20. Monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Auto create item/update status using API; email integration for sending reminders to point of contact.
  

Benefits

1. Reduces overdue receivables and administrative workload.

2. Ensures consistent and professional client communications.

3. Improves cash flow and financial predictability.

4. Frees up finance teams to focus on more complex tasks.

5. Creates verifiable audit trails of follow-up activities.

6. Boosts client satisfaction through clear, timely reminders.

7. Allows highly granular customization across diverse platforms.