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Finance & Admin

Polite Invoice Chaser

Follows up on unpaid invoices at 7, 14, and 30 days in your voice.

Saves about ~2 hrs per week

What it does

  • Tracks outstanding invoices in a connected Sheet
  • Sends a follow-up email at 7, 14, and 30 days overdue
  • Escalates tone gradually without ever sounding automated
  • Stops the sequence automatically the moment an invoice is marked paid

How it works

  1. Invoice added to the tracking sheet
  2. Due date checked daily
  3. Follow-up sent at 7 / 14 / 30 days overdue
  4. Sequence stops when marked paid

What's included

  • Invoice tool hookup
  • 3 follow-up templates
  • Escalation rules

Set it up yourself

Follow these 4 steps in order. You will need accounts for: Gmail, Sheets.

Step 1: Connect your invoicing tool

  1. Choose the source of truth: your invoicing tool (Stripe Billing, QuickBooks, Wave) or a manual spreadsheet.
  2. If using a sheet: create columns Invoice #, Client Email, Due Date, Amount, Status, Follow-ups Sent.
  3. If using an API: enable the invoicing tool's read scope (e.g. Stripe invoice.read) and pull open invoices.
  4. Test that open invoices appear in the data.
  5. Keep the due date as a proper date column — the cadence math depends on it.

Watch out: Pick ONE source of truth. If both the tool and a sheet exist, whichever you update last wins — that causes missed follow-ups.

Step 2: Write, or borrow, your follow-up tone

  1. Email 1 (day 7): friendly reminder — 'Just checking in on invoice {n}…'. Attach the invoice link.
  2. Email 2 (day 14): slightly firmer — mention it's 2 weeks out and offer a payment plan as an option.
  3. Email 3 (day 30): direct — deadline language, options to fix any problem, and a clear 'reach out if something's wrong'.
  4. Keep each under 90 words and never rude.
  5. Save all three as Gmail templates or in the sheet.

Watch out: The tone escalation is the entire trick: it must read human at every step, so write these like real emails, not macros.

Step 3: Set the 7 / 14 / 30 day schedule

  1. In the workflow, each day compute days-overdue for every open invoice.
  2. At exactly 7 days overdue → send Email 1 (if Follow-ups Sent == 0).
  3. At 14 → Email 2 if not yet sent.
  4. At 30 → Email 3.
  5. After each send, append the count so the same day can't double-send.

Watch out: Use days-since-due-date, not a calendar date — invoices are irregular, and a fixed date comparison breaks when one is late by a month.

Step 4: Add the escalation rule

  1. Beyond day 30, set a 'manual review' flag — no more auto emails past the third.
  2. Post overdue invoice names to your Slack or a daily digest so a human weighs in.
  3. Optional: if an invoice hits 60 days, move it to a 'collections' tab.
  4. Test the full chain with three dummy invoices at different ages.
  5. Review monthly how many invoices the sequence recovered.

Watch out: The manual-review stop is what keeps this human — after 30 days a template won't save the relationship, a phone call might.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Polite Invoice Chaser automation do?

Follows up on unpaid invoices at 7, 14, and 30 days in your voice. Tracks outstanding invoices in a connected Sheet

How much time does Polite Invoice Chaser save?

It is estimated to save ~2 hrs per week. Actual savings depend on your volume.

Which tools does Polite Invoice Chaser use?

It works with Gmail and Sheets.

What does Polite Invoice Chaser include?

Invoice tool hookup, 3 follow-up templates, Escalation rules.

Can I set up Polite Invoice Chaser myself?

Yes. The do-it-yourself guide on this page walks through 4 steps, from getting access to testing the finished automation.