How to send payment reminders in QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online can remind your customers about unpaid invoices in two ways: one at a time, by hand, or automatically on a schedule you set. Here's how to do both, plus the one gap neither covers.
QuickBooks moves its menus around from time to time, so a label may differ slightly from what's below. The steps stay the same.
Send a reminder for one invoice
Use this when a specific customer needs a nudge today.
- Go to Sales (or Get paid & pay), then Invoices.
- Filter the list to Overdue so you only see what's past due.
- Find the invoice. In the Action column, open the menu and choose Send reminder.
- QuickBooks opens a reminder email with the invoice attached. Edit the wording if you like, then click Send.
To remind several customers at once, tick the boxes next to their invoices, then choose Batch actions and Send reminders.
Turn on automatic reminders
Automatic reminders go out on a schedule relative to each invoice's due date, so you don't have to remember.
- Click the gear icon (top right), then Account and settings.
- Open the Sales tab and scroll to Reminders.
- Turn on Automatic invoice reminders.
- Set up to three reminders, for example:
- 3 days before the due date: a friendly heads-up
- 7 days after the due date: "this may have been missed"
- 21 days after the due date: a firmer follow-up
- Edit each reminder's subject and message, then click Save and Done.
Only invoices with a due date and a customer email address get automatic reminders, so check both when you create invoices.
Need wording? Our free invoice reminder email templates cover every stage, from a friendly nudge to a final notice.
What reminders don't do
Automatic reminders email your customer. They don't tell you anything. That leaves three gaps:
- You don't know who's late until you go looking. Reminders go out quietly, and unless you open the invoice list or run an aging report, you won't know that a big invoice is now three weeks overdue.
- Some invoices need a phone call, not a fourth email. A good customer who's suddenly late, or a large balance, deserves a personal follow-up. You can only make that call if you know about it.
- Reminders can be ignored. An email from QuickBooks is easy to archive. When the automatic sequence runs out, nothing else happens unless you step in.
Closing the gap
The simplest fix is to know the morning an invoice goes overdue. That's what CashWatchdog does: it checks your QuickBooks Online company every morning and emails you (and your bookkeeper, if you like) the invoices that just went past due, with the customer, amount and days late. Leave QuickBooks' reminders on for your customers, and let CashWatchdog tell you when one needs a human.
See how CashWatchdog's QuickBooks alerts work, or compare it with QuickBooks' built-in reminders.