Automatic invoice reminders for QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online's built-in reminders

• QuickBooks Online can send up to three automatic reminder emails per invoice.
• Each one can go out a set number of days before or after the due date, up to 90 days either way.
• One email template is shared by all three reminders, so the tone stays the same from the first to the last.
• Reminders only go to invoices you've already emailed from QuickBooks.

How to turn them on

1. Click the gear icon, then Account and settings.
2. Open the Sales tab and find the Reminders section.
3. Click the edit (pencil) icon and switch on automatic invoice reminders.
4. Set the timing for each reminder, edit the email if you want, and click Save.

Menus change from time to time. If something has moved, see QuickBooks help: send invoice reminders.

When the built-in reminders aren't enough

The main limit is three reminders with one shared message. That works for clients who simply forgot. It works less well for the ones who need a few nudges that get gradually firmer, and it leaves you to decide by hand when to stop emailing and follow up personally.

Ledgerhawk sits alongside QuickBooks Online. You keep sending invoices exactly the way you do now, and forward a copy to your Ledgerhawk address. Ledgerhawk then runs a five-step follow-up that changes tone as the invoice gets later:

Ledgerhawk can also add a one-time late fee once an invoice passes your grace period, update the payment link to the new total, and send optional text reminders to clients who sign up for them. See the wording of each reminder or work out a fee with the late fee calculator.

Good to know before you add Ledgerhawk

• Turn off QuickBooks Online's reminders for the invoices Ledgerhawk is handling, so clients don't get two sets of emails.
• You confirm the amount and due date once. Ledgerhawk saves the forwarded invoice, and you fill in those two details the first time.
• Ledgerhawk doesn't sync with QuickBooks Online. Payments made through Ledgerhawk's payment link stop the reminders automatically. If a client pays through QuickBooks Online instead, click "Mark fully paid" on that invoice in Ledgerhawk.
• Payments go to your own Stripe account, and reminders come from your business name, with replies going to you.