Support guide · Accounting

Automate Invoice Chasing in Xero Before Buying Another Tool

If you already use Xero, basic overdue-invoice chasing may already be included in the software you pay for. Set up the built-in reminder workflow, test it on real invoices, and only add another credit-control product if a specific gap remains.

See Xero invoice-reminder guidance Browse accounting decisions

The short answer

For routine reminder emails, start with Xero's own invoice reminders.

Xero currently supports automatic invoice reminders for invoices that are due or overdue. You can turn reminders on for the organisation, switch them off for particular customers or invoices, edit the reminder timing and message, and check reminder status and history when something does not send as expected.

For a 1–5 person service business, that is enough reason to test the built-in workflow before paying for a separate invoice-chasing subscription.

What to do first

First work out whether you have a software gap or a setup gap

Xero provides invoice-reminder capability. The practical question is whether you have configured and tested it before paying for a separate credit-control tool.

Use Xero first

Turn on the built-in reminder workflow before adding another product. The capability is already present.

Fix the setup

Check invoice status, customer email details, reminder history, due dates and exceptions before assuming Xero cannot do the job.

Consider another tool only for a real gap

Define the missing workflow first. A separate tool only earns its place when the requirement goes beyond the reminder process you can configure in Xero.

Before you switch reminders on

Make the invoice process reliable first

Automatic chasing cannot repair an invoice that has the wrong due date, was never marked as sent, went to the wrong email address or has already been paid but not recorded correctly.

Use clear payment terms

Xero lets you set default due dates for sales invoices and override them for particular contacts. A reminder schedule only makes sense when the due date reflects the terms you actually agreed.

Make sure invoices are sent

Xero's current support guidance says an invoice needs to be marked as sent for overdue reminders to go out. Emailing an invoice from Xero marks it as sent automatically; an invoice created outside that flow may need checking.

Keep payment status current

Xero can use connected bank information and reconciliation to help track what has been paid. If payment status is wrong, the reminder workflow cannot make a good decision about who still owes money.

Step 1

Turn invoice reminders on at organisation level

In Xero's current interface, the organisation-level path is through Sales → Sales settings → Invoice settings → Invoice Reminders.

Open Sales settings.
Go to the Sales area, then open the invoice settings used for your organisation.
Open Invoice Reminders.
This is where Xero controls the organisation-wide reminder sequence.
Enable customer reminder emails.
Xero's current help page describes an “Email customers when an invoice is…” checkbox for switching the organisation-level workflow on or off.
Review the reminder timings rather than accepting them blindly.
Xero provides preset reminder periods and an option to add/edit reminders. Choose a sequence that matches your payment terms and customer relationships.
Save the settings, then test them.
Do not assume that enabling the switch means the whole workflow is correct. Check the email copy, customer exceptions and reminder status before relying on it.

Step 2

Choose a reminder sequence that fits the relationship

The goal is not to send the maximum number of automated emails. It is to remove routine admin while keeping communication proportionate.

Stage	Possible approach	Why
Before due date	Optional friendly reminder where it suits the customer/payment cycle	Useful where customers benefit from advance notice; unnecessary for every business.
Shortly overdue	Polite automatic reminder	Handles the common “forgotten invoice” without owner intervention.
Still overdue	A firmer but professional follow-up	Escalates the message without turning routine automation into aggressive debt collection.
Repeated reminders ignored	Move back to human handling	A phone call, agreed payment date, dispute discussion or formal next step may now be more appropriate than another automatic email.

The timing above is UK Software Stack editorial guidance, not a prescribed Xero schedule. Your actual payment terms, customer type and contractual position should determine the sequence.

Step 3

Rewrite the reminder messages in your own business voice

Xero lets you edit email templates used for invoice reminders and supports placeholders for information such as customer name, amount due, invoice totals and the online invoice link.

Keep the first reminder neutral

Assume a routine oversight before assuming a problem. State the invoice, amount/due date where useful, and how the customer can pay or contact you.

Make replies useful

The customer should know how to tell you that payment has already been made, an invoice is disputed, or a different payment date has been agreed.

Do not automate threats

Formal recovery language, legal escalation and customer-specific disputes need more care than a generic reminder template. Keep the automated sequence focused on ordinary chasing.

Step 4

Use customer and invoice exceptions instead of breaking the whole system

Xero currently lets you switch reminders off for a particular customer or for one or more individual invoices while leaving the organisation-level workflow running.

Disputed invoice

Pause automatic reminders for that invoice while the underlying disagreement is being handled.

Agreed payment arrangement

If a customer has promised a different payment date, avoid sending a reminder that contradicts the agreement. Xero also supports recording an expected payment date on an unpaid invoice.

Customer-specific process

Some clients have procurement or accounts-payable rules that make the normal reminder sequence inappropriate. Use a customer exception rather than disabling automation for everyone.

Step 5

Check reminder status before blaming the feature

If a customer says they never received a reminder, or you expected one to go out and it did not, Xero provides reminder status and invoice history.

What to check	Why it matters
Customer email address	Xero can show an “Email missing” reminder status when no usable address is stored.
Invoice marked as sent	An invoice that was not marked as sent can prevent the reminder from being issued.
Reminder turned off	Organisation, customer and invoice-level settings can affect whether a reminder is active.
Due date changed	If the reminder date has already passed after a due-date change, Xero may not retroactively send that missed reminder.
History & Notes	The invoice history can show when reminders were scheduled or sent and help explain what happened.

A sensible starter workflow

Start small enough that you can tell whether automation is helping

For a small service business that currently chases invoices manually, a practical first test is one normal reminder sequence for undisputed invoices, a human exception process, and a weekly review of anything that remains overdue.

Invoice with the correct due date.
Make the terms clear at the beginning rather than relying on chasing to compensate for vague payment expectations.
Let Xero send the routine reminders.
Use the built-in feature for ordinary overdue follow-up.
Review exceptions once a week.
Look at overdue invoices, reminder status and customers who have ignored the normal sequence.
Move unusual cases to human handling.
Record promises to pay, disputes and special arrangements rather than repeatedly emailing the same automated message.
Measure the admin saved.
After a month, ask whether manual chasing time fell and whether overdue invoices became easier to control.

When another tool might earn its place

Do not buy one because “credit control software” sounds more professional.

A separate product becomes worth reviewing only when you can describe the job that remains unsolved after the Xero workflow is configured and tested.

Complex collections workflow

You need more structured case ownership, customer segmentation, promises-to-pay or escalation handling than a basic reminder sequence provides.

Team-scale credit control

Several people need shared operational control of a high volume of overdue accounts, rather than one owner reviewing exceptions.

A specific integration gap

Your tested process needs to connect to another system in a way the current setup cannot reliably deliver. Define that missing workflow before comparing products.

Do not count “I have not configured Xero yet” as a capability gap. That is a setup problem, not evidence that you need another product.

Our decision

If you already pay for Xero, make its reminder workflow prove itself first.

For basic overdue-invoice chasing, start by configuring and testing Xero reminders. If the process is unreliable, fix the setup. Compare a separate product only when you can name a real workflow that remains unsolved.

The aim is not to avoid buying software forever. It is to stop paying for a second tool to perform a job the first one can already do.

See Xero invoice-reminder guidance Browse software comparisons

Sources and scope

Published facts used on this page

The recommendation to test Xero's included reminder workflow before buying another tool is UK Software Stack editorial judgement. Xero's own current documentation below substantiates the reminder capability and setup behaviour described above.

Page reviewed: 3 October 2026. Xero features and interface wording can change. Check the current Xero guidance before relying on a setting.