Chasing overdue invoices

Turn on automatic weekly reminders for overdue invoices, send a ready-written nudge yourself, and keep a log of everything that has gone out.

3 min read

Chasing is the part of freelancing nobody enjoys. Billable’s approach is to make the polite version happen automatically so you never have to compose it.

Step by step

  1. Turn reminders on — In settings, opt in to automatic reminders for overdue invoices.
  2. Let it do the chasing — Any invoice past its due date gets a friendly email, then another every seven days until it is marked paid. Each one shows how overdue it is and includes your payment details.
  3. Send one on demand when you need to — Open an overdue invoice and fire off a reminder in a click, with the message already written.
  4. Keep an eye on the bell — The bell in the top bar logs every reminder sent, with an unread badge, so what your clients have received is never a mystery.

Making it work well

  • Set realistic due dates. Reminders key off the due date, so an invoice with no meaningful deadline never becomes overdue.
  • Mark invoices paid promptly. A client who has already paid should not receive another nudge.
  • If a client has asked for time, send the reminder manually instead — or hold off until the agreed date.

Quirks worth knowing

The small things that trip people up.

Reminders are on the paid plan

Chasing clients by email — both the automatic weekly reminders and the one-click manual nudge — is part of the paid plan, since it emails your client. Turning on automatic reminders on the free plan opens the upgrade prompt.

It is off until you turn it on

Automatic reminders are opt-in. Nothing is ever emailed to a client on your behalf until you switch it on in settings.

Weekly, then weekly again

The first reminder goes out once an invoice passes its due date, then every seven days until it is marked paid. Marking it paid is what stops the cycle.

Replies come to you, not to Billable

The reminder is from your business. If the client replies to explain or to query it, that lands in your inbox.

The manual reminder is already written

Sending one yourself from an overdue invoice does not mean drafting an awkward email — the message is composed for you, and you send it in a click.

The bell is a record of what clients received

Every reminder sent is logged in the notification bell with an unread badge, so you always know exactly what has gone out and when.

Reminders carry your payment details

Each one shows how overdue the invoice is and includes how to pay, so the client never has to dig out the original email.

More about chase overdue invoices

More guides

Still stuck on this?

Send us a message through the support form and a real person will walk you through it — usually within a couple of business days.