The 15-Minute Win: Set Up One Xero Invoice Reminder That Runs Itself

Chasing unpaid invoices is one of those jobs that quietly eats your week. You send the invoice, wait, hear nothing, write a polite follow-up, wait again, then wrestle with whether to call or send another email without sounding like a debt collector. It takes time, it’s awkward, and half the time you forget someone owes you money until your accountant points it out.

There’s a better way. Xero has a built-in invoice reminder system that handles all of this for you. Set it up once and it sends follow-up emails automatically, before the due date, on the due date, and after. No more calendar reminders. No more awkward emails drafted at 11pm.

Here’s how to set it up in under 15 minutes.

1. Open Invoice Reminders in Xero
Go to Settings → Invoice Settings → Reminders. You’ll see it’s off by default. Flick the switch to turn it on.

2. Set your reminder triggers
Xero lets you send reminders at multiple points. A good starting setup:

• 7 days before the due date (a friendly heads-up)
• On the due date (a gentle “just so you know”)
• 7 days after the due date (a firmer nudge)

You can add more intervals if you want, but three is enough for most small businesses.

3. Write the reminder emails
Xero gives you editable templates for each reminder. Don’t start with “Dear Customer.” Instead, use the {ContactName} merge field so it pulls their name automatically. Keep the language professional but direct. Something like: “Hi {ContactName}, just a quick note that invoice {InvoiceNumber} for {AmountDue} is due on {DueDate}.”

4. Save and test on a dummy invoice
Before going live, create a test invoice for a fake contact and run through the flow. Check that the merge fields populate correctly and the email looks right.

5. Exclude clients you want to handle personally
If you have clients where you’d rather follow up yourself (say, a big account where the relationship matters), you can exclude them. In the individual contact record, turn off automated reminders for that contact specifically.

That’s it. One setup session and Xero handles follow-ups going forward.

The numbers make it worth doing. Late payment follow-ups take about 23 minutes per invoice on average. If you’re chasing 10 invoices a month, that’s nearly four hours back in your week, without a single awkward phone call.

It’s not the most exciting thing you’ll automate. But it pays for itself every single month, in recovered time and in invoices that actually get paid on time.

This post is part of the 15-Minute Win series, quick, practical AI wins for Australian small businesses.

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