How to set up automatic overdue invoice reminders from Xero

Chasing invoices by hand has a built-in flaw: it depends on you having the time and the stomach to do it, and both run short exactly when you are busiest. The fix is to take the follow up off a person entirely and put it on a rule that fires from your Xero data. Set it up once and your overdue invoices chase themselves, in a consistent voice, on time, every time.

Here is how to build that, and how to choose triggers that get you paid without annoying good customers.

How the automation works

Xero already tracks every invoice, its due date, its amount outstanding and its status. Connect SMS365 to your Xero organisation and it watches for invoices that match rules you set, then sends a text built from the invoice fields, including the real Xero pay link so the customer can pay in one tap.

The important safeguard is that reminders are deduped per invoice. Even if a sync runs twice or an invoice flips status and back, a given reminder fires once for that invoice. You will not be the business that texts the same customer the same reminder three times, which is the fastest way to turn a late payer into an angry one.

Choosing your triggers

A trigger is the condition that sends a message. You do not want many, and you do not want them all aimed after the due date. A schedule that reaches people before the invoice is a problem outperforms one that only reacts once it already is.

• 3 days before due: the highest-value message. It reaches the customer while the job is fresh and before the invoice is forgotten.
• On the due date: a neutral "due today" note with the pay link.
• 3 days overdue: a warm acknowledgement that it is now late, leaving room for a simple oversight.
• 14 days overdue: a firmer follow up that references your terms and offers a payment plan.

Start with just the "3 days overdue" trigger if you want to keep it minimal, then add the earlier ones once you see it working. The before-due nudge is the one to add next, because it prevents lateness rather than reacting to it. For the wording at each stage, the polite late payment reminder script gives you copy to paste in.

The setup, step by step

1. Connect Xero and authorise read access to invoices and contacts.
2. Fill in mobile numbers. A reminder only goes where the Xero contact has a mobile. Check your active debtors first; this is the step that quietly limits coverage if you skip it.
3. Build each trigger with its timing and its message, using merge fields for name, invoice number, amount and pay link.
4. Test on your own mobile via a dummy contact, and confirm the link opens the correct payment page.
5. Turn it on and watch the first day of sends in your message history before walking away from it.

Hi Jordan, invoice INV-3390 for $720 is now 3 days overdue. You can pay it here: [Xero pay link]. If it has already gone through, please ignore this. Thanks, Eastwood Joinery.

Handle the replies automatically too

Automated reminders on a two-way number will get replies, and that is a feature, not a nuisance. SMS365's AI assistant can answer a "what was this for" by looking up the customer's invoice, and when a customer replies with a date it can record a promise to pay against the invoice so the follow up schedules itself. Anything that needs you personally lands in your inbox. This is what turns a reminder rule into something closer to an after-hours collections assistant. There is more in following up on a promise to pay.

Keep it honest and compliant

Two things to keep right. First, delivery: SMS365 marks a message "sent" when it has been handed to the carrier and "delivered" only on a real delivery receipt, so the status you see is real, not assumed. Second, opt-outs: every number carries a working STOP and START with an append-only consent record. Invoice reminders about genuine debts are transactional, but honouring a stop request is still the right call and it is handled for you.

What changes when you switch it on

The visible change is that your debtor days fall. The invisible change matters more: the job of chasing money leaves your head. You stop carrying the mental list of who owes what, stop feeling awkward about the follow up, and stop doing it inconsistently. The rule does not get busy or embarrassed. It just sends the right message at the right time and books the promises when they come in.

If you want the broader case for using text over email for this, see SMS versus email payment reminders, and the pricing page for the prepaid, no-lock-in rates.