How to automate follow-ups on an unpaid invoice
Set a follow-up sequence once, one day overdue, seven, fourteen, and a final reminder at twenty-eight, and let it run automatically by SMS, and by email too if you've connected Gmail, every time an invoice goes unpaid. That's the difference between chasing money and having a system that chases it for you.
Why manual follow-up doesn't hold up
Every tradie wants to get paid; that's not the issue. Without a system, follow-up is inconsistent. A busy week on site means overdue invoices go unnoticed until they're three weeks overdue, and what started as a slow payer can quietly become a longer-term debt problem. Chasing also carries a relational dimension: you've worked alongside these people. It helps to have a process that does it for you, professionally and consistently, without it feeling personal on either side.
What a proper sequence looks like
Invoice date: delivered by email. 1 day overdue: friendly reminder. 7 days overdue: more direct, payment link resent. 14 days overdue: firm and polite. 28 days overdue: final automated reminder, and the next step is your call. Early reminders assume good intent. Later reminders are direct without being aggressive. The tone shifts with the timeline.
Reminders go out to your customer by SMS, and by email too if you've connected Gmail. If your Korda account is connected to Xero, each reminder also includes a link to view the invoice and pay online if you've set up payments in Xero.
How Korda automates it
You set the timing and language once during onboarding. From there, every invoice you send is automatically tracked, and the sequence fires on its own. Each message goes out by SMS, and by email too if you've connected Gmail, so it arrives looking exactly like a follow-up from you, because it is. Your Morning Brief shows which invoices are outstanding, overdue, and which follow-ups went out overnight. When a customer pays, the reminders stop immediately.
What it's worth
If you're running five or six jobs a month at $5,000 to $8,000 each, a three-week payment delay across even two of those is $15,000 or more sitting idle at any given time. Tightening that cycle by a week, consistently, changes your cash position in a way that compounds across the year.
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