QuickBooks · Past Due Invoice Reminders

QuickBooks Past Due Invoices: Send an Email Payment Reminder

More than a quarter of small businesses wait over 30 days to get paid. QuickBooks can chase overdue invoices for you, automatically, so you stop tracking due dates by hand.

At QuickFix Bookkeeping, the setup that works is three staged reminders: one before the due date, one on it, and a firmer one after. Below is how to turn them on in QuickBooks Online and Desktop.

Send Past Due Reminders, Step by Step

METHOD 1Turn On Automatic Reminders (QuickBooks Online)Set once, runs itself

Go to Settings, Account and settings, Sales, then in the Reminders section select Edit.

Turn on Automatic invoice reminders, then toggle on Reminder 1.

Set the timing. Choose a number of days and before or after the due date. You can schedule up to 90 days either side, and set up second and third reminders for escalating tone.

Edit the message. Customize the subject and body. Keep the word reminder in the subject, and use variables like [Invoice Number] and [Company Name], which QuickBooks swaps for real data.

Save. QuickBooks now checks due dates and emails reminders automatically, but only for invoices you have already sent. A Reminded status shows in the Sales, Invoices list.

METHOD 2Send One Reminder Manually (QuickBooks Online)Full control of tone

Go to Sales, then Invoices, and find the past due invoice.

From the Receive payment dropdown at the end of the row, select Send reminder, customize the message, and Send. Tick multiple customers first to remind several at once.

METHOD 3Automated Reminders in QuickBooks DesktopReview before send

Go to the Edit menu, Preferences, then Payments, then Company Preferences. Set Do you want to send payment reminders? to Yes, and set your review frequency.

When a reminder is due, QuickBooks prompts you. Go to Customers, then Payment Reminders, then Review and Send Payment Reminders, select the ones to send, and Send Now. Desktop lets you approve before anything goes out.

The Thing to Watch

Recent QuickBooks Online updates can auto-generate reminder wording with AI. Always copy yourself on the first send and check the subject line and tone before it reaches a valued client. Reminders only fire for customers who have an email on file and an invoice you already emailed.