This step explains how to set up automated payment reminders and invoice tracking in Tribe. You use this step once your invoice and email templates are in place and you are ready to automate your follow-up process. By completing this step, your team will spend less time on manual chasing and have a clear, real-time view of all outstanding invoices.
Things looking a little different? We're rolling out a new interface, and your account may already have it! If the steps here don't match what you're seeing, head over to How Do I Use the Tribe's New Layout - Tabbed UI? for the updated version of this guide.
Before you start
Before configuring your reminders, take a moment to define your follow-up strategy. Having clarity on this upfront makes configuration faster and ensures the result matches how your organisation works.
How many reminders do you want to send? A common approach is a first friendly reminder shortly after the due date, followed by a more formal second reminder, and a final notice if payment is still outstanding.
What tone should each reminder have? The first reminder typically assumes an oversight and keeps a polite tone. Subsequent reminders can be more direct. A clear escalation in tone — supported by separate email templates per reminder stage — is more effective than sending the same message repeatedly.
Who should be aware internally? Consider whether your finance team, account manager, or both should be alerted when a reminder is sent, so the right person can follow up personally if needed.
1. Set up payment reminders in Tribe
With your reminder strategy defined, you configure the automated reminder schedule in Tribe by activating the automations you want to use.
Make sure your email templates for each reminder stage are configured as desired before you begin. If you have not yet created them, refer back to Step 3: Create Your Invoice Templates and Email Templates.
2. Track invoices using dashboards and widgets
Reminders handle the automated side of payment follow-up, but your team also needs visibility into the overall state of your invoicing. Dashboards and widgets in Tribe give you a real-time overview of invoice status, helping you prioritise follow-up and spot potential issues before they become problems.
The Invoicing dashboard includes default widgets such as Invoices per phase, which shows the distribution of invoices across statuses like draft, sent, paid, and overdue — giving you a quick health check on your invoicing process.
Think about what you and your team need to see at a glance and build on the defaults by adding widgets and views from the library.
Useful examples to consider:
Outstanding invoices | All invoices sent but not yet paid, grouped or sorted by due date |
Overdue invoices | invoices past their due date that need immediate attention, ideally showing how many days overdue each one is |
Revenue overview | a summary of invoiced amounts over a given period, helping you track billing activity and compare against targets |
Reviewing your dashboard regularly keeps your team aligned on payment status without needing to dig through individual records.
Tips and Best Practices
Keep your reminder sequence simple — two stages are sufficient for most organisations. More reminders do not necessarily lead to faster payment and can damage customer relationships.
Always match the tone of your reminder email to the stage it represents. A final notice that reads like a friendly nudge undermines its urgency; a first reminder that sounds like a legal threat damages goodwill unnecessarily.
Review your overdue invoice dashboard regularly — ideally at a fixed moment each week. Consistent review turns the dashboard into a reliable steering tool rather than a reactive one.
If a customer consistently ignores automated reminders, a personal call or email from the account manager is often more effective than adding another automated stage.
Revisit your reminder setup periodically. If a particular stage is rarely effective, adjust the timing or tone rather than accepting it as a given.
Quick Summary
Automated reminders and clear dashboards together create a payment follow-up process that is consistent, efficient, and easy to manage. By completing this step, your team spends less time on manual chasing and always has a clear picture of where things stand.
Continue to the next step: Step 5: Connect Your Accounting Software