Reminder workflow

Invoice follow-up process checklist: diagnose the next action

Use this checklist to diagnose a stalled invoice, not simply to schedule another email. Find the missing fact or unresolved action, use the decision table to route it, then leave one clear task with an owner and a review point. If several problems apply, a stopping condition or uncertain send takes priority over ordinary chasing. The output is a decision you can explain from current evidence.

By PayerPing · Published 31 October 2026

1. Diagnose the current position

Open the invoice alongside your latest payment records and customer correspondence. Confirm the current outstanding balance and agreed due date. Look for a recent reply, correction, promised date or unmatched transfer. If payment is confirmed, update the invoice and stop future reminders. If a query is open, identify who will answer it before considering another routine request.

Write one sentence describing the obstacle you currently know: “Accounts needs a reference”, “No processing date confirmed” or “Earlier send outcome unclear”. Keep guesses about the customer's intentions out of that sentence. A clear diagnosis prevents you from treating several different problems as a need for stronger wording. If you cannot establish the facts yet, investigation is the next action.

2. Check the contact route and previous attempt

Confirm who handles this invoice and how they need to receive it. Compare the saved recipient with the agreed accounts contact or portal route. Check what your last message asked and whether the customer answered in another thread. Find any scheduled, failed or uncertain send that might overlap with the contact you are about to make.

If the earlier result is unclear, preserve the history and investigate before risking a duplicate. If the message went to the wrong person, confirm the appropriate destination and review the correction. Keep a record of the source of the new contact details. Delivering the same request repeatedly to an unsuitable route will not make it easier for accounts to act.

3. Route the task using a decision table

Work from the first applicable stopping condition. This table is an owner diagnostic worksheet, not a set of automatic product actions. A row identifies the next task and the evidence needed before another payment request.

Which task should happen before another chase?
Position you can establish	Next owner task	Payment-request decision
Paid, cancelled or disputed	Record the correct status and retain the supporting decision.	Stop automatic reminders; a dispute needs personal handling.
Uncertain submission or visible sending block	Preserve history and use the stated investigation/support route.	Hold; a manual resend does not resolve the uncertainty or block.
Payment reported but not matched	Obtain date, amount and reference; check normal payment records.	Pause while matching; establish the balance before asking again.
Open invoice query or missing reference	Answer the named question or confirm the required correction.	Pause routine chasing; record the next processing step.
Required recipient or submission route unconfirmed	Confirm the route through an established customer contact.	Resolve the route before repeating the request.
A future payment date has been promised	Record which invoice and amount it covers; plan a later payment check.	Review overlapping chases; a promise is not received funds.
Unpaid, correct route, no unresolved exception or date	Ask for the expected payment date using verified invoice details.	Review one contact, its actual time and the finite end point.

4. Complete a diagnostic record

A fictional tradesperson has £360 outstanding on T-91. The job contact received an email, but accounts says the invoice lacks its required reference. The problem fits the query/reference row; the next task is not another payment-date request.

Invoice: T-91: fictional example
Checked: £360 unmatched; latest reply reviewed; no uncertain send.
Diagnosis: accounts needs its confirmed customer reference.
Evidence missing: reference and acknowledgement of corrected submission.
Owner task: confirm reference with established project contact.
Routine contacts: paused; no overlapping personal chase planned.
Review: 18 November; ask accounts for its next step after correction.

If the correction is acknowledged but no payment date is given, the diagnosis changes. Update the task rather than leaving “reference missing” in the record indefinitely. Keep the old note as history so a later review can distinguish what was known from what has since changed.

5. Resolve a stalled diagnosis personally

At the review point, ask whether the missing evidence has appeared. If not, name the obstacle precisely: no confirmed accounts route, unresolved work question or no answer after a finite contact plan. Decide the next business step personally; seek suitable advice where needed. Do not keep extending routine messages because the worksheet still has an open row.

Use that diagnosis to improve the relevant earlier step. A missing reference calls for a reference check before submission; a route problem calls for confirming how accounts receives invoices. Before any further approved message, check its actual recipient, sender, Reply-To, wording, amount, instructions and time. A clear diagnosis determines the task; the exact preview checks the contact carrying it out.

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