Invoice Reminders & Overdue Invoices
Spatiko chases unpaid real estate photography invoices for you — automatic payment reminders after the due date, net terms, and overdue tracking on one list.
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Chasing money is the least billable hour in photography. Spatiko does the routine part for you: every sent invoice carries a due date, unpaid invoices get automatic reminder emails after that date passes, and everything overdue is summed and surfaced where you’ll see it — no spreadsheet of “who did I nudge last week.”
Due dates and net terms
An invoice’s due date comes from your net terms — the number of days a payer has, set in Settings → Payments and applied when the invoice is issued. You can also pick a different due date on the invoice itself. Either way, a due date means the end of that calendar day in your business’s timezone — a client paying at 9 PM on the due date is on time.
The reminder schedule
Once an invoice has been sent, automatic reminders email the payer after the due date has passed, each one as an overdue notice. Out of the box that’s:
- Day 0 — the day after the due date
- Day 7 — a week after the first reminder
- Day 14 — two weeks after the first reminder
You can set your own schedule under Payment reminders (days after due) in Settings → Payments — up to six comma-separated day numbers, counted from the due date. Each reminder goes out once its day has ended, so 0 sends the first one the day after the due date and 7 sends the next a week later. Leave it empty to keep the default. Reminders stop the moment the invoice is paid.
Each reminder carries the invoice details and the payment link, so the payer can settle straight from the email. And every reminder is logged on the invoice’s Activity timeline — when someone claims they were never chased, the record says otherwise.
A few behaviors keep reminders civilized:
- Unsent invoices are never reminded. If you issued without sending, Spatiko won’t email a payer about a document they’ve never seen.
- One email per payer per order. Several due invoices for the same payer on the same order fold into a single email listing them all, with the total due across them.
- Combined invoices get their own email. A combined invoice bills many orders, so it isn’t folded into any one order’s reminder. Instead, a client’s due combined invoices share one reminder email of their own, which describes the invoice as “covering 3 orders” rather than naming an address. Its Pay now button opens the most overdue invoice’s payment page, and any other combined invoice listed in the email carries its own payment link.
- Per-invoice opt-out. The Auto reminders switch in the invoice’s details sidebar pauses follow-up for that invoice alone — for the client you’re calling personally, or the brokerage on agreed-but-slow terms.
How overdue works
Overdue isn’t a status anyone sets — it’s derived. An open invoice is overdue once it’s past its own due date. Order balances that no invoice covers go overdue by the order’s payment terms instead. The two are counted together without double counting, so the overdue figure you see is real money past its actual terms.
Overdue shows up in three places:
- The invoice list — an Overdue badge on the row, an Overdue total at the top, and an Overdue status filter to see only what needs chasing. Details in how invoices work.
- The dashboard — the attention card splits overdue money into overdue invoices and overdue order balances, and the pulse strip shows the two added together. A combined invoice counts as one overdue invoice, however many orders it bills.
- The order — an overdue invoice’s row on the Billing card shows how many days it’s run over.
Amounts you’ve written off drop out of the overdue and outstanding totals — bad debt you’ve already accepted stops nagging you. Undoing a write-off puts the balance back and resumes reminders.
When the reminder isn’t enough
If the last reminder goes out and the money still isn’t moving, escalate deliberately:
- Resend with a personal message — the send dialog on the invoice takes a custom note.
- Call, then record — if they pay by check or transfer, record the payment and reminders stop on their own.
- Accept reality — an invoice that’s never getting paid is a write-off, not a permanent fixture of your overdue list.
Go deeper
- Creating and sending an invoice — reminders only start once the invoice has actually been sent.
- Credit notes and write-offs — retire the balances that will never be paid.
- When clients pay — payment timing — invoice terms and where net terms fit at booking.
- Recording cash, check and other manual payments — reminders stop themselves when you log the payment.
- Client records — a client’s whole payment history, before you extend terms again.
Frequently asked questions
Does Spatiko chase unpaid invoices automatically?
Yes. Once an invoice has been sent, automatic payment reminders email the payer the day after the due date, then 7 and 14 days later, unless you've set your own schedule in Settings → Payments. Reminders stop the moment the invoice is paid.
Can I turn off reminders for one invoice?
Yes — every invoice has an Auto reminders switch in its details sidebar. Pause it for the client you're handling personally and every other invoice keeps its automatic follow-up.
Will a client with several unpaid invoices get several reminder emails at once?
No — reminders due to the same payer on the same order fold into one email that lists the other due invoices and the total across all of them. A client's combined invoices are grouped the same way, in their own email separate from per-order reminders.
How does an invoice become overdue?
Overdue isn't a status you set — an open invoice is overdue once it's past its own due date, resolved against your business's timezone. It shows up highlighted on the invoice list, in the Overdue total at the top, and on the dashboard's attention card.