How to chase overdue invoices with Claude and QuickBooks
Claude can read your accounts receivable in QuickBooks, check what customers have already told you, and draft a reminder that fits each one. Nothing is sent until you approve it.
What you need
- A paid Claude plan (Pro is enough) and the Claude desktop app.
- The QuickBooks connector, added under Customize › Connectors in the app. Xero works the same way.
- A folder with recent customer emails, exported or saved as text, if you want Claude to check them first.
The prompt
Who owes us money? Use QuickBooks, and check the customer emails in [folder] on my Desktop before you draft anything. Draft a reminder for each overdue invoice and show the drafts here. Don't send or save any email.
The last sentence matters. It keeps Claude in drafting mode, so you read every reminder before it reaches a customer.
What Claude does
- Pulls the overdue invoices from QuickBooks: customer, invoice number, amount, due date and days late.
- Reads the emails in the folder and matches them to customers.
- Chooses a tone per customer based on what it found, and drafts one email each.
- Summarizes the total owed and anything you should decide yourself.
Example: three invoices, three different emails
In the course, the demo bakery has three overdue invoices totalling $2,100. Reading the inbox first changed two of the three reminders:
| Customer | What the inbox said | Claude's draft |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice 2043, $385.50, 36 days late | "Our accounts team paid this on October 2." | A polite question asking for the payment date and reference, not a demand. |
| Invoice 2045, $1,596.00, 12 days late | An unanswered complaint about a cake with the wrong name. | An apology first, the refund amount left to the owner, then the invoice. |
| Invoice 2046, $118.50, 3 days late | Nothing. | A short, friendly nudge. |
Why this matters: a generic reminder to a customer who says they've paid, or who is waiting on a refund, costs you goodwill. Checking the inbox first is the step most people skip.
Keep it safe
- Keep the QuickBooks connector's write tools on Needs approval.
- Check every amount against the invoice before sending.
- Decide refunds and discounts yourself. Ask Claude to leave those blank.
Want to see it done, step by step?
The Monday Routine is a 26-lesson video course that walks you through this on a real-looking bakery, then on your own business. Lesson 17 shows every step on screen.
See the course · $149