Get Shift Done: Tips and Tricks
Reminding someone about a past due invoice can be an awkward situation. Rather than having to call or email directly, you can use a simple reminder tool in Paypal to do it for you. The message is automated and, for some clients, the gentle non-personal nudge can get you paid sooner.
Once logged into Paypal, on the top horizontal navigation menu, go to Tools, then Invoicing. This brings you directly to the Manage Invoices section where you will click the “Unpaid” tab:
Next, select the box next to “Select All” unpaid invoices and then the “Batch Actions” dropdown (2) under which you should select the “Remind” option (3).
The pop-up screen shown below gives you the option to personalize a message or to just allow it to be an automated reminder. At this point in a financial transaction, I do not personalize the message. If I have to send a third or a fourth message, then I share something personal to move the non-payment issue forward.
Note: I really love the button to allow me to screen my own efforts to make sure I do not remind someone within a set period of time (in this case, within the last 7 days).
Within minutes, your customer will receive an email that looks like the one below. I find that this is all it takes to get someone who’s a little late on their payment to take action. Often, I get a personal apology that says something like “this totally slipped my mind, sorry about that…”
Paypal’s simple reminder tool is a win-win — it helps me remember about a forgotten invoice and it gently nudges the customer to pay.
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