An automated invoice reminder is a message that goes to a client on a schedule when an invoice is close to due or already late. You set the rule once, and the software sends it for you.
Lagoda does the same job a different way. You tell it who owes you, by voice note or text in Telegram. On the schedule you set, it writes the next reminder for that client, matched to how late they are and what you already said to them. Then it waits for your ok. Nothing goes to a client without it.
The rest of this page covers what your accounting software already sends, where that falls short, and when a drafted reminder beats a fired one.
What your accounting software already sends
If you invoice from accounting software, you probably have automated reminders already. Here is what three common tools do, per their own help pages.
QuickBooks Online. You turn on automatic invoice reminders in the Sales settings. You get up to three reminders, each set a number of days before or after the due date, up to 90 days either way. One template per reminder covers every invoice. QuickBooks sends them only for invoices you already emailed from QuickBooks.
Xero. Three default reminders switch on when you enable the feature, and you can run up to five per organisation. You can pause them for a single customer or a single invoice, for example a bill that's partly paid. When a client replies, the reply lands in the inbox of the person who turned reminders on.
FreshBooks. Up to three automated reminder emails per invoice, set from the client profile, with late fees as a separate option.
If you're not using these, turn them on today. They come with the software, and a reminder that goes out beats one you meant to send.
Where one template for every client falls short
Template reminders know the invoice, the amount and the date. What you know about the client stays out of the message.
They don't know what you said on the phone. You called the client Tuesday, they promised payment Friday, and on Wednesday the software sends "Your invoice is overdue." Now you look like you weren't listening.
They read the same across clients. In QuickBooks, the template you set goes out on every invoice reminder. Your oldest client and a first-time customer get the same three lines. A client of eight years deserves a different note than someone who went quiet after one job.
They stop at the template. Day forty-five should sound different from day three. With three slots and one message each, it's easy to write one polite version and reuse it.
They only see invoices in that system. A job you billed from your phone, a deposit agreed over text, a cash balance from last month. None of it gets a reminder.
The reply is still yours to handle. "Can we split it in two?" comes back to an inbox, and the follow-up sits on you again.
What a good reminder knows
A reminder that gets paid carries four facts: the invoice, the amount, how late it is, and what happens next. It also carries the context only you have. The promise they made on the call. The partial payment last week. The fact that this client pays every time, only slowly.
Tone moves with age. A light note at day three, a direct question with a date at day fourteen, a consequence you'll keep at day thirty. The full sequence, with example wording, is on our page on how to chase unpaid invoices.
How Lagoda handles reminders
1. You tell it who owes you. "Harlow owes me six two, invoice went out on the third, net thirty." A voice note works, so does a typed line. Lagoda logs the client, the amount, the date and the terms.
2. You set the rhythm. Three days after due, then weekly, or whatever you say. You can change it per client: "go easy on Harlow, they always pay."
3. It drafts the reminder. When one comes due, Lagoda writes it for that client, at that age, with what you told it. "They said Friday" makes it into the message. A day-thirty note reads different from a day-three one.
4. You ok it. The draft waits. You read it, change a word, and send it, or tell Lagoda to send it. Nothing goes to a client without your ok.
5. You see where things stand. Ask "who still owes me" and get the answer in one line. Who paid, who's late and by how many days, what's queued next. It also shows up in your 7:30 morning brief if you want it there.
It answers only to you, and it works from what you hand it. It doesn't crawl your inbox and doesn't pull from accounts you didn't give it.
Keep your software, add the part it can't do
Lagoda isn't accounting software and doesn't replace your books. If you invoice from QuickBooks, Xero or FreshBooks, keep doing that, and keep their reminders on for the routine bills.
Lagoda covers the reminders a template gets wrong: the client you spoke to yesterday, the one who paid half, the old account you don't want to lose over a form email. It's also a quick way to send an invoice from a voice note when you're on a job site and the software is back at the office.
Who this isn't for
If you run a collections team that sends dunning letters by the hundred, Lagoda isn't that. It's built for the owner who is the accounts department.
If you want reminders on full autopilot with no human reading them, this isn't it either. Lagoda drafts, you approve, on purpose.
Common questions
What is an automated invoice reminder?
It's a message sent to a client on a schedule when an invoice is about to come due or is already overdue. Accounting tools like QuickBooks Online, Xero and FreshBooks send them from a template you set once.
How many reminders should I send for an unpaid invoice?
FreshBooks puts it at three to four: one before the due date, one on the day, one shortly after, and a final notice around thirty days late. Our own sequence runs on day three, day fourteen, day thirty with a clear consequence, and day forty-five as the last message before it stops being a conversation. The usual failure is sending the first and stopping.
Does QuickBooks send invoice reminders automatically?
Yes. QuickBooks Online lets you set up to three automatic reminders, each a number of days before or after the due date, up to 90 days. They go out only for invoices you already emailed from QuickBooks, and one template covers every client.
Does Lagoda send reminders on its own?
No. It drafts each reminder on the schedule you set and holds it until you ok it, or until you tell it to send that one. Nothing goes to a client without your ok.
Does Lagoda connect to my accounting software?
It works from what you tell it in Telegram, by voice or text. Say who owes you, how much and when the invoice went out, and Lagoda tracks it from there. It doesn't import your accounting file or crawl your inbox.
How much does Lagoda cost?
From $500 a month, set up included. You request access, a person picks it up, and we set it up around how you work over about a week.