BlogInvoicing
How to Stop Chasing Invoices as an Australian Small Business (2026)
The fastest way to stop chasing invoices is to set up automatic payment reminders in Xero and make sure every invoice you send is being tracked from the moment it's created. Tools like eggz automate the invoice creation step so nothing gets missed — every job becomes a Xero invoice automatically — and Xero's reminder system handles the follow-up without you writing a single chase email by hand.
Why chasing invoices is such a common problem
If you're running a small service business in Australia, you've probably sent a version of this email: "Just a quick follow-up on invoice #127, which was due last week..."
It's embarrassing to write. It feels like you're asking for something you've already earned. And it takes time — tracking which invoices are overdue, finding the client's contact details, writing the email, waiting for a reply, then deciding whether to send another one.
The frustrating part: most late payments aren't deliberate. Clients don't always check their inbox carefully. Business email gets buried. A payable that landed during a busy week slips to the next week, then the week after.
The solution is removing the human decision from the reminder process entirely.
The system that stops the chasing
Step 1: Every invoice goes into Xero automatically.
If invoices exist outside Xero — as Word documents, spreadsheets, or emails you forgot to log — you can't track them systematically. The first step is making sure 100% of your invoices are in Xero when you send them.
eggz handles this by creating Xero invoices automatically from your email workflow. When a client approves a quote via email, the invoice is created in Xero without you having to log in and do it manually. No invoice slips through.
Step 2: Set up automatic payment reminders in Xero.
Xero has a built-in automatic reminders feature. Once enabled, Xero sends reminder emails to clients at intervals you choose — typically 7 days before due, on the due date, and 7 days after.
The reminders go out on your schedule, with your branding, without you doing anything. This alone eliminates most of the manual chasing.
To enable: in Xero, go to Settings → Invoice Settings → Email → Payment Reminders. Set your schedule and customise the email template.
Step 3: Review your overdue invoice list weekly, not daily.
Once automatic reminders are running, your job is to review the list once a week and focus personal follow-up only on invoices that are 30+ days overdue and haven't responded to reminders. Everything else is handled automatically.
This changes chasing from a daily reactive task to a structured 15-minute weekly review.
Three statistics worth knowing
65% of Australian small businesses experience cash flow problems directly linked to late invoice payments, according to Xero's Small Business Insights report (Xero, 2025).
The average invoice is paid 6.2 days late in Australia, according to the Australian Debt Collection Association (ADCA, 2024). Automated reminders reduce average days-late by 28–35% in businesses that deploy them consistently.
According to CreditorWatch's Business Risk Review 2024, trade creditor defaults in Australia increased 18% year-on-year in 2024, making invoice tracking more important — not just payment reminders, but confirming who has and hasn't paid (CreditorWatch, 2024).
What to do when reminders don't work
For invoices that have had two or three automatic reminders and still haven't been paid, the approach changes.
Call first. An email thread that's 30 days old is easy to ignore. A phone call is not. Keep it short: "Hi, I'm calling about invoice #127 from [date] — has that been received on your end? Is there anything holding it up?"
Most of the time, the answer is either "sorry, we'll process that today" or "I haven't received it, can you resend?" Both of those are solvable. The invoice that someone is actively choosing not to pay is rarer than you think.
Check the invoice was actually sent. If your invoice creation is manual, there's a real chance an invoice was created in Xero but never sent. With eggz, the creation and sending are part of the same workflow — but if you're creating invoices manually in Xero, check that the status shows "Sent" not just "Approved."
Consider your payment terms. If 30-day terms are consistently resulting in payment at day 45 or 60, consider switching to 14-day terms. Many Australian small businesses have quietly moved to 14/7 terms post-COVID as late payment rates have increased.
Use Xero's "Pay Now" button. Xero lets you add a payment link directly to your invoices. Clients can pay by card or bank transfer directly from the invoice. This removes the friction of having to log into internet banking and manually enter your details. Payment rates increase meaningfully when the path to payment is a single click.
Why manual invoice creation is the root cause
Most "chasing" problems start earlier than you think. They start when:
- You forgot to create an invoice for a job you completed
- You created a quote but never converted it to an invoice
- You sent an invoice from your email but never logged it in Xero
- You logged the invoice in Xero but sent it before marking it correctly
Any of these means an invoice exists somewhere other than your Xero tracking system. When it goes unpaid, you might not even know it's overdue because Xero doesn't know it exists.
The automation fix is making sure no invoice can be sent without being in Xero. eggz enforces this by design — every invoice starts in eggz and gets pushed to Xero before it reaches the client.
Tools comparison: what helps with invoice chasing
| Tool | Auto payment reminders | Invoice creation from email | Xero sync | "Pay Now" link | AUD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xero (native) | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Manual | Native | ✅ | ✅ |
| eggz + Xero | ✅ (via Xero) | ✅ Auto from email | ✅ | ✅ (via Xero) | ✅ |
| Dext + Xero | ✅ (via Xero) | ❌ (inbound bills only) | ✅ | ✅ (via Xero) | ✅ |
| Pinch Payments | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Strong | ✅ |
Pinch Payments is worth mentioning specifically for payment collection. It integrates with Xero and adds stronger payment reminder and collection features than Xero's native reminders. If you have a high invoice volume with persistent late payers, Pinch adds automated escalation, direct debit collection, and surcharging that Xero alone doesn't offer.
For most small service businesses, Xero's built-in reminders plus proper invoice tracking via eggz covers 90% of the problem.
The worst habit to break: manual invoice creation
If you're currently creating invoices by hand — writing them in Word, sending PDFs via email, occasionally copying them into Xero afterwards — that's the single biggest change to make.
Manual invoice creation almost always means:
- Some invoices never make it into Xero
- You're re-entering the same data multiple times
- You don't have an accurate picture of what's outstanding
Moving to a workflow where invoices are created in Xero automatically (via eggz or by building the discipline of creating every invoice in Xero before sending) gives you the tracking foundation that makes reminders work.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I always chasing invoices? Usually because invoices aren't being tracked systematically in one place, and there are no automatic reminders running. The fix is making sure every invoice goes into Xero and turning on Xero's automatic payment reminder feature.
How do I set up automatic invoice reminders in Xero? Go to Settings → Invoice Settings → Email → Payment Reminders in your Xero account. Set the reminder schedule (before due, on due date, after due) and customise the email message. Reminders go out automatically once enabled.
How do I stop clients from paying late? Three changes make the biggest difference: shorter payment terms (14 days instead of 30), a "Pay Now" button on every invoice, and automatic reminders that go out without relying on you to follow up manually.
What's the best invoice software for Australian small business? Xero is the most widely used accounting platform for Australian small businesses, with built-in invoicing, BAS preparation, and bank feeds. For automating the invoice creation process from email, eggz connects your inbox to Xero so invoices are created automatically rather than entered manually.
How long should I wait before chasing a late invoice? Set up automatic reminders so you're not personally chasing at all until an invoice is 30+ days overdue. Xero sends the reminders automatically. Your personal follow-up should be reserved for invoices that have had multiple automated reminders and still haven't been paid — that's when a phone call makes sense.
Can I add a "Pay Now" button to Xero invoices? Yes. Xero supports online payment links via Stripe, PayPal, and other payment providers. Adding a payment link reduces the friction for clients to pay and typically increases on-time payment rates. Set this up in Xero Settings → Invoice Settings → Online Payments.
What if a client says they never received the invoice? Check that the invoice status in Xero shows "Sent" (not just "Approved"). If it was sent, resend directly from Xero with a note. If it wasn't sent, this is a workflow problem — invoices should be sent from Xero automatically rather than being created in Xero after you've already emailed the client a separate PDF.
Does eggz help with invoice chasing? eggz ensures every invoice is in Xero before it reaches the client, so nothing falls through the tracking gap. Once invoices are in Xero, Xero's automatic payment reminders handle the follow-up. eggz doesn't send reminders directly — that's Xero's role — but it makes sure every invoice is in the system where reminders can work.
Start automating your invoice workflow with eggz — connect Gmail or Missive to Xero and stop creating invoices manually. Founding member pricing available for the first 100 customers.