Playbook
Chase overdue invoices with Make drafts
Direct answer
Turn on the reminder feature inside the accounting software you already pay for. If that wording is too blunt, use Make to create Gmail drafts for overdue invoices and send them yourself. Do not let an automation mark invoices paid. This has not been live-tested.
- Time to set up
- 1–2 hours if the built-in reminder is not enough
- Difficulty
- comfortable
- Monthly cost, USD
- $0 on Make's free plan for a short daily check
- Monthly cost, GBP
- about £0, or about £7 if you outgrow the free plan
- Last tested
- Not yet tested
- Updated
- 24 October 2026
Make's free plan includes 1,000 credits a month. Make's comparison pages have listed Core from $9 a month when billed annually, about £7 at the planning rate. The monthly price is higher. Your accounting software is a separate cost you may already pay. Confirm both pricing pages.
GBP figures are a budgeting conversion at £1 = $1.33 and €1 = £0.86, rounded to the nearest pound, fixed for this edition on 24 October 2026. They are not a live rate and not a quote. Vendor list prices are usually quoted before tax.
Primary tool: Make · Also uses Gmail, Google Sheets
ConsultantsTradespeopleAgenciesAccountants
Who it is for
A sole trader with a handful of overdue invoices who wants a calm chase email, and who already keeps the real books in accounting software or with an accountant.
Compare this with Zapier, Make, and n8n if you are choosing the tool rather than the habit. The habit matters more. A reminder you send is better than a scenario you are afraid to turn on.
If your accountant already chases for you, do not build a second voice. Two chases in one week looks chaotic, and the customer will not know which bank details to trust.
What you need
- Invoices that already exist in your accounting software or in a list you trust.
- A Google account for the sheet and for Gmail drafts.
- A Make account. Start on the free plan.
Step by step
01
Use the reminder inside the accounts package
In Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, or the package you use, turn on the overdue reminder and send yourself a test. For many people that is the whole setup. Continue only if you need different wording, a chase log, or a draft you approve before it goes out. Do not build a second system out of habit.
02
Make a sheet that is the chase list
Columns: invoice number, customer name, email, amount, currency, due date, status, and last chased. Status is unpaid or paid. Type or export only what you are willing to chase. The accounting software remains the record. The sheet is a working list. Do not plan a scenario that marks invoices paid or edits the ledger.
03
Build a scenario that only drafts
In Make, schedule a scenario for one weekday morning. List the sheet rows, keep those that are unpaid, due before today, and not chased in the last seven days, then use Gmail to create a draft. Not send. Make's free plan, as described on its pricing page, allows multi-step scenarios inside 1,000 credits and spaces scheduled runs out. One daily pass over a short sheet is the intended size. Send a test row to yourself first.
04
Keep the email short
Subject: the invoice number is overdue. Body: the amount, the due date, and the same way to pay that is already on the invoice. No joke, no shame, and no threat of legal action unless you personally have a process for that and understand it. You open the drafts, send the ones that are right, and put today's date in the last-chased column.
05
Pause the scenario when the sheet is wrong
If a paid invoice produces a draft, the sheet is stale. Pause the scenario, fix the row, then turn it back on. Once a month, check that every unpaid invoice in the accounts package is on the sheet and every paid one is marked paid. The automation does not know about credit notes unless you type them in.
What can go wrong
Chasing a paid invoice
This is how you lose a customer. The sheet is only as current as the last time you marked a payment. If you cannot face updating it, do not automate the chase.
A send action instead of a draft
Make's Gmail modules include both. Read the module name before you turn the schedule on. One wrong module emails your whole overdue list while you are out.
Statutory interest you have not checked
UK law can allow interest and compensation on some business-to-business debts. An agent should not claim it. If you want to use it, read the GOV.UK page and decide yourself, per invoice.
UK notes
Costs, including VAT
Make's free tier can be £0. A paid Core plan has been advertised from about £7 a month on annual billing, before any VAT. The accounting package is extra. Overseas software often invoices before tax. VAT-registered businesses may need to apply the reverse charge to imported services and can often reclaim it when the software is for the business. Non-registered businesses cannot reclaim VAT that a checkout adds. Read the actual invoice.
Data flow
Customer names, emails, and amounts are personal data when they identify a person, including a sole trader. The sheet is in Google. The scenario runs on Make, which processes that row to create a draft. You need a reason to hold the list, and you should not copy it into a chatbot for colour. Keep access to the sheet limited to you.
HMRC and Making Tax Digital
Chasing an invoice is not the same as keeping digital records. If Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, the threshold and start date depend on qualifying income from self-employment and property: over £50,000 on the 2024 to 2025 return meant a start of 6 April 2026, with lower thresholds in later years. The chase sheet does not send the quarterly update. Late-payment interest has its own GOV.UK page and is easy to get wrong, so it stays out of the template.
Practical orientation for a UK reader. Not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Test log
Status: Pending first test
24 October 2026 · pending
Pending first test. The steps were compiled from Make's pricing page and from how Gmail drafts and spreadsheets work. They have not been run on a live invoice list.
Sources
- Make pricing — accessed 24 October 2026
- GOV.UK — interest on late commercial payments — accessed 24 October 2026
- GOV.UK — when Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies — accessed 24 October 2026
- ICO guide to UK GDPR — accessed 24 October 2026
Disclosure
AgentShed is independent and this playbook is not sponsored. There is no affiliate link on this page. If that changes, the link will use rel="sponsored" and a sentence beside it will say so. The verdict is not for sale.
Questions people ask
Should I connect Make to Xero or FreeAgent directly?
Not in this version. A direct connection that can change invoice status will eventually mark the wrong thing. A sheet you control is slower and safer until you have run the draft version for a month without a mistake.
What if I only have three overdue invoices?
Email them yourself and skip Make. Automation pays off when the list repeats, not when you are proving you can build one.
Can the draft mention late fees?
Only if that fee is already in the contract the customer agreed, and you are willing to enforce it. Otherwise leave it out. A bluff is how a chase becomes a dispute.
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When this page is re-tested
One email when the log changes. No sequence of lessons.