The problem
Chasing money is the job everyone puts off. The owner doesn't want to sound desperate, the office manager doesn't want to annoy good customers, and so invoices drift past 30 and 60 days. A steady, polite reminder routine collects more than an occasional angry one.
What Cowork does
- A task on Tuesday and Friday mornings reads accounts receivable aging from QuickBooks through Intuit's official connector.
- For each overdue invoice it picks a tone by age: friendly at 7 days, direct at 14, firm at 30, and a final notice draft at 45 that the owner must approve personally.
- It skips customers on an exceptions sheet (payment plans, disputes, friends of the owner).
- It writes Gmail drafts that include the invoice number, amount and payment link.
- Friday's run adds a cash summary for the owner: total overdue, what was reminded, and what came in since last week.
Where the draft lands
Gmail drafts labeled AI-draft and a Friday summary email.
What stays with you
Sending reminders, payment plans, collections agencies and liens.
Hi Tom, a reminder that invoice 3317 for $1,240 (fixture install, Sep 18) is now two weeks past due. You can pay here: [payment link]. If there's a question about the work or the invoice, just reply and Mel will sort it out. Thanks, Sam
Watch-outs
- QuickBooks can send its own reminders. This idea is for shops that want reminders that read like a person wrote them.
- Keep the final-notice step manual. Anything that mentions collections or liens should come from the owner.
Questions owners ask
Can it send the reminders itself?
The Gmail connector can send, but sending needs approval by default. Drafts keep a person in the loop.
What about Xero?
Xero's official connector is read-only, which is enough to read aging and write Gmail drafts.