Following up quotes and invoices without having to remember
A quote without a response or an invoice that stays unpaid does not cost time, it costs money. With one overview and a weekly check you never forget to chase anyone again.
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The money that slips through the cracks
Most business owners do not lose jobs to a competitor. They lose them to silence. A quote goes out, the customer does not respond, and after two weeks it is a forgotten email in a busy inbox.
Invoices go the same way. Most customers pay on time. A few do not, not out of unwillingness but because the invoice got buried somewhere. Without a reminder it stays open, and the longer it stays open, the more awkward it becomes to bring it up.
The follow-up itself is not hard work. The problem is that it is on nobody's calendar.
Why your memory is not a system
If you send few quotes, you still remember them. From a handful a month it becomes guesswork. Which ones have you chased already? When did that one go out? Was there already a reminder for that invoice?
As soon as following up depends on whether you happen to think of it, it happens too late or not at all. And then it is not about a few minutes of work, but about a job or a payment you miss out on.
Step 1: one list of everything that is open
A system starts with one place where everything is. A simple spreadsheet is enough:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Type | Quote or invoice |
| Customer | De Krent Bakery |
| Contact address | Your contact person's email address |
| Description | New till integration |
| Sent on | 1 September |
| Amount | The amount from your quote or invoice |
| Status | Open, chased, accepted, paid, declined |
| Last follow-up | 8 September |
Every quote and invoice that goes out gets a row. That is the only thing you need to do yourself, and it takes half a minute.
Step 2: fixed moments for follow-up
Agree with yourself when you follow something up. For example:
- Quote: after a week, a short question whether anything is unclear. After two weeks, a final message.
- Invoice: a friendly reminder a few days after the due date. A second, more businesslike reminder after two weeks.
Those periods differ per industry. What matters is that they are fixed, so you do not have to decide each time whether it is time yet.
Step 3: a weekly check
Once a week you go through the list. Which quotes have been open for more than a week without follow-up? Which invoices are past their due date?
This is exactly the kind of work you can easily hand off. It is predictable, it comes back every week, and the result is a list you review before anything happens.
Step 4: the email is ready, you send it
Writing a reminder takes no effort, but it does take a run-up. How do you phrase it without sounding pushy? What if the customer is a long-standing relationship?
So have the draft emails prepared, per customer and with the right details. You read them, adjust where you know the customer better, and approve them. That way you send in ten minutes what would otherwise sit there all morning.
A good follow-up email is short:
"Hi Sanne, last week I sent the quote for the till integration. Is there anything I can clarify? I would be happy to schedule the work if it suits you."
How to set it up in dGENIX
In dGENIX you set this up with skills that already exist today:
- Your list lives in Google Sheets. GENI reads the list and updates the last follow-up column, after your approval.
- A scheduled task runs every Monday morning. The instruction: "Check my quote list for quotes open longer than a week and invoices past their due date, and write a short follow-up email per customer."
- Gmail sends, but only once you approve. Sending always asks for confirmation, even inside a scheduled task. You see the full text before it goes out.
If you create your invoices with the Invoice Automator, the file is in your Drive. That skill sends nothing itself and does not know whether an invoice was paid; that is what your list is for. If your customers pay through Stripe, Stripe Insights shows which payments failed and why.
An accepted quote that has been completed? Then it is a logical moment for a review request through the Reputation Engine. How to build a chain like that is covered in scheduled tasks explained, and which task to tackle first in which task to automate first.
What you do not hand over
A few things stay with you, and that is a good thing:
- The decision to send. You know your customers. A regular customer who always pays late gets a different message than a new one.
- The tone of a second reminder. There is a relationship in that, and you look after it.
- Your bookkeeping. A list in a spreadsheet is a follow-up system, not an accounting system.
Frequently asked questions
Is a spreadsheet not too simple?
For a small business a spreadsheet is often exactly enough. The most important thing is that everything is in one place. If you already work with a CRM or accounting package that tracks open items, use that as the source.
When is the best time to follow up a quote?
After about a week, when the customer has had time to think about it but it is still fresh. A second message after two weeks is enough. After that, no answer is also an answer.
Does an automatic reminder not sound impersonal?
Only if you send it that way. Because you read and adjust every draft email before it goes out, it is your message. The system only makes sure it is ready on time.
