SaaS ~8 hours to build

Invoice Reminder Bot

Automated payment reminders that chase invoices so you don't have to.

The Problem

Freelancers and small agencies lose thousands of dollars each year to late-paying clients. Most don't have the time or systems to follow up on overdue invoices consistently. It's awkward to chase payments, and manual tracking in spreadsheets is error-prone. Common pain points include: "I hate being the bad guy asking for money," "I forgot to follow up and now it's been 3 months," and "My clients pay faster when they get automated reminders but I don't have time to set it up."

The Solution

An automated invoice reminder system that connects to your invoicing tool (Stripe, FreshBooks, or manual CSV), sends polite escalating reminder emails automatically, tracks payment status and follow-up history, and takes the emotional burden off the freelancer. Key features include pre-written email templates (friendly to firm to final notice), customizable timing, a client portal to view invoice status, and Slack/email notifications when payments come in.

How it works:

1

Connect

Link your Stripe account or upload invoice CSV

2

Configure

Set your reminder schedule or use smart defaults

3

Customize

Add your branding to email templates

4

Automate

Bot sends reminders when invoices go overdue

5

Get Paid

Receive notifications when clients pay

Market Research

The freelance economy is massive and growing, with a clear pain point around getting paid on time. Existing solutions are either too complex or treat payment reminders as an afterthought.

59 million freelancers in the US alone (Upwork 2023)
Average freelancer has $10k+ in unpaid invoices at any given time
Late payments cost small businesses $3 trillion annually
Competitors charge $30-100/month, proving willingness to pay
Reddit threads with 500+ upvotes asking for exactly this tool

Competitive Landscape

Current solutions either bundle reminders into full accounting suites (overkill) or treat them as an afterthought. There's a clear gap for a focused, simple tool.

FreshBooks

Full accounting suite with invoicing, expenses, time tracking. Overkill for just payment reminders.

$17-55/month

Harvest

Time tracking focused. Invoice reminders are an afterthought, not the core product.

$12/month

InvoiceNinja

Open source but complex to set up and self-host. Technical barrier for most freelancers.

Free-$14/month

Manual Follow-up

Most freelancers just forget to follow up or feel too awkward to chase payments.

Free (but costly)

Your Opportunity

Simple, focused reminder bot without the accounting bloat. Do one thing extremely well instead of being a feature in a larger suite.

Business Model

Freemium model with clear upgrade path. Free tier gets users hooked, paid tiers unlock professional features and scale.

Free

$0

5 active invoices, 2 reminder templates

Pro

$19/mo

Unlimited invoices, custom templates, Slack integration

Agency

$49/mo

Team accounts, white-label emails, priority support

Unit Economics

CAC

$30

LTV (Pro)

$228

LTV:CAC

7.6x

Recommended Tech Stack

Modern, serverless stack that's fast to build and cheap to run. MVP can be built in a weekend with just Stripe integration.

Next.js + Tailwind

Frontend dashboard and API routes in one framework

Supabase

Postgres database + built-in auth, generous free tier

Resend / SendGrid

Transactional email delivery with high deliverability

Stripe API

Invoice sync and payment status via webhooks

Vercel Cron

Scheduled jobs for sending reminder emails

AI Prompts to Build This

Copy and paste these into Claude, Cursor, or your favorite AI tool.

1. Project Setup

Create a new Next.js 14 project for Invoice Reminder Bot using the App Router. Set up: Project structure with src/app directory, Supabase for database with tables for users, invoices, reminders, and reminder_logs. Add Clerk for authentication. Create basic API routes for /api/invoices, /api/reminders, and /api/webhooks/stripe. Include TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, proper error handling, and environment variables for SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, CLERK_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, and RESEND_API_KEY.

2. Core Feature

Build the automated reminder system for Invoice Reminder Bot. Requirements: Create a Vercel cron job that runs daily to check for overdue invoices. For each overdue invoice, determine which reminder to send based on days overdue (3, 7, 14, 30 days). Use Resend to send templated emails with the freelancer's branding. Log all sent reminders to prevent duplicates. The user flow: Invoice syncs from Stripe -> System checks due dates daily -> Sends appropriate reminder email -> Logs the reminder -> Notifies user via Slack/email when payment received.

3. Landing Page

Create a landing page for Invoice Reminder Bot using Next.js and Tailwind CSS. Include: Hero section with headline "Stop chasing payments. Let the bot do it." Problem section highlighting the awkwardness of asking for money. Solution section showing the 5-step flow. Feature highlights with icons for automated reminders, customizable templates, Stripe integration, and payment notifications. Email capture form for early access. Social proof section with placeholder testimonials. Clean, modern design with a warm color palette (cream background, black accents, green for success states).

4. Branding Package

Create a branding package for Invoice Reminder Bot, an automated payment reminder tool for freelancers: Logo: Simple, friendly robot or bell icon that works at small sizes. Convey reliability without being corporate. Color palette: Primary warm cream (#fcfaf7), Secondary black (#1a1a1a), Accent green (#22c55e) for success/paid states, Warning amber for overdue. Typography: Geist or Inter for headings (clean, modern), system fonts for body. Provide hex codes, font names, and usage guidelines for the dashboard and email templates.