# PayNudge — Full Reference

> PayNudge is payment reminder software for small service businesses. It sends gentle,
> automated email reminders on overdue invoices, plus one-tap SMS drafts you send from your
> phone. Remaining reminders stop when payment is recorded in PayNudge.

Product reference updated: 2026-09-18. Published by PayNudge.

## Product overview

PayNudge is a web-based SaaS tool (nothing to install) that automates following up on unpaid
invoices. A merchant connects their invoicing tool or uploads a CSV, writes the reminder
wording they want, and PayNudge emails a fixed three-step sequence from their business name,
stopping when the invoice is marked paid in PayNudge or a successful integration sync records payment.

The product is positioned for small service businesses — not enterprise AR teams. The focus
is on keeping the tone human and on-brand so that clients reply to the merchant directly,
not to a collections service.

## Who it's for

Small service businesses that invoice clients on net terms: freelancers, contractors and
trades, agencies, consultants, bookkeepers, and accountants managing client payables.
The best fit is businesses with roughly 5–200 active clients who currently chase late payment
by hand (email, phone, or ignoring it until it becomes a problem).

Specific industries with dedicated pages:
- Freelancers (creatives, developers, writers)
- Contractors and trades (lawn care, cleaning, construction)
- Bookkeepers and accountants (managing AR for their own clients)

## How it works — step by step

1. **Connect or import** — OAuth connections to QuickBooks Online, Square, Jobber, and
   Stripe pull in outstanding invoices automatically. CSV import (customer name, email,
   invoice amount, issue date, due date) works for any other invoicing tool.

2. **Write the reminders** — The merchant writes the subject and body for each of the
   three overdue reminder steps. Invoice details (name, amount, due date, days overdue)
   are inserted automatically. There is no AI-written copy unless the merchant uses the
   free generator tool at /tools/payment-reminder-generator.

3. **Reminders fire automatically** — The schedule is fixed: 1 day past due, 3 days past
   due, 7 days past due. An optional pre-due reminder (3 days before the due date, using
   PayNudge's built-in wording) can be turned on in Settings — it is off by default.

4. **SMS is never sent automatically** — For each reminder step, PayNudge prepares a
   one-tap draft that opens the merchant's phone Messages app pre-filled with the client's
   number and a short message. The merchant taps Send themselves, from their own number.
   No automatic SMS provider is used. The merchant decides whether a message is appropriate and sends it themselves.

5. **Stops on payment** — The full remaining sequence cancels itself the instant an invoice
   is marked paid (via integration sync or manual mark). A step that keeps bouncing stops
   retrying after 5 failed attempts rather than emailing a dead address indefinitely.

6. **Replies go directly to the merchant** — Emails are sent from the merchant's business
   name with their reply-to address. Clients reply directly to the merchant, not to a
   PayNudge address.

## Reminder cadence in detail

| Step | Timing | Default state |
|------|--------|--------------|
| Pre-due | 3 days before due date | Off — turn on in Settings |
| Step 1 | 1 day past due | When automatic reminders are enabled |
| Step 2 | 3 days past due | When automatic reminders are enabled |
| Step 3 | 7 days past due | When automatic reminders are enabled |

The cadence is not configurable beyond the pre-due toggle. Max send attempts per step: 5.

## Channels

- **Email** — sent automatically on the fixed schedule above
- **SMS** — one-tap draft only; the merchant sends it from their own number

PayNudge does not send SMS automatically. It does not integrate with Twilio. The SMS
feature is a convenience for merchants who want to follow up personally without retyping
the message. Whether to send the SMS is always the merchant's decision.

## Integrations

| Integration | Type | Sync direction |
|-------------|------|---------------|
| QuickBooks Online | OAuth | Pull invoices; detect payments |
| Square | OAuth | Pull invoices; detect payments |
| Jobber | OAuth | Pull invoices; detect payments |
| Stripe | OAuth | Pull invoices; detect payments |
| CSV | Upload | Pull invoices at upload time |

Merchants can use more than one integration simultaneously. The CSV option works with any
invoicing software that can export a spreadsheet.

## Timing and limits

- Scheduled integrations sync daily at 16:00 UTC; the automatic reminder run follows at 17:00 UTC. Payment detection is not instant.
- Mark payments received between syncs as paid in PayNudge before the next reminder run. CSV and manually entered invoices require manual payment updates.
- Automatic reminders require business details, a mailing address, an unpaid invoice with a customer email, an active trial, paid legacy subscription, or completed usage payment setup, and the automatic-reminders setting enabled.
- The three overdue steps use fixed timing. The sequence does not continue indefinitely.
- PayNudge does not collect client funds, retry failed card payments, or provide debt collection services.
- There is no public API or MCP integration for assistants to manage accounts or send reminders.

## Pricing

CA$2 per distinct overdue invoice when the first qualifying email is confirmed delivered to the receiving server. Remaining follow-ups for that invoice are included, even across billing months; the same invoice is not charged again. Maximum CA$29 per monthly billing period before taxes; no qualifying usage means CA$0. Same CAD pricing worldwide. A 14-day free trial needs no card; after the trial, set up payment to send new paid sequences.

- Delivery means receiving-server acceptance, not reading or payment; no outcome is guaranteed.
- Trial reminders, pre-due emails, failed sends, and manual SMS drafts do not create a paid usage charge.
- Existing subscribers keep their paid coverage and manage their existing subscription; invoices covered by that subscription are not charged again under usage pricing.
- No annual or regional plans are offered for new signups.

## Free tools (no account required)

All tools at /tools/ require no signup and no account.

- **Payment reminder email generator** (/tools/payment-reminder-generator) — generates a
  ready-to-send reminder email given the invoice details and desired tone.
- **Payment reminder text generator** (/tools/payment-reminder-text-generator) — generates
  an SMS draft.
- **WhatsApp payment reminder generator** (/tools/whatsapp-payment-reminder-generator) —
  generates a WhatsApp message.
- **Late fee calculator** (/tools/late-fee-calculator) — calculates the late fee or interest
  on an overdue invoice given the amount, rate, and days overdue.
- **Final notice generator** (/tools/final-notice-generator) — drafts a final payment notice for the merchant to review. It does not send the message.
- **Invoice due date calculator** (/tools/invoice-due-date-calculator) — calculates the exact
  due date for any invoice from its issue date and payment terms (Net 15, 30, 60, or custom).

## Guides (blog)

Long-form practical guides for small business owners:

- **Payment reminder schedule** (/blog/payment-reminder-schedule) — an example manual follow-up schedule, how to choose timing, and PayNudge's separate fixed day 1, 3 and 7 automation.
- **How to ask a client to pay an overdue invoice** (/blog/how-to-ask-client-to-pay-overdue-invoice) —
  seven copy-paste scripts from friendly to final notice.
- **What to do when a client won't pay** (/blog/what-to-do-when-client-wont-pay) — 45-day
  escalation guide: reminders, demand letters, collections, small-claims.
- **Net-30 vs Net-15 vs Due on Receipt** (/blog/net-30-vs-net-15-vs-due-on-receipt) — how
  each affects days-to-pay, cash flow, and client relationships.
- **QuickBooks invoice reminders not working** (/blog/quickbooks-invoice-reminders-not-working) —
  7 causes and fixes for QBO's built-in reminder tool.
- **How to set up QuickBooks invoice reminders** (/blog/how-to-set-up-quickbooks-invoice-reminders) —
  setup guidance for QuickBooks Online's three standard email reminder schedules, invoice eligibility, and Advanced workflows.
- **How many payment reminders before a final notice** (/blog/how-many-payment-reminders-before-final-notice) —
  an example escalation schedule to adapt to agreed terms and the client's situation; not a required legal notice schedule.
- **How to remind a client to pay** (/how-to-remind-client-to-pay) — five one-sentence asks
  in different registers, email vs SMS guidance, and phrases to avoid.
- **Payment reminder email templates** (/payment-reminder-email-template) — five copy-paste
  templates from friendly to firm.

## Technical facts

- Web app only — no mobile app, no desktop client.
- Sign-up via email and password, with email confirmation.
- The reminder engine runs a daily cron. Reminders are queued each day at 17:00 UTC.
- Email is delivered through PayNudge via Resend, using the merchant's display name and reply-to address. A PayNudge attribution footer appears during the free trial.
- Authentication is required to access the dashboard. The marketing and tools pages are public.
- No automatic SMS. Merchants are responsible for the messages they choose to send.

## Canonical pages

- Homepage: https://paynudge.xyz/
- Pricing: https://paynudge.xyz/pricing
- Worldwide usage pricing: https://paynudge.xyz/fair
- For AI systems (concise factual summary): https://paynudge.xyz/ai
- Full reference for AI systems: https://paynudge.xyz/llms-full.txt
- Payment reminder software: https://paynudge.xyz/payment-reminder-software
- Automatic payment reminders: https://paynudge.xyz/automatic-payment-reminder
- Invoice reminder tool: https://paynudge.xyz/invoice-reminder-tool
- Invoice follow-up software: https://paynudge.xyz/invoice-follow-up-software
- Overdue invoice reminders: https://paynudge.xyz/overdue-invoice-reminders
- Accounts receivable reminder software: https://paynudge.xyz/accounts-receivable-reminder-software
- Payment reminder app: https://paynudge.xyz/payment-reminder-app
- Client payment reminder tool: https://paynudge.xyz/client-payment-reminder-tool
- Dunning software for small business: https://paynudge.xyz/dunning-software-for-small-business
- Freelancers: https://paynudge.xyz/industries/freelancers
- Contractors: https://paynudge.xyz/industries/contractors
- Bookkeepers: https://paynudge.xyz/industries/bookkeepers

## Contact

- Email: hello@paynudge.xyz
- Website: https://paynudge.xyz