How Do You Manage Payment Reminder Emails in QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Online lets you control payment reminder emails through Automatic Invoice Reminders in Account and Settings, where you can turn reminders on or off and set exactly when they go out. You can also send a reminder manually for a single invoice without touching your automatic settings at all. Getting these controls right means your follow-ups stay professional and on your schedule, not a surprise to you or your customer.

Why payment reminder emails need a closer look

When you send an invoice, you're trusting QuickBooks to represent your business well if a follow-up email goes out. A reminder that goes out too soon, or with the wrong tone, can make a customer feel chased before they're even late. This guide covers how QuickBooks Online reminder emails actually work, how to turn them on or off, how to customize what they say, and how to send a one-off reminder when automation isn't the right move.

What counts as a "payment reminder email" in QuickBooks Online?

A payment reminder is an automated email QuickBooks sends to a customer when an invoice is approaching or past its due date. It works by comparing your invoice due dates against the schedule you set, then emailing the customer using a template you control. Reminders only go to customers on invoices you've already sent by email, QuickBooks won’t make up a delivery method you haven't used.

How do automatic invoice reminders work?

Automatic invoice reminders run on a schedule you set, checking your invoices against that schedule a few times a day. You decide how many days before or after the due date each reminder fires, and you can schedule reminders up to 90 days on either side of the due date. QuickBooks also supports second and third reminders, so you can build a short sequence instead of a single nudge.

Once a reminder goes out, QuickBooks tags the invoice as "(Reminded)" in your Invoices list, so you have a visible record of what's already been sent.

How do you turn automatic invoice reminders on or off?

Turning reminders on or off takes three steps, and it's the same path either way:

1. Go to Settings (gear icon), then Account and Settings.
2. Select the Sales tab. 
3. Scroll down to the Reminders section and select the edit (pencil) icon.
4. Toggle Automatic Invoice Reminders on or off, then set your days-before/after schedule if you're turning it on.

If you've turned reminders off and customers are still receiving follow-up emails, that's worth a call to support rather than more setting-hunting. Ask them to check your account for any reminder-related investigation on file.

How do you customize what the reminder email says?

QuickBooks uses one reminder template for all your automatic reminders, and you can edit the subject line and message body to match your voice. If you want the email to include a PDF copy of the invoice rather than just a link, select the edit icon in the Online delivery section and turn that option on.

This is also where it's worth being specific instead of generic. "Your invoice is due in 3 days" reads better to a customer than a vague "friendly reminder", and it matches your actual invoice terms, which matters more than it sounds.

How do you send a reminder manually instead of waiting for automation?

Manual reminders are useful when you want to follow up on one invoice without changing your automatic settings for everyone else. To send one:

1. Go to Sales, then Invoices.
2. Find the invoice.
3. From the Receive payment dropdown, select Send reminder.

This sends your existing reminder template right now, for that one invoice only, nothing else on your account changes.

What's the difference between invoice reminders and online delivery settings?

These two settings sound similar but control different things. Mixing them up is the most common reason business owners think a setting "isn't working" when it's actually doing exactly what it's configured to do.

Switching an invoice to plain-text delivery changes how it looks, it doesn't turn reminders off. If your goal is to stop reminder emails, the Reminders setting is the one to change.

How do you stop a specific customer from getting reminder emails?

QuickBooks reminders apply at the account level, not per customer, so the cleanest fix is to avoid emailing that customer's invoice through QuickBooks, send it another way (print, a separate email, etc.) instead. If you only want to skip one reminder cycle rather than exclude a customer permanently, there's no per-invoice opt-out; the reminder schedule applies to every emailed invoice that matches your criteria.

FAQ: 

Will turning off automatic reminders affect invoices I've already sent?
No. Turning reminders off stops future scheduled reminders from going out, but it doesn't change or recall anything already sent.

Can I have different reminder schedules for different customers?
Not directly. Automatic Invoice Reminders use one schedule and one template across your account. If you need different cadences, manual reminders per invoice are the workaround.

Why did a customer get a reminder before their invoice was even due?
Check your reminder schedule under Settings > Account and Settings > Reminders. A "days before due date" reminder can go out earlier than expected if the schedule was set with a longer lead time than intended.

Do reminders work for invoices I didn't send by email?
No. Reminders only go to customers whose invoices were emailed through QuickBooks and have an email address filled in on the invoice.

How do I know if a reminder email is legitimately from QuickBooks?
Check the sender address against Intuit's known notification addresses, and when in doubt, forward anything that looks suspicious to security@intuit.com rather than clicking links in the email.

Key Takeaways

• Automatic Invoice Reminders (Settings > Account and Settings > Reminders) is the single control for turning follow-up emails on, off, or adjusting their timing.
• Reminders only trigger on invoices you've emailed through QuickBooks, and only on your account's schedule, not per customer.
• Online delivery format (plain text vs. HTML) is a separate setting from reminders; changing one doesn't change the other.
• Manual reminders let you follow up on a single invoice without touching your automatic schedule.
• If a reminder-related email looks off or behaves unexpectedly, confirm the sender before acting, and loop in support if your settings don't match what customers are receiving.

Still running into unexpected reminder emails?

If you've checked your Reminders and Online Delivery settings and customers are still getting emails that don't match them, that's a support conversation, not a settings one, reach out through Help > Contact Us in QuickBooks so an agent can check your account directly, or ask in the Community below.

Helpful Resources

• Send invoice reminders automatically or manually in QuickBooks Online: step-by-step setup for turning reminders on, off, and customizing the schedule.
• Create automated payment reminders for invoices and statements in QuickBooks Desktop: the Desktop equivalent of this workflow.
• Can't receive email from QuickBooks Payments: what to check if expected payment emails (yours or your customer's) aren't arriving.
• Get help with QuickBooks products and services: how to reach live support if a setting isn't behaving as documented.