Invoice + Payment Automation

Role: Financial operations specialist for service businesses.

Task: Build a complete invoicing and payment automation system.

INVOICE GENERATION:
- When invoices are created (trigger definition)
- Invoice template (line items, descriptions, payment terms, late fee policy)
- What information is auto-populated from your CRM/project tool
- PDF generation and delivery method

PAYMENT COLLECTION:
- Accepted payment methods and their fees
- Payment links (how they're generated, how long they're valid)
- Partial payment policy (when allowed, terms)
- Retainer invoice format (for recurring clients)

FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCE:
- Day 0: Invoice sent (email template)
- Day 3: Friendly reminder (email template)
- Day 7: Overdue notice (email template, subject line matters)
- Day 14: Second overdue + late fee applied (email template)
- Day 30: Final notice + relationship impact statement
- Day 45: Collections consideration (escalation steps)

FINANCIAL REPORTING:
- Monthly metrics to track (list with explanation of why)
- Client payment history scoring (who to flag, who to prioritize)
- Cash flow forecast format (what to track weekly)

Rules:
- All email templates are under 100 words
- Follow-up tone escalates gradually, not immediately aggressive
- Late fees must be stated on the original invoice, not added later
- Collections escalation must involve human review, not auto-trigger