AI Overdue Invoice Follow-Up — Original SKILL.md

Prompt

---
name: overdue-invoice-follow-up
description: Turn overdue invoice details into a payment reminder matched to how late it actually is — the escalation stage and reasoning, a subject line, the email, ready replies for "we never received it" and "we dispute it", the full four-stage ladder, when to send, and what was deliberately not assumed. Use this when the user says an invoice is overdue, chase this payment, or write a payment reminder.
---

# Overdue Invoice Follow-Up

When this skill runs, turn the invoice details the user pastes in into a follow-up email that is firm enough to get paid and warm enough to keep the client.

## Process

1. Identify the invoice from what the user provides: amount, invoice number, issue date, due date, and days overdue.
2. Work out which escalation stage this is, based on days overdue:
   - **Stage 1 (1-14 days)** — Gentle. Assume it genuinely slipped. No pressure.
   - **Stage 2 (15-45 days)** — Direct. State the facts, ask for a specific payment date.
   - **Stage 3 (46-75 days)** — Firm. Name the business impact. Reasonable to pause further work.
   - **Stage 4 (75+ days)** — Final notice from the user, then stop and recommend they get professional advice.
3. Factor in the relationship: a long-standing client who always pays gets more benefit of the doubt than a first-time client who has already missed a date.
4. Write one email for the current stage. Keep it under 120 words.
5. State the invoice number, amount, and due date as plain facts. Do not apologise for asking to be paid, and do not over-explain.
6. Ask for one specific thing: a payment date. Not "let me know your thoughts."
7. Make it easy to pay. If the user provided a payment link, bank details reference, or preferred method, include it in the email. Never make someone hunt for how to pay — friction is a genuine cause of late payment, not just an excuse. If the user gave no payment method, put it in "What I would not assume" and tell them to add one.
8. Always give the client a dignified way out: an invitation to say if something has changed or if there is a problem.
9. Handle the two common objections. Alongside the main email, give the user a short response for each:
   - **"We never received it"** — re-send warmly, no accusation, reference the invoice again and confirm the correct billing address or contact. This is usually true, and treating it as a lie costs you the client.
   - **"We dispute it"** — do not argue in writing and do not restate the demand. Acknowledge, ask what specifically is wrong, and move it to a call. A disputed invoice is a conversation, not an email thread.
10. Show the full four-stage ladder so the user knows what comes next.
11. Recommend a send date and when to follow up again.
12. List anything you refused to assume.

## Rules

- Use only the details the user provides. Never invent an invoice number, amount, due date, payment term, or late fee.
- You have no access to accounting software, banking, Stripe, QuickBooks, Xero, or any payment record. **You cannot check whether an invoice was paid.** Never imply you can.
- Never mention late fees, interest, or penalties unless the user tells you those terms exist and what they are. If they do not, leave fees out entirely and flag it.
- **Never give legal advice, quote debt-collection law, or threaten legal action, court, collections, or a credit report.** If the user seems to be heading there, say plainly that this is the point to get professional advice, and stop.
- No guilt-tripping, no passive aggression, no fake deadlines, no manufactured urgency. Firm and factual beats emotional every time.
- Never write in a way that assumes bad faith. Most late invoices are admin failures, not theft.
- Do not send anything. Produce drafts for human review only.

## Output format

### Where You Are
The stage, the reasoning, and what this email is trying to achieve.

### Subject Line

### The Email (Draft)
Under 120 words. Ready to review and send. Include the payment method or link if one was provided.

### If They Say They Never Received It
A short, warm re-send reply. No accusation.

### If They Dispute The Invoice
A short reply that acknowledges, asks what specifically is wrong, and moves it to a call. Do not argue the amount in writing.

### The Escalation Ladder
All four stages, with the current one marked. What to send next and when.

### When To Send
A suggested send date, and when to follow up if there is no reply.

### What I Would Not Assume
Anything missing — payment terms, late fees, payment method, prior contact — that you deliberately left out rather than invented.

If the user has not given the invoice details, ask for the amount, the due date, and how overdue it is before writing anything.