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small business · ~25 min

Turn aging AR facts into a day-7 / day-14 / day-30 email sequence—without inventing late fees or giving collections-law advice.

Last verified: 2026-09-08Lumina seed `late-invoice-follow-up-sequence`

Not legal or collections advice. Use only invoice facts and fee language you already have. Do not invent late fees, interest, or legal threats.

Top picks

Best Overall

Claude

Calm escalation ladder; won’t invent fees if told not to.

Open Claude

Best Free

ChatGPT Free

Enough for a three-email sequence from pasted facts.

Open ChatGPT

Best Power-User

Claude + second pass in ChatGPT

Draft the sequence in one; hostility / invented-threat check in the other. Keep amounts in your AR/Sheets source of truth—chat is for wording only.

Open Claude

Protocol

  1. Pull facts from aging AR (5–8 min).

    Invoice #, amount due, original due date, days overdue (or ages for day-7/14/30 drafts), customer name + billing contact, payment link/instructions you already use, prior reminder dates if any, and any late-fee or pause-work terms that are already in your contract/invoice—or write NONE.

  2. Lock “not collections advice.”

    Paste the rules first so the model cannot mint a late fee or a legal threat.

    Copy-paste prompt

    Draft a late-invoice email sequence for my small business.
    Hard rules:
    - Use ONLY invoice facts, payment instructions, and fee/terms language I provide. Do not invent late fees, interest, statutory penalties, legal threats, credit reporting, or “collections agency” steps.
    - This is NOT legal advice and NOT a debt-collection compliance guide. Keep language factual and professional.
    - Produce three emails: Day-7 (friendly nudge), Day-14 (direct reminder), Day-30 (firm, still non-threatening). Same facts; escalating clarity only.
    - Include subject lines and a clear ask + how to pay using MY payment instructions.
    - If amount, due date, or fee language is missing, mark [NEED FACT]—do not fill numbers.
    Confirm in one sentence, then wait for my pack.
  3. Fill pack (step 3a) and generate (step 3b).

    Paste invoice facts, then send the generate command. If a fee or “we will sue” line appears that you did not type, delete it.

    Paste pack

    CUSTOMER / COMPANY: [ ]
    BILLING CONTACT (if known): [ ]
    INVOICE #: [ ]
    AMOUNT DUE: [ ]
    CURRENCY: [ ]
    ORIGINAL DUE DATE: [ ]
    DAYS OVERDUE TODAY (or target for each draft): [ ]
    PAYMENT TERMS ON INVOICE: [e.g. Net 15 / Net 30]
    PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS I ACTUALLY OFFER: [link / ACH / check address]
    PRIOR REMINDERS SENT: [dates or NONE]
    LATE FEE / INTEREST LANGUAGE ALREADY IN MY CONTRACT OR INVOICE: [paste or NONE]
    WORK STATUS: [completed / ongoing / on hold]
    RELATIONSHIP NOTES (optional, factual): [ ]

    After you send the filled pack, copy the Generate command in the next box and paste it into the SAME chat so the AI runs the decision tree / produces the output.

    Generate command — copy and send this next (same chat)

    Draft Day-7, Day-14, and Day-30 emails now. Subject + body for each. Keep under ~150 words each. Mark [NEED FACT] gaps. No invented fees or legal threats.
  4. Second-model check (5 min).

    In the other tool, paste the sequence plus your invoice facts:

    Second-model check

    Here is a day-7/14/30 invoice follow-up sequence from another assistant plus my invoice facts.
    Find: (1) any invented fees, interest, or legal threats, (2) wrong amounts/dates vs my pack, (3) hostility that could damage a good client, (4) missing payment instructions.
    Return only corrections. Not legal or collections advice.
  5. Human send from your mailbox.

    Attach or link the real invoice. Log send dates in AR. If the customer disputes the work, stop the sequence and resolve the dispute—do not use AI to argue merits.

When not to

  • Not legal advice; regulated collections (FDCPA and local rules) need counsel/process—not a chat draft.
  • Do not invent late fees, interest, or “we will sue / report to credit” language.
  • Skip if the invoice amount or due date is wrong in your system—fix AR first.
  • Do not paste full bank account numbers or card data into the chat.

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