Unpaid

Introduction to Unpaid

Unpaid is an AI-powered accounts receivable automation tool designed to manage invoice follow-ups without manual intervention. It integrates with accounting platforms including Xero, QuickBooks, and Stripe—or works via BCC email—to monitor outstanding invoices and execute a structured, multi-stage reminder sequence. The product targets freelancers, small businesses, and growing teams that lack dedicated finance staff but require reliable, timely payment collection.

Unlike template-based reminder tools, Unpaid leverages Claude AI to generate context-aware, personalized email content for each customer and situation. It handles inbound replies, detects disputes or payment promises, verifies incoming payments against connected accounting data, and issues branded receipts—reducing administrative overhead while preserving professional client relationships.

Key Takeaways

• Uses Claude AI to draft genuinely personalized, non-template email reminders tailored to customer history, tone preferences, and invoice context
• Implements a five-stage escalation workflow (Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, Day 21, Day 30), with early stages sending automatically and later stages requiring user approval
• Detects and responds intelligently to customer replies—including disputes, questions, payment promises, and requests to resend invoices
• Verifies payments by cross-referencing incoming funds against synced accounting data; stops reminders automatically upon confirmation and delivers branded receipts
• Supports multiple setup methods: one-click integration with Xero, QuickBooks, or Stripe; direct invoice creation within Unpaid (with bidirectional sync); or BCC-based tracking of outbound invoice emails
• Provides smart safeguards including relationship-aware tone adjustments, contact frequency limits, and automated pause/resume logic based on reply intent
• Offers customer scoring to identify payment risk patterns and prioritize attention across accounts

How Unpaid Works

Unpaid operates through a defined workflow beginning with integration or BCC configuration. Once connected, it ingests invoice data either from accounting software syncs or parsed email attachments. Each invoice enters a five-stage escalation pipeline: Day 3 (friendly nudge), Day 7 (follow-up), Day 14 (firm reminder), Day 21 (urgent notice), and Day 30 (final notice). The first two stages send automatically; the latter three require explicit user approval, delivered directly to the user’s inbox with options to approve, edit, or skip.

Customer replies are processed in real time using natural language understanding. When a reply indicates a dispute, Unpaid pauses reminders for seven days and notifies the user. Questions trigger a three-day pause; verified payment promises pause reminders for 14 days before auto-resuming. If a customer states they have paid, Unpaid validates the claim against the latest sync from Xero, QuickBooks, or Stripe. Confirmed payments halt reminders and trigger a branded receipt; unconfirmed claims prompt a follow-up request after five days. All invoices created in Unpaid retain original branding, include standard payment links, and synchronize seamlessly with connected accounting systems.

Core Benefits and Applications

Unpaid enables finance teams and solo professionals to maintain consistent, professional collections practices without daily monitoring. Freelancers benefit from automated tracking of scattered invoices across clients, eliminating missed follow-ups. Small businesses use it to scale collections operations alongside growth—supporting unlimited invoices and multi-client scoring in the Pro plan. Agencies leverage team collaboration features and API access in the Business tier to embed collections workflows into broader client service offerings. The tool also serves users without accounting software via BCC-only operation, extracting invoice details from email and PDFs. Weekly digests, dashboard metrics (e.g., collected amount, active reminders, pending approvals), and real-time activity feeds provide operational visibility without requiring constant platform engagement.

All plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, bank-level encryption, and OAuth-secured integrations.