How Accounting Firms Get Paid Faster: Fixed Monthly Fees, Recurring Invoices and Automated Chasing

Lock-up is the money sitting in completed work that has not been billed, plus invoices the client has not paid yet. Debtor days is the average number of days it takes a client to pay. You do not need a finance report to watch them — the invoice list in Remindoo puts four headline totals on one screen: outstanding, overdue, drafts and paid this month. Watch them weekly. If outstanding grows while work is being approved, invoices are not going out fast enough. If overdue grows, chasing is not happening — which is exactly what automatic reminders fix. The Overdue tab shows every invoice past its due date with the remaining balance, including part-paid invoices, so you always know exactly who owes what before you pick up the phone.

Ad hoc billing makes cash flow unpredictable for you and uncomfortable for the client — every invoice is a fresh negotiation. Monthly fixed fees change that: the fee is agreed once, in a proposal, and then billed the same way every month. When a proposal is accepted, the monthly fee is already agreed, so the recurring invoice simply carries it forward. Fixed fees also make scope conversations easier: if a client's work grows, you revisit the fee at the next review instead of arguing about a single invoice. In Remindoo, the proposal and the client record sit alongside invoicing, so the fee you agreed is the fee you bill.

For every monthly fee, set the recurring schedule once: repeat every N days, weeks or months, due days after the bill date, an optional end date, whether each invoice is saved as a draft or approved, and whether it is emailed automatically each billing cycle. Supporting files can be attached so the invoice arrives with its backing. After that, the recurring plans list shows every plan — client, template, frequency, next run date, end date, amount, how many have been sent, attachments and status — with pause and delete when a client leaves or the fee changes. Billing stops being a monthly to-do list.

The faster and easier payment is, the faster you are paid. Connect Stripe and clients can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link; connect Adfin for card, Open Banking and Direct Debit. PayPal and GoCardless are shown as coming soon, and fees are displayed for each provider so you can see the cost before you choose. Card payment instructions can sit directly on the invoice, so the client never has to ask how to pay. If you prefer bank transfer, record the manual receipt against the invoice with the amount and reference — the remaining balance updates automatically.

Chasing by hand is the part of billing everyone postpones. Let reminders do it: Remindoo sends them automatically by email before and after the due date — for example 7, 3 and 1 day before — and the dispatch log records timestamp, invoice, channel, scenario, status and delivery notes for every send. That log is useful in two ways: it shows the client was chased properly, and it shows you when a reminder cadence is not working and a conversation is needed instead. Consistent, polite chasing protects the relationship far better than an awkward call two months late.

Draft invoices stay out of the client's inbox until approved. That makes the Drafts tab a natural review point before billing: check the draft against the work delivered, adjust anything that has changed, then approve. Recurring invoices can also be processed as drafts each cycle, so every automated invoice still passes a human eye before it goes out. For practices with a review step before billing, approve-before-send keeps the control without slowing the cash down — approve and the invoice is finalised; approve & send and it goes straight to the client.

When you invoice for VAT-able services, the invoice needs the essentials: your supplier name, address and VAT number; a unique invoice number; the date of issue; a description of the services; the net amount; the VAT rate and amount; and the total. In Remindoo, tax-exclusive or inclusive amounts and 0%, 5% or 20% VAT per line are calculated live, so the totals on the invoice are right before it is sent. For the detail — including when full VAT invoices are required and what records to keep — follow HMRC's VAT invoice guidance, linked in the related resources on this guide.

When reminders have run their course, escalate deliberately rather than emotionally. Your engagement letter is the place for the terms: interest on late payment, suspension of work or a stop-work policy until the account is settled. Review the client's payment history in the invoice list — the Overdue tab shows the remaining balance — before the next fee review, and be honest about whether the relationship still works. A firm that bills monthly, collects by card and chases automatically rarely needs to have that conversation; the clients who consistently pay late stand out early, and you can act before the balance grows.