Help centre | Article

Automatic invoice chasers

Polite chase emails fire on day 14, 21, and 28 past due. You can turn them off.

Plus pricing

When chasers fire

An invoice you created in Sessional is eligible once it is issued, even if you downloaded the PDF and emailed it yourself rather than sending it from Sessional. Each chase attaches the PDF.

Important

Two kinds of invoice are not chased until you say so. An invoice brought across from the free invoice tool arrives with automatic chasing paused, because Sessional cannot know what you have already agreed with the organisation: open it on the Invoices page and press Turn on automatic chasing. And a draft that is already past its due date when you issue it, which is usual after a CSV import of old invoices, asks who chases it and defaults to you handling it yourself.

Once an invoice passes its due date and is marked overdue, Sessional watches it for three automatic chase moments:

  • Day 14 past due: first polite chase, PDF attached
  • Day 21 past due: second chase
  • Day 28 past due: third chase

After day 28 the automation stops. Further chasing is manual from that point, or you take it offline.

What's in the chase email

The chase is sent by Sessional on your behalf, signed as a letter from you, with a reply address that brings their answer back onto the invoice. It greets the organisation by name and includes the invoice number, the amount, the lines on the invoice, the date it was issued with how many days ago that was, the due date, the original PDF, and your bank details and payment reference if you have set them. It also carries a signed workplace access link, the same kind as the one in the invoice email, so whoever reads the chase can open the invoice, say it has been paid or raise a dispute from there, or simply reply.

Turning it off

Go to Notification preferences switch off Automatic invoice chasers, then press Save preferences. The switch is not stored until you save. Sessional still tracks overdue invoices and still shows them as overdue on your dashboard, but no automated email is sent. To stop chasing on one invoice only, use Pause automatic chasing on that invoice.

Cooldown and safety

Note

Chasers are cooldown-protected. Once a chase email goes out for an invoice, another chase on the same invoice is blocked for 72 hours, whether automated or manual. This means an organisation never receives two chases close together.

What pauses the chasers

  • The organisation raises a dispute via the workplace link.
  • The organisation says it has paid through the workplace link: chasers pause until you confirm or dismiss the claim.
  • You pause chasing on that invoice, or it was imported from the free invoice tool and you have not turned chasing on.
  • You mark the invoice void.
  • You mark the invoice paid manually.
  • Plan downgrade: automatic chasing is a Plus and Pro feature. Basic tier accounts do not get auto-chase.

Frequently asked questions

What if the organisation has no email on file?
That invoice is skipped. Add a primary contact email on the organisation record and the next threshold will chase.
Can I customise the wording of invoice chaser emails?
Not the automated chase: it uses a tested, polite template. Manual chases from the invoice page let you add a custom message.
Will Sessional send auto-chasers on weekends or bank holidays?
Yes. The check runs every hour of every day. If day 14 past due lands on a Sunday, the chase fires on that Sunday.
Do auto-chasers run on the free Basic plan?
No. Auto-chase is a Plus and Pro feature. On Basic, contact the organisation yourself outside Sessional, or upgrade to use the Chase button.

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