Keep Xero reminders when every invoice is the same.
If one fixed schedule and one template suit all your customers and nobody ever replies with a query, Xero's reminders are free and already switched on. Keep them.
Xero invoice reminders alternative
When Xero's automatic reminders are not quite enough.
Xero's built-in reminders run one organisation-wide schedule of up to five emails, sent through Xero to every customer with an email address. SHVL reads Xero read-only, lets you preview and time every reminder per customer, sends from your own mailbox, pauses when a customer replies or an email bounces, records promise dates, and stops the moment Xero shows the payment.
Use SHVL when customers need judgement.
A key client you chase gently, a serial late payer you escalate, a promise to check on Friday, a reply that must pause the sequence. SHVL gives each customer a status, a preview and a timeline.
Use the £4 pack for one clean-up.
Export the aged-debtors CSV once and get editable Word letters, email drafts and an Excel statutory-interest log. Nothing is sent.
Xero reminders and SHVL, side by side.
| Question | Xero invoice reminders | SHVL |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends the email | Xero sends it; replies go to the login email of whoever turned reminders on (editable). | Your own Microsoft 365 or Outlook mailbox after you connect it. Gmail in beta. |
| Before it sends | Set up to five reminders and edit their templates once for the organisation, then they run for every invoice marked as sent. | Preview the exact wording and date per customer, send a test to yourself, then activate. Payment, reply and bounce checks run again before each send. |
| When a customer replies | Reply lands in the reply-to inbox; the schedule is not affected. | Matched replies pause the sequence and appear on the customer timeline. |
| When an email bounces | Not tracked against the schedule. | Bounce pauses the case and flags the missing address. |
| Promises to pay | Not recorded. | Promise date per customer; a lapsed promise returns the case to chasing. |
| Different schedules | One schedule per organisation, with a minimum-amount threshold. | Editable steps by days after due and tone, with pause, promised and disputed states per customer. |
| Payment links | Optional online-invoice link and PDF link in every reminder. | The same Xero online-invoice link is included in each reminder when available. |
| Statutory interest | Not calculated. | Late Payment Act interest and Schedule 6 fixed compensation per case, for you to decide whether to claim. |
| Without Xero | Not available. | QuickBooks and FreeAgent read-only, or an aged-debtors CSV. |
| Cost | Included with Xero. | £19 Solo or £29 Team after a 30-day trial. |
Avoid double chasing: switch Xero's automatic reminders off for the customers SHVL is chasing, or for the organisation, before you activate the SHVL schedule.
Sources checked.
SHVL details were checked against the live product on 6 September 2026. Xero reminder behaviour was taken from Xero Central: Set up and add invoice reminders on the same date. Xero's features change; check the current help page before deciding.
Try it on your own overdue list.
Connect Xero read-only or import a CSV. Nothing sends until you have seen the reminder and activated the schedule.
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