Yes, Xero can send an invoice reminder before the due date. In Invoice Reminders, add a reminder and set "Send if an invoice is" to "due in" your chosen days. The stage joins the same five-reminder schedule and sends for every invoice marked as sent.
Xero holds one reminder schedule at organisation level, with up to five reminders in it. Xero sets three up for you when you first turn the feature on, all after the due date, and every stage fires against every invoice marked as sent.
Each stage can sit before or after the due date. Xero's setup article puts it plainly: before the due date, from "Send if an invoice is" select "due in"; after the due date, select "overdue by". Replies go to the login email of the person who first turned reminders on, though that address can be edited.
A pre-due reminder earns its place wherever something has to happen on the customer's side before payment can leave. The common cases:
| Situation | Why the nudge works |
|---|---|
| Customers who pay against a purchase order | An invoice without a matching PO misses the payment run. A week's notice gets the PO confirmed while there is still time. |
| Annual renewals and subscriptions | The customer committed a year ago. The nudge arrives before budget approval becomes an emergency. |
| High-value invoices | Sign-off sits above your day-to-day contact and takes days. Starting that clock before the due date keeps the invoice on schedule. |
| 30-day or longer terms | A month is long enough for an invoice to be filed and forgotten. The reminder resurfaces it while it is still easy to action. |
| Bank-transfer payers | A transfer needs the customer to log in and act. A dated prompt converts intention into a payment before the deadline. |
Skip the pre-due stage for small invoices, for customers who already pay early, and on 7-day terms, where the nudge lands almost on top of the invoice itself and reads as pressure.
The tone is a courtesy, not a chase. Nothing is late and the email should not imply otherwise.
Subject: Invoice INV-2041 is due on 24 September
Hi Priya,
A quick note that invoice INV-2041 for £3,180 falls due on 24 September. If a purchase order number should appear on it, reply with the number and we will add it before the due date.
The invoice and payment details are attached. Any questions, just reply.
The PO sentence is the one that moves money. If the invoice needs a reference to clear the customer's approval process, the pre-due email is the last cheap moment to ask for it. More templates across the whole sequence are in our reminder email templates library.
The sender is the sharpest edge. Reminders come from Xero's own address, [email protected], and the request to send as your company domain, open since 26 June 2013, holds 467 votes at "In discovery" on Xero's product ideas board, as at 8 September 2026.
Xero's reply of March 2026 says the team are "actively exploring" it without timeframes. Corporate spam filters are the reason that thread exists, and the same delivery problem hits the invoice email itself.
Recipients are the other edge. Every stage goes to the contact's people with "Include in emails" ticked. A PO request aimed at procurement cannot travel separately from the chasers aimed at accounts payable, and the department-routing problem has no Xero-side fix either.
In Paidnice, a pre-due reminder is an email policy with its trigger set before the due date, sitting in the same sequence as your overdue stages. A common arc is a heads-up three days before due, a note on the due date, then chasers at three and seven days overdue, each with its own template.
The policy carries the controls Xero's stage lacks. It sends from your own domain through a sender profile, with the From name, address and Reply-To you choose. It can fire at 9am on weekdays only, apply its own minimum amount, and exclude contacts by tag, so reliable payers never see it.
Because policies belong to groups, the PO-dependent corporate book can run a pre-due stage the rest of your customers skip.
Attach the invoice PDF and a calendar invite for the due date to the pre-due email. The invite sits in the payer's calendar on the day the money should move, which is a better memory aid than any second email.
Paidnice connects to Xero in a few minutes and starts at £49 a month for 150 invoices. The same sequence carries quote follow-ups and statements, so the whole conversation with a customer runs from one place.
Can I send a payment reminder email before the due date?
Yes. In Xero, add a reminder stage set to "due in" and choose how much notice to give. Zero days sends on the due date itself. The stage counts toward the five-reminder limit.
Does Xero send reminders for overdue invoices?
Yes. Xero's three default reminders are all overdue stages, and you can adjust their timing and wording or add stages before the due date alongside them.
How do I stop Xero from sending reminders?
Turn them off for the organisation on the Invoice Reminders screen, for one contact on the contact record, or for a single invoice from the Awaiting Payment tab.
Can I manually send an invoice reminder in Xero?
Yes, open the invoice and email it again with your own covering message. Automated stages carry on independently unless you switch them off for that invoice.
How many days before the due date should a reminder go?
Five to seven days suits 30-day terms, and long enough for a PO or sign-off to complete. On 7-day terms, skip the pre-due stage; the invoice email is recent enough.
Will a pre-due reminder annoy customers?
Framed as a heads-up with the invoice attached, it reads as service rather than pressure, and it removes the awkwardness of the first overdue chase. Exclude customers who consistently pay early.
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