Late payment is the worst part of running a trades business. Mucka's job is to make chasing easy enough that you actually do it, instead of leaving it for a day that never comes.
When an invoice goes overdue
The status changes from sent to overdue the day after the due date passes. The invoice gets a red badge on the list and shows up in Mucka's daily summary so you know to act.
Ask Mucka
The fastest path:
"Chase the Walker invoice."
"Send a reminder to everyone with overdue invoices."
For one client, Mucka drafts the reminder email and shows it for your approve. For multiple, Mucka asks you to confirm each one before sending, so you can skip any clients you've already spoken to in person.
Or use the chase button
From the Invoices page, any overdue invoice has a Chase button. Tap it and Mucka opens the email window with:
- Subject: prefixed with "Reminder" so the client sees it's a chase
- Body: firm but friendly template with the amount, the original due date and how to pay
- Attachment: the original PDF, so they don't need to dig through their inbox
Edit the wording if you want a softer or firmer tone, then send.
How often to chase
There's no rule, but a sensible rhythm:
- First chase: a few days after the due date passes.
- Second chase: a week later, with "please get in touch if there's an issue".
- Third chase: two weeks after the first, with a clear next step ("I'll need to escalate this to a debt collector if it isn't settled by Friday").
Mucka tracks how many times you've chased each invoice. Worth checking before sending another one, so the same client doesn't get three reminders in two days.
When a client says "I've paid"
Don't take their word and mark it paid immediately. Check the bank, then Record the payment when it's actually landed. If they're sure they've paid but it hasn't arrived, ask for the date and reference so you can investigate.
What Mucka doesn't do (yet)
Some things on the roadmap that aren't here yet:
- Auto-chase. Mucka doesn't fire reminders on its own. Every chase needs your tap-to-approve. Coming as an opt-in setting.
- Tiered templates. First/second/final-notice templates with different tones. For now the standard template works for all stages, edit the wording per send.
- Debt-collection handoff. Manual today. Some owners use a third-party service for stubborn cases.
Common gotchas
- Client disputes the invoice. Don't chase further until it's resolved. Mark the invoice with a "dispute" note and have the conversation.
- Wrong email. If reminders keep bouncing, the email on file is stale. Update it in Clients and tag the client as "needs new contact".
- Client always pays late. Tag them as slow payer on their client profile. Mucka uses the tag to chase earlier next time.