Automate Your Invoice Reminders with Python and Credit-IQ
Keeping track of unpaid invoices can be a real headache—even for the savviest businesses. That’s where automation comes in. With Credit-IQ’s mission to streamline and accelerate accounts receivable, you can save time and improve cash flow by letting code do the chasing for you.
In this tutorial, we’ll walk through building a simple Python script that sends personalized invoice reminder emails. Whether you’re a developer looking to integrate your AR process with your bookkeeping software or simply want to experiment with automation, this guide will help you get started.
What You’ll Need
- Python 3.x installed on your system.
- Basic familiarity with Python scripting.
- An SMTP email account (we’ll use Outlook’s SMTP server in this example, but you can adjust for Gmail or others).
- The python-dotenv library to securely manage your credentials.
- Optionally, a CSV file or database with invoice data (for future enhancements).
Step 1: Set Up Your Environment
First, create a .env file in your project directory with your email credentials:
EMAIL=your_email@example.com
PASSWORD=your_email_password
This file keeps your sensitive data secure and out of your codebase.
Install the required dependency:
pip install python-dotenv
Step 2: Write the Email Reminder Script
Below is a basic Python script that sends an invoice reminder email. Copy and paste the code into a file (e.g., invoice_reminder.py):
import os
import smtplib
from email.message import EmailMessage
from pathlib import Path
from dotenv import load_dotenv
# SMTP server configuration (adjust as needed)
PORT = 587
EMAIL_SERVER = "smtp-mail.outlook.com" # Use smtp.gmail.com for Gmail
# Load environment variables from .env file
current_dir = Path(__file__).resolve().parent if "__file__" in globals() else Path.cwd()
env_file = current_dir / ".env"
load_dotenv(env_file)
SENDER_EMAIL = os.getenv("EMAIL")
PASSWORD = os.getenv("PASSWORD")
def send_invoice_reminder(subject, recipient, name, invoice_no, due_date, amount):
# Create the email message
msg = EmailMessage()
msg["Subject"] = subject
msg["From"] = SENDER_EMAIL
msg["To"] = recipient
# Plain text content
text_content = f"""\
Hi {name},
This is a friendly reminder that invoice {invoice_no} for {amount} USD is due on {due_date}. Please make the payment at your earliest convenience.
Thank you,
Your Credit-IQ Team
"""
msg.set_content(text_content)
# HTML content (optional)
html_content = f"""\
<html>
<body>
<p>Hi {name},</p>
<p>This is a friendly reminder that invoice <strong>{invoice_no}</strong> for <strong>{amount} USD</strong> is due on <strong>{due_date}</strong>.</p>
<p>Please make the payment at your earliest convenience.</p>
<p>Thank you,<br>Your Credit-IQ Team</p>
</body>
</html>
"""
msg.add_alternative(html_content, subtype="html")
# Connect to the SMTP server and send the email
with smtplib.SMTP(EMAIL_SERVER, PORT) as server:
server.starttls()
server.login(SENDER_EMAIL, PASSWORD)
server.send_message(msg)
print(f"Reminder sent to {recipient}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Example usage of the send_invoice_reminder function
send_invoice_reminder(
subject="Invoice Payment Reminder",
recipient="customer@example.com",
name="Customer Name",
invoice_no="INV-00123",
due_date="2025-03-01",
amount="250"
)
Step 3: Understand the Code
Environment Setup:
The script loads your email credentials from the.envfile usingpython-dotenv. This approach keeps sensitive data secure.Creating the Email Message:
AnEmailMessageobject is created, with both plain text and HTML versions of the email. This ensures that the email displays well in all clients.Sending the Email:
The script connects securely to the SMTP server using TLS, logs in with your credentials, and sends the email.
Step 4: Automate the Script
To automate your invoice reminders:
-
Schedule with Cron (Linux/macOS):
Open your crontab with
crontab -eand add a line like:
0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/invoice_reminder.py
This runs the script every day at 9 AM.
- Windows Task Scheduler: Create a new task to run the Python script on your desired schedule.
Enhancements and Next Steps
Bulk Processing:
Instead of sending a single email, modify the script to read invoice data from a CSV file or database. Loop through each record and callsend_invoice_reminder()for each invoice.API Integration:
If Credit-IQ offers an API, you can extend this script to pull live invoice data directly from your AR system, ensuring reminders are always up-to-date.Error Handling and Logging:
Add robust error handling to manage failed email sends and log results for audit purposes.
Conclusion
By automating your invoice reminder process with Python, you free up valuable time and reduce the manual workload of chasing payments—allowing your team to focus on growth and strategy. With Credit-IQ’s focus on automating and centralizing accounts receivable, integrating a custom script like this can further optimize your cash flow management.
Try out this script, customize it to fit your needs, and join the movement toward smarter, more efficient AR processes.
Happy coding and smoother collections!
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