If you run a small business or freelance, you know the pain: sending invoices is easy, but tracking payments and chasing clients who “forgot” is a time suck. Good news—if you use Honeybook, you can automate a lot of that grunt work. This guide shows you how to track invoice payments and set up automatic reminders, so you spend less time nagging and more time doing actual work.
This is for anyone using Honeybook to bill clients—photographers, consultants, event planners, you name it. If you’re tired of letting payments slip through the cracks (or just hate awkward money convos), you’re in the right place.
1. Get Your Honeybook Account Ready
First things first: You’ll need a Honeybook account. If you’re already up and running, skip ahead. If not, sign up and poke around a bit. There’s a learning curve, but nothing wild.
What to check before you start: - Make sure your payment settings are complete (bank info, etc.). - Have at least one client and project set up. - Add your business branding—clients take you more seriously when your invoices look polished.
Pro tip: If you’re switching from another system (like QuickBooks or plain old spreadsheets), expect to spend an hour or two importing clients and setting up your first templates. It’s not instant, but it’ll save you time later.
2. Create and Send Invoices the Right Way
Tracking payments starts with making rock-solid invoices. Here’s how to set up invoices in Honeybook so payments are easy to track (and clients have no excuses).
2.1 Start a New Project or Select an Existing One - Go to “Projects” in the main menu. - Either create a new project or select the client you want to invoice.
2.2 Add an Invoice - Click “Create New” and choose “Invoice.” - Fill in the details: services, dates, totals, due dates, and any payment schedule (like 50% up front, 50% on delivery). - Double-check the email address—this sounds obvious, but typos here mean lost payments.
2.3 Attach Contracts or Proposals (Optional) - If you want to bundle everything together, you can attach contracts or proposals to the invoice. - Clients prefer fewer emails, and it’s all stored in one place.
2.4 Preview and Send - Click “Preview” to see what your client sees. - Hit “Send.” Honeybook emails the invoice and tracks when the client views it—super handy if someone claims they “never got it.”
What to Ignore: - Don’t get bogged down in customizing every invoice layout at first. Done is better than perfect.
3. Track Invoice Payments in Honeybook
Now the good stuff: seeing who’s paid (and who hasn’t).
3.1 Use the Pipeline View - Go to the “Projects” tab and check out the pipeline. This shows where each project stands—“Proposal Sent,” “Payment Due,” etc. - You can filter to see just unpaid invoices.
3.2 Check Payment Statuses - Open a project and scroll to the invoice section. Honeybook shows: - Paid (with date and amount) - Partially Paid - Unpaid - Overdue
3.3 See Payment History - Each invoice has a timeline showing sent dates, viewed times, and payment history. - No more “when did I send that again?” moments.
3.4 Export Data (If You Like Spreadsheets) - If you want a backup or need to reconcile with other systems, export payment data as a CSV. - Go to “Tools” > “Reports” > “Payments Received” and export.
What works: - The dashboard is clear and easy to use. You can see at a glance who’s dragging their feet. - Payment notifications are reliable—no more refreshing your bank app every 10 minutes.
What doesn’t: - There’s no real “accounts aging” report like you’d get in full accounting software. If you’re managing 50+ clients at once, you may need more firepower.
4. Set Up Automatic Payment Reminders
This is where Honeybook really saves you time. Instead of sending awkward “Just following up…” emails, set up automatic reminders and let the system do the nagging.
4.1 Enable Payment Reminders - When creating or editing an invoice, look for the “Payment Reminders” section. - Toggle reminders ON.
4.2 Customize Reminder Schedule - Honeybook’s default: reminders go out 3 days before the due date, on the due date, and 3 days after if still unpaid. - You can edit this: - Change the timing (e.g., 7 days before, 1 day after, etc.). - Add or remove reminders based on how gentle or firm you want to be.
4.3 Edit Reminder Messages (Optional) - You can tweak the email text if you want, but the default is polite and gets the job done. - Don’t overthink it—clients mostly care about the link to pay.
4.4 Save and Send - Once reminders are set, save your changes. - Reminders will go out automatically—no extra clicks needed.
Pro tips: - If a client pays before the reminder goes out, Honeybook automatically cancels the upcoming reminder. No risk of nagging someone who’s already paid. - If you have repeat clients, check your default settings so you don’t accidentally spam them with multiple reminders on every invoice.
What works: - Automatic reminders mean you don’t have to remember to follow up. - Messages are sent from your business email, so they look professional.
What doesn’t: - Some clients’ spam filters still eat automated reminders. If someone’s consistently late, it’s worth a quick manual nudge.
5. What to Do When a Payment’s Still Late
Sometimes, even with reminders, someone drags their feet. Here’s what to do without losing your mind (or your client):
- Double-check the invoice status. Make sure it’s still unpaid—occasionally, payments take a day or two to process.
- Resend the invoice manually. Sometimes the email got lost or ignored.
- Pick up the phone. Not fun, but a quick call often solves things faster than a dozen emails.
- Add a late fee. If your contract allows, you can add a line item for late fees to a new invoice.
- Know when to cut your losses. If someone repeatedly pays late, it’s okay to stop working with them—or require payment up front.
What to ignore: - Don’t waste time on long, guilt-trippy emails. Short and direct works best: “Hi [Client], just checking in—your invoice is still unpaid. Here’s the link again.”
6. A Few Real-World Gotchas (and How to Avoid Them)
- Clients who “never got the invoice”: Honeybook tracks when invoices are viewed. If someone claims they didn’t get it, you can see if they opened the email.
- Partial payments confusion: If you allow partial payments, make sure clients know exactly when each payment is due. Spell it out in the invoice.
- Bank transfer delays: Sometimes payments take a few days to land in your account. That’s not Honeybook’s fault, just how banks work.
- International clients: Honeybook’s payment tools work best in the US and Canada. If you work with clients overseas, double-check their payment options.
7. Keep It Simple—and Iterate
You don’t need a perfect system to get paid—you just need one that works (and doesn’t eat your time). Start by setting up one template and enabling reminders. See what works, tweak what doesn’t. Over time, you’ll find the sweet spot between automation and personal touch.
Bottom line: The less time you spend tracking invoices, the more energy you have for work (or, honestly, for anything more fun than chasing payments). Honeybook isn’t magic, but if you set it up right, it’s pretty close.
Still stuck or have a weird use case? Check Honeybook’s help docs or reach out to their support. But most of this stuff just works—no need to overcomplicate it.