1. See what you are owed
Open Business then Invoices and filter to Awaiting Payment, or run the Aged Receivables Summary under Accounting then Reports. That gives you the total outstanding and how late each invoice is. You cannot recover what you cannot see, and the number is usually larger than expected. For a quick estimate without logging in, the free calculator does the same from your own figures.
2. Turn on Xero reminders for the easy cases
Xero can send scheduled invoice reminders, up to five stages per organisation, at no extra cost. For the customer who simply forgot, this recovers the money with no effort. Switch them on first. Check the exact setup in your own Xero, since the area changes, and read where Xero reminders stop for the five-stage limit and what happens after.
3. Chase by value, not by age
The instinct is to chase the oldest invoice. The money says chase by value first, weighted by how late it is. A £4,000 invoice thirty days late is worth more of your attention than a £200 one ninety days late. If you do one thing a week, make it the single highest-value chase, and keep it short, specific and polite.
4. Escalate the persistent few
For a commercial debt that keeps slipping, you are entitled to statutory late-payment interest (Bank of England base rate plus 8 per cent) and a fixed compensation sum, then a letter before action. Xero will not calculate the interest for you, so work it out with the late-payment interest calculator and state it in your chase.
Where Kelo fits with Xero
Kelo connects to Xero read-only, works out what you are owed, ranks what to chase first by value and days late, and drafts each chase in your voice for you to approve and send from your own inbox. It cannot change or send anything in your accounts without you. See how it compares to Xero's built-in reminders.