Best way to manage overdue B2B invoices and automate follow-ups using Microsoft tools?

Question

Hi everyone,

I’m helping a small business streamline their accounts receivable process and reduce overdue invoices. Currently we use Outlook, Excel, and SharePoint to track payments manually, but reminders and follow-ups are inconsistent.

I’m trying to design a more automated workflow using Microsoft tools (Power Automate, Lists, or Dynamics if needed).

So far I’ve documented our current debt recovery workflow and external process notes here for context: -link removed-

My questions are:

• Can Power Automate trigger scheduled payment reminders automatically from Excel or Lists? • What’s the best way to log follow-up history for each debtor? • Would Dynamics 365 be overkill for a small team? • Any templates or best practices you recommend?

Appreciate any guidance or examples from people who’ve built something similar.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Power Automate, SharePoint, and Excel can be combined to automate reminders and track follow-ups, and Dynamics 365 Business Central adds more advanced, built-in collections features if needed.

1. Automating reminders with Power Automate

Power Automate can trigger scheduled payment reminders based on data stored in SharePoint lists or Excel (preferably Excel files stored in SharePoint/OneDrive). The documented capabilities include:

• SharePoint lists as a data source for business processes and automation.
• Power Automate flows that react to list changes or run on a schedule, then send emails or perform other actions.

A typical pattern:

1. Store invoice and debtor data in a SharePoint list (due date, amount, customer, status, reminder level, etc.).
2. Create a scheduled cloud flow in Power Automate (for example, daily):
   • Use a “Recurrence” trigger.
   • Query the list for items where Due Date is in the past and Status is not “Paid”.
   • For each matching item, send an email via Outlook (using dynamic content from the list item).
3. Optionally, update a “Reminder Level” or “Last Reminder Sent” column each time a reminder is sent.

This aligns with the general guidance that Power Automate can automate business processes around SharePoint data using templates and visual designers, including routing documents and sending notifications based on list data.

2. Logging follow-up history per debtor

For a small business not yet on Dynamics, the simplest approach is to use SharePoint lists as the system of record:

• Main “Invoices” list: one row per invoice with debtor, due date, amount, status, etc.
• “Follow-ups” list: one row per contact attempt or action, with columns such as:
  • Debtor/Customer (lookup to a Customers list or text)
  • Invoice ID (lookup to Invoices list)
  • Date/Time
  • Channel (email/phone/letter)
  • Outcome/Notes
  • Performed by

Power Automate can then:

• When a reminder email is sent, automatically create a new item in the Follow-ups list capturing date, debtor, invoice, and email subject/body summary.

This gives a full history of interactions per debtor and per invoice, similar in spirit to how Business Central can track reminder history and issued reminders.

3. When Dynamics 365 Business Central makes sense

Dynamics 365 Business Central includes native features for managing receivables and collections, including:

• Reminder terms and levels that define when reminders are issued, what fees/interest to charge, and grace periods.
• Automated processes to create, issue, and send reminders for overdue balances.
• Options to include both overdue and open entries on reminders, and to calculate finance charges.
• Automation settings for the Create, Issue, and Send reminder actions, including:
  • Creating reminders for all unpaid invoices or only overdue ones.
  • Including entries on hold in reminders.
  • Controlling how many times the same reminder is sent and what is attached (overdue invoices only, all invoices, or none).
• Logging of automation runs and issued reminders via log entries and the Issued Reminders list.

For a small team, Business Central is most appropriate when:

• There is a need to systematically manage receivables, interest, and fees, not just send emails.
• Reminder terms, multiple reminder levels, and finance charge calculations are important.
• The business wants built-in accounting plus collections rather than custom flows on top of Excel/SharePoint.

If the current pain is mainly inconsistent reminders and lack of history, Power Automate + SharePoint Lists is usually sufficient. If there is a broader need for integrated accounting and structured collections (reminder levels, finance charges, statements, etc.), Business Central is not overkill and can significantly reduce manual work.

4. Templates and best practices

From the documented guidance:

• SharePoint + Power Automate is a recommended pattern for business process automation around content and data. Examples include routing documents for approval and creating records in other systems when list items are added.
• For collections specifically, Business Central provides:
  • Reminder terms and levels to control when and how reminders are sent.
  • Automated creation, issuing, and sending of reminders to save time on collections.
  • The ability to send statements, reminders, and finance charge memos as part of a structured collections process.

Best-practice patterns based on this:

• Use SharePoint lists as the central data store if not on Business Central.
• Use scheduled Power Automate flows to:
  • Identify overdue or soon-to-be-overdue invoices.
  • Send standardized reminder emails.
  • Log each reminder as a follow-up record.
• If adopting Business Central:
  • Set up reminder terms and levels and assign them to customers.
  • Use the automated reminder features (Create, Issue, Send) instead of manual tracking.
  • Use log entries and issued reminders to review history and performance of collections.

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References:

• Business apps and business process automation
• Use custom tools to streamline financial processes
• Collect outstanding balances
• Send reminders of outstanding balances
• Automate reminders in collections