The run-up to Diwali is when every unpaid invoice starts to hurt. Gifts, travel, family, the festival itself. Meanwhile your clients are closing their books, going on leave and leaving their phones at home. Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November this year, so if you want to start it with zero pending invoices, the next ten days are the window. Here's a single-evening routine that gets you there.
Why the week before Diwali is different
Finance teams often try to clear approvals before a long break, because nobody wants open items over the holiday. That helps if your invoice is already in their queue. It hurts if it isn't.
Many offices also close on the 9th and 10th for Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. An invoice that reaches accounts in the first days of November can still make a pre-festival payment run. One sent on Friday the 6th, Dhanteras, will most likely wait until offices reopen. The calendar makes the decision, not the client.
Step 1: List everything pending (15 minutes)
Open your dashboard or your own records and write down every invoice that's not fully paid. For each one, note four things:
- Client name
- Amount still due, in rupees, with Indian grouping (₹42,000, not ₹42000)
- Due date
- Last time you contacted them
Include partly paid invoices. If a client paid ₹10,000 of a ₹25,000 invoice, the pending amount is ₹15,000 and it belongs on the list.
On Riffit, the dashboard already shows pending and overdue amounts and counts, so this step is a read, not a rebuild. On WhatsApp, type "pending" and the bot lists what's open.
Step 2: Sort into three piles (10 minutes)
Pile 1: due soon or overdue, client is active. These get a message today.
Pile 2: not yet due. These get a gentle heads-up, only if the due date falls before or just after the holiday.
Pile 3: overdue by weeks, client has gone quiet. These need a different tone. Don't start the Diwali week with an angry email. See how to follow up on an unpaid invoice without being rude for the four-message version.
Step 3: Send the messages (30 minutes)
Keep each message short and specific. Use their name, the invoice number, the amount and a date.
For pile 1:
Hi Priya, a quick note before the Diwali break. Invoice INV26-042 for ₹32,000 is due on 6 Nov. Could you confirm it's in this week's payment run? Happy to resend the invoice if useful.
For pile 2:
Hi Karan, INV26-044 for ₹18,500 is due on 12 Nov, just after Diwali. If it helps your accounts team, I can share it again now so it's ready.
For pile 3, ask a question instead of making a demand:
Hi Rahul, I have INV26-027 for ₹9,800 still open from last month. Is something holding it up on your side? I can fix any detail that's blocking it.
More wording for each stage is in the payment reminder scripts for WhatsApp.
Step 4: Close what you can (10 minutes)
Not every open invoice needs money. Some need a decision.
- If a client paid a little less and you're fine with it, record what they paid and close it short instead of carrying a small balance into the new year.
- If an invoice is wrong or the work was cancelled, and nothing has been paid on it, cancel it.
- If a payment arrived and you never marked it, mark it paid today.
A clean list is easier to look at on a quiet evening, which is the point.
Step 5: Say thank you to the ones who paid
A short thank-you costs nothing and tells the client you noticed. There's wording in the thank you for payment received scripts.
What a "zero pending" list will not do
You can do all five steps and a client may still not pay before Diwali. Riffit can send reminders and show you what's overdue. It can't make anyone pay, and it doesn't confirm payments by itself. You mark an invoice paid after you see the money in your bank or UPI app.
What you do get is a list you understand, a message sent to every client who needed one, and a record of when you sent it. That's a better way to enter the holiday than a vague feeling that someone owes you something.
See every pending and overdue invoice in one place, then send a reminder from the dashboard.Try Riffit freeA note on reminders
On the free plan, Riffit sends one automatic email on the due date. You can also send a reminder by hand from any sent, unpaid invoice, by email, once every 24 hours per invoice. Pro, at ₹249/month or ₹199/month billed yearly, adds a full reminder schedule and WhatsApp reminders. Free includes 5 invoices per month.
FAQ
List every unpaid invoice with the amount due and the due date, message the active clients first, and send a short note with the invoice number, amount and a date. Do this at least a week before the holiday, because finance teams tend to close approvals early.
Name the invoice, the amount and the due date, mention the upcoming break, and ask the client to confirm it is in the payment run. Keep it to two or three sentences.
Yes, if the due date falls just after the holiday. Sending it early means it is already in the client queue when the offices reopen.
Follow up once the break ends with a short message that references your earlier note. Keep a record of when you sent each message so the next conversation starts from facts.
Yes. The dashboard shows pending and overdue amounts and counts, and on WhatsApp you can type pending to list open invoices. You mark an invoice paid yourself after you confirm the money.