💸 Still chasing late payments?

💸 September hits like your client’s “urgent” Slack at 11:59 p.m. After weeks of radio silence, clients suddenly want everything yesterday: rush projects, late invoices, and “quick calls” that aren’t quick. This week’s focus: automate the money side with up front deposits, drop pay-now links, and automatic nudges that chase payments. (3-minute read)

🔦 Week’s highlights

• Tool Spotlight: Zoho Invoice + Calendly = deposits secured, no more free calls.
• Sherpa’s Shortcuts: Stripe links and Gmail nudges that smooth payment issues.
• Sherpa’s Pack (freebie): Grab the free late fee calculator.
• The Ridgeline news: Cheaper ChatGPT, and glasses that remember everything you said.
• 😝 Tools Gone Wild: Always double check your pay links.

AI tool spotlight:

Tool Sherpa explores the flood of new AI apps and carefully selects only proven tools.

🔍 Zoho Invoice: Make “paid” the default

Why it matters:
Chasing late invoices is like waiting for a bus that may never come: you keep checking, keep hoping, and end up walking anyway. Zoho Invoice fixes that loop with pay-now links, and automatic reminders that politely followup for you.

Who it’s for

• Freelancers tired of “lost” payments

• Solopreneurs who want pro invoices without pro prices

• Anyone allergic to sending “just checking in” emails

Best use case:
Turn a signed proposal into an invoice with one click, add a pay-now button, and let Zoho’s auto-reminders follow up. You stay the friendly pro; Zoho plays bill collector.

Pros:
Get polished invoices, easy payment client portals, and automatic reminders. It’s like hiring a polite collections assistant who never forgets.

Cons:
Won’t handle full accounting like Wave or QuickBooks, or expense tracking. Customizing the look takes a little setup time.

Pricing:
Free plan covers small businesses. (Yes, actually free.)

👉 Try Zoho Invoice for free

🔍 Calendly (paid meetings): Put a price on “quick calls”

Why it matters:
“Just a quick call?” is client code for free consulting. AI scheduling app Calendly flips that script by letting you charge up front for scoping sessions (then credit the fee if they sign). No-shows vanish, and time-wasters suddenly find their calendars “full.”

Who it’s for

• Freelancers buried under endless “pick your brain” requests

• Solo pros tired of unpaid discovery calls

• Anyone who wants to filter out window-shoppers

Best use case:
Send a Calendly link with payments enabled. Clients book, pay, and show up invested. Later, the fee can roll into their first invoice, so it’s basically a deposit with less awkwardness.

Pros:
Save 2–3 hours a week skipping ghosted calls and nickel-and-dime consults. Clients respect your time more when there’s skin in the game.

Cons:
Some prospects may flinch at paying up front. And since Calendly only accepts payments through your Stripe (See Sherpa Shortcuts) or PayPal account, setup takes extra clicks.

Pricing:
Plans that work with Stripe/PayPal start at $10/month.

👉 Learn more about Calendly payments

_{Disclaimer: Some links may earn us a small commission, but they never affect what we recommend.}

Sherpa’s shortcuts 🪓

Sherpa-approved hacks to streamline your workflow in today’s most popular AI apps.
 

⚡ Hack #1: Stripe link that locks the project

Problem: Invoices sit unpaid

Solution: Open a free Stripe account and create a Payment Link for your project deposit, then paste it in your proposal email with this note:

To lock your project start date, a 25% deposit is due within 48 hours. You can pay securely here: [link]. Once received, we’ll confirm your spot and move straight into kickoff.

Result: Collect 25–50% at “yes.” (Stripe charges a transaction fee).
Time investment: 10 min first setup, 2 min after

How to (fast)

1. Create free Stripe account → add bank info.

2. In dashboard, click “Payment Link.”

3. Name it: “Project deposit — Client A.”

4. Set price: 25–50% of total.

5. Copy link → drop into email with the note above.

Backup: share PayPal.me for clients who don’t want to pay by card.

👉 Set up Stripe Payment Links here

💡 Sherpa tip: Calling it project deposit feels professional, not transactional. Clients accept it faster.

⚡ Hack #2: Pre-schedule your payment nudges

Problem: Follow-ups feel awkward. You hate writing “just circling back” three times.

Solution: Tap Gmail schedule send (or TextExpander) to load a 3-touch nudge ladder when invoicing. Write all three emails at once, schedule them for Day 3, Day 7, and Day 14, and Gmail delivers them automatically. If payment arrives early, just cancel the rest.

Result: On-time payments without you playing debt collector.
Time investment: 4 mins

Copy you can use:

• Day 3 — Subject: “Friendly nudge — tap to pay.”
  “Quick note in case this slipped. Here’s the link again: [your pay link]. Thanks!”

• Day 7 — “Checking in on payment so we can lock your start. Link: [your pay link].”

• Day 14 — “Late fee starts tomorrow per terms. You can wrap this up here: [your pay link].”

💡 Sherpa tip: Feels proactive, not pushy, and saves you from the midnight guilt-email.

👉 Set up Gmail schedule send

🏔 Sherpa’s Pack

Free stuff to help freelancers get an edge.

Waiting on payment? This free Late Payment Fee Calculator lets you plug in your invoice total, days overdue, and interest rate—then instantly shows what your client owes on top.

💡 Pro tip: The tool lives on a tucked-away page, so bookmark it now for easy recall.

👉 Grab it here free

The Ridgeline news🏔️

The latest on how AI is rewriting the rules for solopreneurs and small teams.

Let’s trek:

🕶️ Glasses remember everything: New smart glasses promise to log everything you see and say: meetings, random conversations, names, half-baked ideas. Handy sidekick or surveillance strapped to your face? 🔗 Check the vibe

🧠 Close rates on steroids: A new ChatGPT proposal system is doubling freelancers’ win rate: AI drafts, you refine, clients sign. 🔗 Steal the secrets

📱 ChatGPT Go = bargain: Slimmed-down mobile “Go” plan gives freelancers more queries without shelling out $20/month. Smart play if you don’t need full Plus. 🔗 See the preview

📚 NotebookLM grows fangs: A fresh Chrome extension turns Google’s NotebookLM into a knowledge vault freelancers can query on the fly. 🔗 Try the boost

💼 10,000 LinkedIn followers: Forbes breaks down how AI tactics actually help freelancers grow serious reach and snag client leads—instead of vanity likes. 🔗 Fix your profile

☕ Final sip: Proposals are winning, profiles are growing, and AI plans just got cheaper. Not weird flexes—just smarter freelancer moves.

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Tools gone wild! 😜

Let’s end with a laugh — when AI tools take a detour off the happy path.

Paid meeting, no payment

Some freelancers set Calendly to “paid booking only.” Clients still booked, showed up, took the call…and Stripe never charged them a dime. See Calendly community thread.

📌 Lesson learned: Don’t assume any paywall automatically works. Run a $1 test booking, check the Stripe dashboard, and add a backup pay link in your confirmation email—Because nothing’s worse than realizing your “paid consult” was actually free.

🧭 What’s Next?

Deposits locked, bank account quieted—look at you, responsible and paid.

Craving more smart shortcuts? 👉 Raid the Tool Sherpa AI archives (and scroll down)

—Your Sherpa team 🏔️