A Simple Invoice Collection Workflow That Saves Bookkeepers Hours Every Month

A Simple Invoice Collection Workflow That Saves Bookkeepers Hours Every Month

If you work with more than a few clients, you already know this is where things break.

Invoices arrive late.
They come from different inboxes.
Some are PDFs, some are photos, some are buried in email threads.

And at the end of the month, you are still the one chasing them down.

The fastest growing bookkeeping practices are not working harder. They are fixing intake.

Here is a simple, real world invoice collection workflow that reduces back and forth, keeps books cleaner, and scales without adding staff.

The Core Idea: One Dedicated Invoice Email Per Client

Instead of asking clients to upload files or log into portals they forget about, modern tools like Spendifique give each client a unique invoice email address.

Think of it as a secure inbox just for bills and receipts.

Any invoice sent to that address is:

• captured automatically
  
  
• read and categorized using AI
  
  
• queued for review by the bookkeeper
  
  
• ready for approval or export to QuickBooks or Xero
  
  

For clients, it feels effortless.
For bookkeepers, it creates consistency.

What the Day to Day Workflow Looks Like

This is how it works in practice.

Step 1: A client receives an invoice

This could be from a vendor, utility provider, SaaS tool, or supplier.

Step 2: The invoice is forwarded

The client forwards the email, including the attachment, to their Spendifique invoice email.

No downloading. No renaming files. No logging into another system.

Step 3: Spendifique processes it

The invoice is captured, data is extracted, and it appears in your review queue.

From there, you can:

• batch review invoices
  
  
• request approval if needed
  
  
• export clean entries to QuickBooks or Xero
  
  
• move on to higher value work
  
  

Why Email Authorization Matters

To keep data clean and secure, Spendifique only processes invoices sent from approved email addresses.

This prevents:

• spam emails from being captured
  
  
• accidental forwards from the wrong sender
  
  
• clutter in your review queue
  
  

In most cases, bookkeepers set this up by approving:

• the business owner’s email
  
  
• employees who regularly receive invoices
  
  
• optionally, specific vendor emails
  
  

Once approved, everything runs quietly in the background.

Two Common Ways Clients Use the Invoice Email

There is no one size fits all setup. Most firms use one of these two approaches, or a mix of both.

Option 1: Clients forward invoices themselves

This is the most common setup.

Clients forward invoices they receive to their Spendifique email. Only approved senders are allowed.

This works well for:

• founders
  
  
• small teams
  
  
• service based businesses
  
  
• clients who already manage their own inbox
  
  

Option 2: Vendors send invoices directly

In this setup, the client gives the Spendifique email to vendors.

Each vendor email is approved once. After that, invoices flow in automatically.

This works best for:

• recurring vendors
  
  
• utilities
  
  
• SaaS subscriptions
  
  
• predictable monthly billing
  
  

Can This Be Automated in Gmail and Outlook?

Yes. And this is where the workflow really pays off.

Gmail automation

Clients can set up a simple Gmail filter:

• if an email has an attachment
  
  
• or comes from a specific vendor
  
  
• automatically forward it to their Spendifique email
  
  

Once set up, invoices are forwarded without any manual action.

Outlook automation

Outlook rules work the same way:

• detect invoices by sender or subject
  
  
• forward them automatically
  
  
• run quietly in the background
  
  

One important note: the forwarding email must be added to the authorized email list in Spendifique first. This keeps the system secure and spam free.

Why This Workflow Works So Well for Bookkeepers

This setup removes friction where it hurts most.

Instead of:

• chasing invoices
  
  
• sending reminders
  
  
• cleaning inconsistent files
  
  
• breaking focus throughout the day
  
  

You get:

• a single, predictable intake stream
  
  
• clean batch review sessions
  
  
• faster month end closes
  
  
• more capacity without hiring
  
  

It is not flashy.
It is just operationally solid.

A Practical Takeaway

If your firm feels busy but not productive, invoice intake is usually the bottleneck.

A dedicated invoice email, combined with simple email forwarding rules, removes more friction than almost any other workflow change.

Spendifique was built to support this exact setup without forcing clients to learn new systems or log into portals they will forget.

If you want to see the impact, try this workflow with one client first. Most bookkeepers notice the difference within the first week.

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