Reinforce customer relationships when they pay an invoice using the Automation Path Builder

Send follow-up communications to customers after a Xero invoice is paid to thank them or reengage them after a lapse in purchase activity

If you're using Xero to manage your billing and invoices, automation paths help you stay connected to your customers, whether you just want to thank them or reach out after a lapse in purchase activity. Stick to a template to keep your communication simple or build out your path with steps, time delays, conditional splits, and SMS messages to make it more complex.

• Create an automation path for invoice activity
• (Optional) Customize the trigger options
• Create your email content
• Build out your invoice activity path and activate it

Create an automation path for invoice activity

Follow these steps to create an automation path using a pre-built template and select one of these templates:

• Thank you + stay connected - Select this option to trigger an automation to send when an invoice is paid.
• Bring customers back - Select this option to trigger your automation to send 75 days after a contact's most recent payment. If a contact makes another payment during the 75 days, the path resets and starts the 75-day wait period again.

(Optional) Customize the trigger options

The trigger is set to "Invoice paid" by default, but if you need to connect your Xero account to Constant Contact, create contact filters, or set up an auto-stop for your path, you can manage all of these by editing the trigger settings.

1. Click the three dots on the Trigger step in your path, and select "Edit."
2. Click "Connect account" to sync your Xero account to Constant Contact.
3. (Optional) In the Contact filter section, select additional criteria for your contacts to be eligible to start your automation path. For example, you can limit your automation path to contacts on a specific list, contacts who take an action like clicking a link, or contacts who spend a specified amount in your online store. You can even create more complex filters that include a variety of criteria.
4. (Optional) In the Auto-stop settings, select criteria to stop the automation path for a contact before they finish it.
5. Click Save to return to the path builder.
   Note: A trigger check is performed daily at 6:00 a.m. based on the time zone you selected in My Account. If a contact meets the trigger requirements, the anniversary email and SMS message are scheduled to send. Email messages are immediately queued, and SMS messages are scheduled to send after the end of the SMS quiet period.
   
   
   
   

Create your email content

Your message content is fully customizable! It can be a simple "thank" message, or you can entice your customers to make a new purchase. Emails provide enough space for the most content flexibility, and SMS messages have a higher likelihood of being read and engaged with.

• Email - Follow the steps to add a "Send an email" action to your path. First, select a template, then use the email editor to customize your content. If you need help getting started, try using the AI Content Generator while editing your text. You also have the option to copy an existing draft or sent email. Your message can include multiple images, links, and larger blocks of text. Learn more.
  
  
  
  

Repeat the steps for each email or SMS message in your path.

Did you know? The invoice activity templates don't include SMS steps by default, but you can absolutely add them to your path. Once added, enter the content of your text message or use the AI Content Generator to help get you started. Your message can include a single URL, but it doesn't allow for images. Longer messages are broken into individual text messages that impact your billing. Learn more.

Build out your invoice activity path and activate it

Review your plan: The number of steps in your path and the time delay options depend on your plan. Upgrading your email plan and adding SMS marketing gives you full access to all the features in an automation path. For more information, please see the Plans & Pricing page in your account.

The invoice activity templates provide a basic path that just needs the message content, but you also have the flexibility to make your path more complex with additional messages and actions.

1. Use the Path builder to:

• Add email steps to a path.
• Add SMS message steps to a path.
• Add time delays between steps.
• Add conditional splits to a step in a path.
• Add update contact field steps to a path.
• Add tag steps to a path.
• Add steps to add or remove a contact from a list to a path.
• Add date of first purchase steps to a path.

2. Click the Activate button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
   
   
   
   

Once your invoice activity path is activated, you’re brought to the Details page, where you can review your performance and reporting information.

Questions?