Everything you need to know about using PaymentCruncher to automate your payment reminders and collect outstanding debts faster.
Sign up for PaymentCruncher using your email address. You'll receive a welcome email to confirm your account. All new accounts start with a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. If you need more time, you can extend your trial for another week!
To connect a TutorCruncher branch, you'll need your API key. In TutorCruncher, navigate to System → API Keys and create a new API key.
Enter your branch name and API key in PaymentCruncher. We'll provide a webhook URL to add to your TutorCruncher API integration for real-time updates.
Note: You need an active TutorCruncher account to use PaymentCruncher. We integrate directly with TutorCruncher's API to sync your client and invoice data.
Before sending reminders, configure these key settings in Settings → General:
Then customise your email templates in Settings → Email Templates for each escalation level.
When you first connect a TutorCruncher branch, PaymentCruncher performs an initial sync to import all clients with outstanding credit requests or unpaid invoices. This typically takes a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the size of your client base.
During the sync, you'll see a progress indicator showing how many clients have been imported. You can also choose to skip ahead if you don't want to wait for the initial sync to complete.
Once connected, PaymentCruncher receives real-time updates from TutorCruncher via webhooks. This means:
PaymentCruncher syncs the following data from TutorCruncher:
PaymentCruncher sends automatic payment reminders at your configured time each day. Reminders are sent to clients who meet all of these criteria:
Tip: Enable/disable automatic reminders entirely in Settings → General → Auto Reminders.
PaymentCruncher uses an intelligent escalation system to gradually increase the urgency of reminders:
New Client
Client synced but hasn't received any reminders yet. First reminder sent 7 days after the oldest item was created (configurable).
Payment Required
First reminder sent. Next escalation after 5 days if unpaid (configurable).
Urgent: Payment Overdue
Second reminder with more urgency. Next escalation after 5 days (configurable).
Urgent: Immediate Action Required
Third reminder emphasising urgency. Final notice after 7 days (configurable).
Final Notice → Action Required
Final warning sent. No more automatic reminders after this. Client appears as "Action Required" on your dashboard, indicating manual intervention is needed (phone call, pause lessons, etc.).
All timing intervals are configurable in your branch settings.
You can send reminders manually at any time, even if a client isn't due for one yet.
To send to a single client:
To send to multiple clients:
Note: Manual reminders can be sent to snoozed clients (you'll see a warning), but not to clients set to "Manual Only" without first removing that status. Manual sends update the "last reminder sent" date and are logged in the activity history.
Every reminder email automatically includes:
Tip: Add your contact details to your message template if you want them included in every email.
Each escalation level has its own email template. Go to Settings → Email Templates to customise:
There are also special templates for Promised Payment reminders (day before and day of), which are sent when a client has an upcoming payment promise.
Use these variables in your templates to personalise each email:
{{clientName}} - Client's full name
{{centreName}} - Your branch/company name
{{totalDue}} - Total outstanding amount (with currency)
{{promiseAmount}} - Amount the client promised to pay (for promise reminders)
{{itemList}} - Plain list of outstanding items
{{itemListWithLinks}} - List with individual "Pay Now" links
{{payLink}} - Link to pay the first outstanding item
On the Pro plan, you can send emails from your own domain (e.g., reminders@yourbusiness.com) for better deliverability and brand consistency.
Setup steps:
Without custom domain (all plans):
Snoozing temporarily pauses automatic reminders for a client until a specific date.
To snooze a client:
When to use snooze:
When the snooze period ends, the client automatically returns to their normal position in the reminder schedule. You can cancel a snooze early by clicking on the client and selecting "Cancel Snooze".
When a client promises to pay by a specific date, record it in PaymentCruncher to track whether they keep their promise.
Setting a promise:
What happens next:
Outcomes:
✓ Promise met: The client paid the promised amount (or more). The promise is automatically cleared and escalation resumes normally.
✗ Promise broken: The client didn't pay enough. The promise is marked as "missed" for your review. Escalation stays paused until you clear it.
Clearing a missed promise:
When a promise is missed, click on the client and select "Clear Promise" to remove it. This lets you decide next steps: contact them, set a new promise, or let escalation reminders resume.
Tip: If you have webhooks enabled, payments are tracked in real-time and the system accurately detects promise fulfilment even if new debt is added. Without webhooks, the system compares the client's current balance to what it was when the promise was set.
For clients who should never receive automatic reminders, use Manual Only mode. Unlike snoozing (which is temporary), this is a permanent setting until you change it.
To set a client to Manual Only:
When to use Manual Only:
Manual Only clients remain visible on your dashboard with their outstanding balance. You can send them reminders manually at any time, and you can remove the Manual Only status by clicking the client and selecting "Remove Manual Only".
PaymentCruncher automatically identifies problematic clients based on their payment history and displays insight badges on their profile. These help you quickly spot clients who may need special attention.
Insight badges:
Client has reached Level 3 or 4 escalation multiple times in the last 12 months
Client has been escalated 6 or more times in the last 12 months
Client has broken 2 or more payment promises (no payment at all) in the last 12 months
Client frequently makes partial payments instead of clearing their full balance (3+ times in 12 months)
Viewing full insights:
Click on a client's row and you'll see the "View Insights" button at the top of their details panel. This opens a detailed breakdown showing both recent (12 month) and all-time statistics.
Tip: Use insights to identify clients who might benefit from being set to Manual Only, or who may need a phone call rather than more automated emails.
PaymentCruncher has two separate activity logs that serve different purposes:
1. Branch Activity Log (main dashboard)
Shows high-level events for your entire branch. Find it on the main dashboard under "Activity".
2. Client Action History (per-client)
Shows the complete history for a specific client. Click any client row and go to the "Actions" tab.
There are two ways to view sent emails:
All sent emails:
Go to the Sent Emails tab to see a complete log of all emails sent from your branch, with dates, recipients, and subjects.
Last email for a specific client:
This is useful when a client says "I never received any emails" — you can verify emails were sent and check if they're going to the correct address.
Invite team members to help manage your payment reminders. Team members can:
Only the account owner can manage billing, invite new members, or delete the company.
or £150/year (save 17%)
or £350/year (save 17%)
All plans include a 7-day free trial with full access. No credit card required to start.
Access your billing portal from Settings → Billing to update your payment method, view invoices, change plans, or cancel your subscription. Cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period.
If a client disputes an invoice or credit request, you have two options:
Tip: Use Snooze for temporary situations and Manual Only for clients who always need special handling.
If clients report not receiving emails, check the following:
paymentcruncher.co.uk to their email contacts or whitelistPro tip: Using a custom email domain (Pro plan) significantly improves deliverability since emails come from your own domain rather than a shared one.
If client balances seem incorrect:
Clients with "Action Required" status have reached the end of the escalation ladder (Level 4 sent) and won't receive any more automatic reminders. This is intentional—at this point, automated emails are unlikely to work.
Recommended actions:
If no reminders are being sent automatically:
To verify your reminder system is functioning:
Yes! Replies go to the email address you configure in Settings → General → Reply-To Email. This is available on all plans.
Note: This is different from the custom "from" domain (Pro plan), which changes where emails appear to come from. Even without a custom domain, replies will reach your configured email.
Partial payments sync automatically from TutorCruncher via webhook. Here's what happens:
No, PaymentCruncher is exclusively designed for TutorCruncher users. We integrate directly with TutorCruncher's API to sync client data, invoices, credit requests, and payments in real-time. An active TutorCruncher account with API access is required.
Go to Settings → General and configure these options:
Remember to customise your email templates in Settings → Email Templates to match your brand voice.
Yes, with the Pro plan. To add another branch:
Starter plan users are limited to 1 branch. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited branches.
PaymentCruncher supports: GBP (£), USD ($), EUR (€), AUD (A$), CAD (C$), and NZD (NZ$).
To change currency: Go to Settings → General → Currency. This affects how amounts are displayed in emails and on your dashboard. Each branch can have a different currency.
Go to Settings → General and toggle off Auto Reminders. This immediately stops all automatic reminders for that branch.
Manual reminders can still be sent even when auto reminders are disabled. Don't forget to turn it back on when you're ready!
A client won't receive automatic reminders if any of these apply:
Click the client to see their status and action history for more details.
We're here to help. Get in touch and we'll respond as soon as we can.