How to Use Make.com and AI to Automate Invoices (And Stop Wasting Hours on Admin)

Introduction: The Admin Time Trap

If you’re running a consultancy or small business, you already know the drill: you finish a brilliant project for a client, then spend the next hour creating an invoice, chasing payment reminders, updating spreadsheets, and filing documents. Rinse and repeat. Every. Single. Week.

Here’s the truth: you shouldn’t be spending your valuable time on tasks a computer can handle in seconds.

That’s where Make.com (formerly Integromat) and AI tools come in. Together, they can automate your invoicing, payment reminders, expense tracking, and dozens of other mundane tasks—giving you back hours every week to focus on actual revenue-generating work.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to set up these automations, even if you’ve never used Make before.

What is Make.com and Why Should You Care?

Make.com is a visual automation platform that connects your apps and services together. Think of it as the brain that makes your business tools talk to each other automatically.

Unlike Zapier (which is great but can get expensive), Make offers:

• Visual workflow builder – see exactly what’s happening
• More complex logic – handle multiple scenarios easily
• Better value – more operations for your money
• Powerful integrations – works with 1,500+ apps

For consultants, freelancers, and small business owners, Make is a game-changer for eliminating repetitive admin work.

The Boring Tasks You Can Automate Right Now

1. Invoice Creation and Sending

Automatically generate and send invoices when you complete a project, log hours, or reach a milestone.

2. Payment Reminders

Set up automatic follow-ups for overdue invoices (polite but persistent—exactly what you need).

3. Expense Tracking

Capture receipts from emails, categorise expenses, and update your accounting software automatically.

4. Time Tracking to Invoice

Convert tracked hours directly into invoiced line items without manual data entry.

5. Client Onboarding

Send welcome emails, contracts, questionnaires, and setup instructions automatically when you sign a new client.

6. Document Filing

Automatically save invoices, contracts, and receipts to Google Drive or Dropbox with proper naming and folders.

Step-by-Step: Automate Your Invoicing with Make + AI

Let’s walk through a real automation: automatically creating and sending invoices based on your time tracking.

What You’ll Need:

• Make.com account (free tier works fine to start)
• Time tracking tool (Toggl, Clockify, Harvest, or similar)
• Invoicing software (QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, or even Google Docs)
• Email (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
• Optional: ChatGPT/OpenAI for personalised invoice messages

The Automation Workflow

Step 1: Trigger – When Time Entries Reach a Threshold

1. Log into Make.com and create a new scenario
2. Add your time tracking app as the trigger (e.g., “Watch Time Entries” in Toggl)
3. Set it to trigger weekly or when a project reaches billable hours

Step 2: Filter and Calculate

1. Add a Filter module to only process entries marked “billable”
2. Use Make’s Tools to sum up total hours and calculate amount due
3. Group entries by client or project

Step 3: AI Enhancement (Optional but Brilliant)

1. Add an OpenAI or ChatGPT module
2. Feed it: client name, project details, total amount
3. Ask it to generate a friendly, professional invoice message
4. This personalises every invoice automatically—clients love this touch

Example prompt:

Write a friendly, professional invoice email for [Client Name]. 
Project: [Project Name]
Hours: [Total Hours]
Amount: €[Amount]
Keep it warm but professional. Thank them for their business.

Step 4: Create the Invoice

1. Connect to your invoicing software (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.)
2. Use Make to create a new invoice with:

• Client details
• Line items (from time entries)
• Total amount
• Due date (e.g., 14 days from now)

Don’t have invoicing software? You can auto-populate a Google Docs template or generate a PDF using Make’s tools.

Step 5: Send the Invoice

1. Add an Email module (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
2. Attach the invoice PDF
3. Use the AI-generated message as your email body
4. Send automatically or save as draft for review

Step 6: Set Payment Reminders

1. Add a delay module (e.g., wait 7 days)
2. Check if invoice is still unpaid
3. Send a polite reminder email automatically
4. Repeat at 14 days if still unpaid

Beyond Invoices: Other Automations That Save Hours

Expense Management

• Email receipts to a specific address
• Make extracts amount, vendor, date using AI
• Logs expense in your accounting software
• Files receipt in Google Drive

Client Reporting

• Pull performance data from Google Ads, Meta, Analytics
• Generate summary report using AI
• Email to client automatically every month

Social Media Scheduling

• Save content ideas to a Google Sheet
• Make schedules posts across platforms
• AI optimises posting times and hashtags

Lead Management

• New enquiry comes in via website form
• Make adds to CRM
• Sends personalised welcome email
• Creates task for follow-up
• Notifies you on Slack

Getting Started: Your First Automation in 30 Minutes

Start simple. Don’t try to automate everything at once.

Beginner Automation: Receipt Filing

1. Create a Make scenario
2. Trigger: New email with “receipt” in subject
3. Action: Save attachment to Google Drive folder
4. Action: Add row to Google Sheet with date, amount, vendor

This alone will save you 30+ minutes a week.

Next Level: Invoice Reminders

1. Trigger: Check invoicing software daily
2. Filter: Invoices overdue by 7 days
3. Action: Send reminder email

Advanced: Full Invoice Automation

Follow the step-by-step guide above once you’re comfortable with Make.

Tips for Successful Automation

1. Map It Out First

Sketch your workflow on paper before building in Make. What triggers it? What should happen? What’s the end result?

2. Test Thoroughly

Use Make’s “Run Once” feature to test with real data before going live.

3. Start with Templates

Make has pre-built templates for common automations—use them as starting points.

4. Monitor Your Scenarios

Check your automations weekly at first to catch any issues early.

5. Keep It Simple

A working simple automation beats a perfect complex one that never gets finished.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Over-complicating your first automation – Start small
❌ Not testing with real data – Test before going live
❌ Forgetting error handling – Add filters and fallbacks
❌ Automating broken processes – Fix the process first, then automate
❌ Set and forget – Review automations quarterly as your business changes

Tools That Work Brilliantly with Make

Invoicing & Accounting:

• QuickBooks
• Xero
• FreshBooks
• Wave

Time Tracking:

• Toggl
• Clockify
• Harvest
• Timely

AI Tools:

• OpenAI (ChatGPT)
• Anthropic (Claude)
• Google AI

Storage & Docs:

• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• Google Sheets
• Airtable

Communication:

• Gmail
• Outlook
• Slack
• WhatsApp

The ROI: What You Actually Save

Let’s do the maths:

Manual invoicing: 1 hour per week = 52 hours/year
Payment follow-ups: 30 mins per week = 26 hours/year
Expense filing: 30 mins per week = 26 hours/year
Client reporting: 2 hours per month = 24 hours/year

Total: 128 hours per year

At a consulting rate of €50/hour, that’s €6,400 worth of your time you could be spending on billable work or, you know, actually having a life.

Make.com cost: €9-29/month (€108-348/year)

ROI: Absolutely massive !!

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