# Vendor payment status reply prompt: free ChatGPT template > Answer a vendor asking when they'll be paid: what you received, where each invoice is in approval, the pay date if one is set, and anything you need. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-payment-status-reply-prompt · Updated 2026-10-06 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Collections and billing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-collections-and-billing) · [Accounting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-accounting) · [Finance](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-finance) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 6, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when a vendor writes "Any update on our invoice?" Two bad replies are common: a vague "it's in process", which brings another email in three days, and a firm pay date nobody has scheduled. This prompt answers each invoice separately with its real status, gives a date only when a payment is scheduled, and asks for the one thing you need from the vendor, if anything. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are an accounts payable specialist at [BUSINESS], replying to a vendor who has asked about payment. Context: The vendor's message: [VENDOR MESSAGE]. Our records for each invoice they asked about: [INVOICE STATUS]. Our payment terms and how we pay: [TERMS]. Anything we need from them, and which payment it affects: [NEEDED FROM VENDOR]. Task: Answer each invoice one at a time: do we have it, where it stands, when it will be paid. Give a date only if a payment is scheduled; if it awaits approval, say so without a date. If we are late, apologize once. Ask plainly for anything we need and say which payment it holds up. Blame no coworker. Format: Plain text reply, no subject line, under 150 words, one short line per invoice. Sign as [YOUR NAME]. No emoji. ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business name. **`[VENDOR MESSAGE]`** The vendor's email, with any bank details removed. **`[INVOICE STATUS]`** Number, amount and status for each: received, awaiting approval, scheduled (with date) or on hold. **`[TERMS]`** Your terms and payment method, such as net 30 by ACH on Thursdays. **`[NEEDED FROM VENDOR]`** A corrected invoice, an updated W-9, a PO number, or "nothing". **`[YOUR NAME]`** Your name and business. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-categorize-business-expenses-google-sheets). Maple Street Bookkeeping is the made-up firm from the finance lessons, whose Expense Log includes a $64.18 Corner Office Supply charge for printer paper and toner. Here that made-up vendor asks about two of the firm's invoices, one of them late. Copy example ```text Role: You are an accounts payable specialist at Maple Street Bookkeeping, replying to a vendor who has asked about payment. Context: The vendor's message: "Hi, checking on invoices 5521 and 5568. 5521 was due last week. When will we see payment?" Our records for each invoice they asked about: 5521, $64.18, paper and toner, due October 2, missed that run because our approval came late, now scheduled for ACH on October 9. 5568, $212.40, a chair mat and two desk lamps, received October 1, awaiting the office manager's approval. Our payment terms and how we pay: net 30, ACH on Thursdays. Anything we need from them, and which payment it affects: an updated W-9, since ours shows their old address, before we can pay 5568. Task: Answer each invoice one at a time: do we have it, where it stands, when it will be paid. Give a date only if a payment is scheduled; if it awaits approval, say so without a date. If we are late, apologize once. Ask plainly for anything we need and say which payment it holds up. Blame no coworker. Format: Plain text reply, no subject line, under 150 words, one short line per invoice. Sign as Dana, Maple Street Bookkeeping. No emoji. ``` ## What a good answer looks like - 5521: one apology and a clear "paying by ACH on October 9". - 5568: received and awaiting approval, with no pay date. - The W-9 request tied to 5568 only, so 5521 isn't held up. - No mention of who was slow to approve. ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Confirm October 9 against the actual payment run. The vendor will plan around it. - Keep all bank details, yours and theirs, out of the reply. - If the email also asks you to pay a new bank account, stop and use the [vendor bank change verification prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-bank-change-verification-prompt). - Save the reply in the vendor's file. ## Why this prompt works Answering by invoice matches how [accounts payable](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/accounts-payable) tracks bills, so the reply can't blur a scheduled payment with one still in [invoice approval](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/invoice-approval). When the money goes out, a [remittance advice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/remittance-advice) listing the invoice numbers saves the next email. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-categorize-business-expenses-google-sheets)**: Build an AI agent for Maple Street Bookkeeping that sorts business expenses into categories, writes a short note for each and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt, model, memory, and the… You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/n8n-ai-agent-finance) Also useful: [Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) ## Terms used here [Accounts payable](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/accounts-payable) · [Invoice approval](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/invoice-approval) · [Remittance advice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/remittance-advice) · [Net 30](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/net-30) ## Related prompts - [Vendor invoice approval request prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-invoice-approval-request-prompt): Ask the right person to approve a vendor invoice with the amount, the match to the order and any problem up front, so the answer… - [Vendor W-9 request email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-w9-request-email-prompt): Ask a vendor or subcontractor for a Form W-9 with a clear reason, a deadline and a safe way to send it, so year-end forms aren't… - [Vendor bank change verification prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-bank-change-verification-prompt): Reply safely when a vendor emails new bank details: hold the change, verify by phone at a number you already had, and never… ## More collections and billing prompts - [Vendor payment terms request prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/vendor-payment-terms-request-prompt): Ask a supplier for longer payment terms or a temporary change, honestly and briefly, with a question they can answer in one… - [Credit memo explanation email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/credit-memo-explanation-email-prompt): Tell a customer why you issued a credit memo, how much it is, which invoice it reduces and what they now owe, so nobody pays the… - [Declined card notice prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/card-declined-notice-prompt): Tell a customer their card was declined without embarrassing them: what failed, the amount, a safe way to update it and what… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)