SQL doesn't have to be scary or unreadable. Using CTEs and properly formatting your SQL can go a really long ways. Lets start with CTEs. They're like a temporary view that you can build and refer to later, here's an example: with late_invoices as ( SELECT id, account_id, amount, created_at FROM invoices WHERE created_at >= now() - '1 month'::interval AND status='unpaid' ) Then you can query it simply with: SELECT * FROM late_invoices Or, we could join against the account table to get the users email to contact. SELECT * FROM late_invoices, users WHERE late_invoices.account_id = account.id; How else do you make SQL readable? Well consistent formatting goes a long way, don't put too much on a single line. Personally for formatting I'm in camp CAPITALIZE SQL keywords, lowercase all else. Indentation matters to. I make sure to align my columns I'm selecting from, tables I'm querying from, and then for my WHERE clause when I have ANDs I make sure to align it so the condition all aligns (two spaces before your AND. It's hard to see on twitter, but copy and paste the CTE and it'll make a bit more sense.