Payment reminder: 5 emails for before and after the due date
Most invoices that get paid late are not paid late out of bad faith, but because nobody remembered them in time. A well-timed payment reminder fixes that before anything has to be chased. Here are 5 emails ready to copy, from the advance notice to the last one before changing channel, and the schedule on which to send them.
A reminder is not a collection letter
The difference is not one of tone, it is one of timing. A collection letter arrives when there is already a problem and sets out to solve it. A reminder arrives before, or just after, and sets out to stop the problem from existing at all. That is why it is written differently: no formal deadlines, no interest, no consequences. Only the details needed to pay and a question that is easy to answer.
Three principles hold the whole sequence together:
- The first one goes out before the due date. It is the only collection email nobody reads as a demand, and the one that prevents the most delays: it arrives while the invoice can still be added to the next payment run.
- Every email brings something new. A date, a recipient, a question, a next step. Five copies of the same text teach the customer that the reminders can be ignored.
- The sequence has an end. After two weeks, email stops being the right channel. Knowing where it ends is what gives weight to the ones before.
Email 1. Advance notice, 5 days before the due date
It asks for nothing. It confirms that the invoice has arrived, that it is correct and when it falls due. If there is a mistake on the invoice, this is when it surfaces, not on day 30.
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER]: due on [DATE]
Hi [NAME],
Just a quick note to confirm that you have invoice [NUMBER], for [AMOUNT] euros, due on [DATE]. I am attaching it again in case it has not reached whoever handles payments.
If anything on it does not add up, let me know and we will correct it before that date.
Best regards,
[YOUR NAME] · [ROLE] · [DIRECT LINE]
Why it works: it arrives while the invoice is not yet overdue, so nobody has to justify anything. And it turns any discrepancy into a problem for today, fixed with a phone call, instead of a problem for day 30, fixed with a credit note and a month of delay.
Email 2. On the due date
Short. Its job is to be in the inbox on the exact day someone reviews what has to be paid.
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER] is due today
Hi [NAME],
Invoice [NUMBER], for [AMOUNT] euros, is due today. Here are the payment details to have them at hand: [IBAN] · reference [INVOICE NUMBER].
Thank you,
[YOUR NAME]
Why it works: there is nothing to reply to, only something to do. Asking for the invoice number as the transfer reference also saves the manual reconciliation when the payment comes in.
Email 3. First reminder, 3 days after
The first email that acknowledges the delay. It still assumes an oversight, because it almost always is one, but it now asks for an answer.
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER] outstanding since [DATE]
Hi [NAME],
We have no record yet of payment for invoice [NUMBER], for [AMOUNT] euros, which fell due on [DATE]. It may have crossed with this email; if so, please ignore it.
If not, could you tell me the date it is scheduled for? That is all I need.
Best regards,
[YOUR NAME] · [DIRECT LINE]
Why it works: the "crossed with this email" line keeps a customer who has already paid from feeling accused, and the question asks for a date, not a payment. A date is a commitment that can be recalled later; an "I will look into it" is not.
Email 4. Second reminder, 7 days after
Here something important changes: the recipient. If the usual contact has not replied, they are probably not the person who decides the payment. This email goes to whoever does decide it, with the usual contact in copy.
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER]: outstanding for 7 days
Hi [ACCOUNTS PAYABLE OR TREASURY NAME],
I am writing about invoice [NUMBER], for [AMOUNT] euros, which fell due on [DATE]. I reminded [CONTACT NAME] of it on [DATE] and I still do not have a payment date.
I am attaching the invoice and the delivery note or the service sign-off. Could you confirm whether it has been approved and which day it is scheduled for?
Best regards,
[YOUR NAME] · [ROLE] · [DIRECT LINE]
Why it works: it puts the invoice in front of the person who pays it, with proof that the service was delivered. The question "has it been approved?" is the one that uncovers the real reason for the delay when there is one: an invoice with no purchase order, a department that has not signed it off, a mistake nobody mentioned.
Email 5. Last notice by email, 14 days after
The last one in the sequence. It is still courteous, but it now announces the next step, and that is why it should only be sent if that step will really be taken.
Subject: Invoice [NUMBER]: we need a payment date
Hi [NAME],
Invoice [NUMBER], for [AMOUNT] euros, has been overdue for 14 days, and we reminded you of it on [DATE] and on [DATE] without a reply.
We need a payment date before [DATE, ONE WEEK LATER]. If there is any problem with the invoice or the amount, now is the time to tell us. If we have not heard from you by then, I will call you to sort it out by phone.
Best regards,
[YOUR NAME] · [ROLE] · [DIRECT LINE]
Why it works: it sums up the history in one line, sets a specific date and announces a next step that is proportionate and credible. A phone call always happens; a threat of legal action on day 14 almost never does.
When email is no longer enough
After two weeks without a reply, a sixth email adds nothing the previous five did not. What works then is a change of channel: a call, a direct message if that channel was already in use for work and, later on, a formal demand that leaves a record. That stretch has its own rules and its own templates, in the 3 templates for chasing an invoice, by how overdue it is.
Five mistakes that cancel out the sequence
- Starting after the due date. That loses the email that prevents the most delays, and the only one nobody reads as a demand.
- Sending them all to the same contact. Someone who does not answer the second will not answer the fifth. Find whoever pays.
- Not attaching the invoice. "I do not have it" is the most common excuse and the easiest one to remove.
- Reminding customers who have already paid. Reconcile receipts before every send. A reminder to a customer who is up to date gets forgiven once, but it takes credibility away from every one that follows.
- Doing it by hand. With ten invoices it can be done. With a hundred, someone forgets, and a sequence that is not kept teaches the same as one that does not exist.
Frequently asked questions
When should the first payment reminder be sent?
Before the due date, between 3 and 7 days before. It is the only collection email the customer does not read as a demand, and it arrives in time to include the invoice in their next payment run.
How many reminders should be sent by email?
Five at most, over about three weeks, counting the advance notice. Beyond that, email has stopped working, and what is needed is another channel, not another email.
Is a payment reminder the same as a collection letter?
No. The reminder tries to prevent the delay, or to resolve it while it is still an oversight; the collection letter arrives when there is already a problem, and it sets deadlines and consequences. Mixing them weakens both.
Should late payment interest be mentioned in a reminder?
There is no need. It accrues by law from the day after the due date whether it is mentioned or not, and bringing it up in a reminder turns an oversight into an argument. Its place is the collection letter.
Who should the reminder be addressed to?
The first ones, to the usual contact. If there is no reply, to whoever handles payments: accounts, accounts payable or treasury, with the usual contact in copy.
Can payment reminders be automated?
Yes, and beyond a few dozen invoices a month it is the only thing that guarantees they go out. The condition is that receipts are reconciled daily, so that nobody who has already paid gets reminded of anything.
What comes next
Reminders work with customers who pay late through oversight. For those who pay late for some other reason, it pays to spot it earlier: the 7 signs a customer is about to stop paying. And if the invoice ends up being chased, the current statutory late payment rate says how much can be added.
Five emails per invoice, on time and only to whoever has not paid, is easy to explain and hard to keep up by hand. Book a demo and see it working.