How to chase an unpaid invoice without losing the customer
Late payment is usually disorganisation rather than refusal. This is the sequence that gets most invoices paid, with wording you can copy, and the point at which you should stop being polite.
Chase in four stages: a friendly reminder the day after the due date, a firmer email at day seven with the invoice attached again, a phone call at day fourteen, and a final written notice at day thirty. Most invoices are paid at stage one or two, because most late payment is an invoice sitting unopened rather than a customer refusing to pay.
Most unpaid invoices are not disputes
The majority of late invoices are late because nobody has looked at them yet, not because someone decided not to pay.
The common causes are dull. The invoice went to the person who booked the work rather than the person who pays. It arrived without a purchase order number and got parked. It landed the day after the customer's payment run and now waits four weeks for the next one. The customer meant to pay it on their phone, got interrupted, and it left their mind entirely.
This matters because it tells you what tone to start with. If you open at stage three anger on a stage one problem, you damage a relationship over an administrative slip. Start on the assumption of a mistake, and escalate only when the evidence says otherwise.
Three things that prevent most chasing
The best chase is the one you never have to send, and three habits remove most of the need.
- Ask who invoices go to, on site. The person hiring you is often not the person paying. Thirty seconds of asking beats two weeks of waiting.
- Ask whether they need a purchase order number. If they use one and it is missing, some systems will not process the invoice at all, and nobody will tell you.
- Put a real due date on it. "Due on receipt" cannot be late, so it never becomes urgent. A date can be, and that is what makes a reminder reasonable.
All three belong on the invoice itself, which is covered in more detail in the guide to writing an invoice that gets paid.
Stage one: the friendly nudge, day one
Send a short, warm message the day after the due date that assumes the invoice was simply missed.
Keep it to four lines, attach the PDF again, and do not apologise for asking. You are not asking for a favour, you are pointing at an agreement.
Hi Sarah, hope the new panel is behaving itself. Invoice 1042 for 1,980 was due yesterday and I do not think it has landed with us yet. I have attached it again in case it got buried. If it is already on its way, ignore me and thanks. Best, Tom
Two things are doing the work here. The invoice number gives them something to search for, and "in case it got buried" hands them an easy way to fix it without anyone being embarrassed. A large share of late invoices end here.
Stage two: firmer and specific, day seven
At a week overdue, drop the softening language, state the facts, and ask a direct question that requires an answer.
The goal at this stage is not payment in the next hour. It is information. You want to learn whether this is an unopened email, a missing purchase order, a payment run date, or a problem with the work.
Hi Sarah, following up on invoice 1042 for 1,980, issued on 20 July and due on 3 August, now seven days past due. Could you confirm when it is scheduled for payment, or let me know if anything is holding it up such as a missing PO number? Attaching the invoice and my bank details again. Thanks, Tom
Notice the specifics: number, amount, issue date, due date, days overdue. This wording also creates a written record with a clear timeline, which matters if this ever goes further.
Stage three: pick up the phone, day fourteen
At two weeks, call. Email has now failed twice and the reason is almost always something a thirty second conversation would reveal.
Have the invoice open in front of you and open with the facts rather than a complaint. "Hi Sarah, it is Tom from Apex Electric. I am calling about invoice 1042 for 1,980 which is now two weeks past due. Can you help me work out where it is stuck?" Then stop talking and let them answer.
Whatever they say, finish the call with a specific commitment and a date, then send a short email confirming it. "Thanks for that, I will look out for it on the twenty second." A verbal promise with no written trace is how a chase resets itself to zero. This is also the moment to ask whether they would like to pay part of it now, because a customer with cash flow trouble will often agree to half, and half paid is a different conversation from nothing paid.
Stage four: the final written notice, day thirty
At thirty days past due, send a formal notice that names a deadline and says what happens after it.
This message is short, unemotional and free of adjectives. No frustration, no history of your previous attempts, just the position and the consequence. Anger reads as weakness in a payment dispute, and calm specificity reads as someone who will follow through.
Sarah, invoice 1042 for 1,980, issued 20 July, due 3 August, is now thirty days overdue. I have written on 4 and 10 August and we spoke on 17 August. Please arrange payment by 5 September. If it is not settled by then I will pass the matter to a debt recovery service, which I would rather not do. Bank details are on the attached invoice. Tom, Apex Electric
Only write this if you are willing to do it. An empty threat teaches the customer that your deadlines are decorative, and it removes the one piece of leverage you had.
When to stop chasing and write it off
Stop when the cost of chasing exceeds what you are chasing, and decide that with a number rather than a mood.
Work out roughly what an hour of your time is worth, then add up the hours the chase has already taken. A 180 call out that has consumed three hours of evenings and phone calls is no longer a debt worth pursuing, it is a lesson about taking payment on site for that type of work. A 5,000 build invoice is a different calculation entirely and is worth formal recovery.
Two things to do before you close the file. Record it properly rather than deleting it, because a written off invoice is a real business cost and your accountant needs to see it. And mark the customer, because the strongest signal of a customer who will not pay is a customer who already did not pay.
Going forward, the practical defence is structural rather than emotional: deposits on larger work, payment on completion for small work, and invoices that go out the same day. The emergency trades learned this first, because a customer who was desperate at nine in the evening is a different customer by Friday.
Common questions about late payment
Should I charge interest or a late fee?
You can in many countries, and some have statutory rates for commercial debt, but the rules are local and the amounts are usually small. The bigger effect is signalling that you track dates. If you plan to charge it, say so on the invoice from the start rather than adding it in anger later.
Is it better to chase by WhatsApp or email?
Use whichever channel the customer has actually answered on before. WhatsApp gets read faster and suits domestic customers, while email creates the paper trail you want for a company. For commercial debt, do the friendly nudge wherever they are responsive and put the formal stages in writing by email.
The customer says they never received the invoice. Now what?
Send it again immediately without arguing, then confirm the correct email address and whether a purchase order number is needed. If this happens repeatedly with the same customer, start sending each invoice on two channels and ask for a read confirmation, because the pattern is usually a filing problem on their side rather than a delivery problem on yours.
Can I stop work until an invoice is paid?
Often yes, but check what you agreed and get advice before stopping mid contract, because the consequences depend on your terms and your country. What is always safe is not starting the next job for a customer who has an overdue invoice, which is a policy rather than a dispute.
The same paperwork, trade by trade
The trade pages show Invoice Local doing this in context, with real line items and the wording each trade uses. There is also a free invoice template if you would rather start from a blank document.
Chasing is easier when you can see who is behind
Invoice Local shows outstanding, paid and overdue on one screen, so a chase takes five minutes on a Friday instead of an evening of reconstruction.