United States
5 Surefire Emails to Get You Caught Up on Overdue Invoices
Have you ever had trouble collecting a payment? You’re not alone: According to a recent review by PYMNTS, a stunning 49% of invoices produced by U.S. businesses go on to become overdue. Other data suggests that as many as 57% of B2B companies receive late payments from customers — a problem that, in turn, led to 20% of those businesses postponing their own payments to suppliers and vendors.
As you can imagine, late payments put a serious strain on your cashflow, not to mention your professional partnerships. Yet chasing down payments can be a daunting task — one that takes up your time and saps your mental energy.
That’s why we’ve created these templates. These five emails are designed to help you quickly catch up on your invoices while reminding your clients you need to get paid. Check them out:
Template 1: First Notice of an Overdue Invoice
Subject: Account Alert
This is a friendly reminder that your invoice is now #___ of days overdue.
We understand that these things can get overlooked sometimes but would appreciate prompt payment of $____. Could you please let us know when we can expect payment? If you’ve already paid, please disregard this message.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by responding to this email or calling us at (insert phone number). Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Best regards,
(Insert name)
(Insert position title)
Template 2: Second Notice of an Overdue Invoice
Subject: Payment Overdue
Hope you’re having a great week. Just wanted to touch base with you about the outstanding balance you currently have with us of $_____ from invoice #______.
A friendly reminder that per our agreement/contract, a late fee of $___ will be implemented to your bill after XX days past your invoice due date.
If you have any questions, please let us know and we’ll be happy to answer them.
Thank you for your promptness,
(Insert name)
(Insert position title)
Template 3: Overdue Invoice Reminder + Request for Response
Subject: Important: Overdue Payment
For your convenience, I wanted to send you a quick reminder regarding your invoice #_____ with an outstanding balance of $______, and remind you that a late fee of $____ is applied after XX days past the invoice due date.
We would appreciate it if you could give us an update regarding the payment of this invoice. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us by email or phone.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Best regards,
(Insert name)
(Insert position title)
Template 4: Overdue Invoice Escalation + Request for Account Update
Subject: Updated Account Balance
Just checking in to see the status of invoice #_____. As a small business, we rely on these payments to keep our business going for services like the ones you received. Therefore, we’re sure you understand the severity of this overdue payment.
To update us on your payment schedule, please feel free to respond to this email or call us at (insert phone number). If you have already paid your invoice, we thank you — and please disregard this message.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
(Insert name)
(Insert position title)
Template 5: Notice of Severely Overdue Invoice + Relationship Termination Warning
Subject: Unpaid Invoice #_____
Just sending you a quick reminder that I’m very disappointed that your invoice is severely overdue. From my point of view, this unpaid invoice is now less about the money aspect of the situation and more about the blatant disrespect.
I value your business; however, if this payment continues to be late, I’m going to have to think twice about working with you again. It isn’t because I don’t want to — I do. But if I don’t receive this payment within the next couple of days, I’ll have no choice.
Kind regards,
(Insert name)
(Insert position title)
It’s great to have resources like these email scripts. But at the end of the day, manually tracking down late invoices results in lost time and money. Implementing online invoicing to your business with Payroc can give you and your clients the convenience of recurring billing, automated notifications for past-due invoices, and the inclusion of late fees on overdue payments. Not only that, but you have the luxury of keeping all your payments and client info in one place. Plus, with features like time tracking, you’ll never miss a cent of the money you’re owed.
Interested in optimizing your business? Get started below!