Follow up on money a customer owes you

The invoice is overdue. You need the money and you want to keep the customer, and every draft you write comes out either apologetic or angry. This gets you a reminder that’s clear about what’s owed and still leaves the door open.

The same approach works for money a friend or relative owes you: swap the invoice details for what was agreed, and pick a warmer tone.

The one hard rule

Only include terms you actually agreed on. No late fee, interest, collections agency, or legal action unless it’s in your contract or invoice terms and you’ve decided to use it. A fee that isn’t in your agreed terms may not be one you can collect, and a threat you won’t follow through on weakens every reminder after it.

Do this

1. Gather the facts: invoice number, amount, original due date, how many days overdue, the agreed terms, and how to pay.
2. Decide the tone from the relationship and how late it is: friendly for a first reminder, firm for a second.
3. Ask for a draft, using the prompt below. Use a placeholder instead of the customer’s name.
4. Check every number against the invoice before you send it.

Write a payment reminder email.

Invoice number: [NUMBER]
Amount: [AMOUNT]
Original due date: [DATE]
Days overdue: [NUMBER]
Payment terms we agreed: [e.g., due within 30 days, as stated on the invoice]
How to pay: [method]
Relationship: [e.g., good repeat customer / new client]
Tone: [friendly first reminder / firm second reminder]

Keep it under 120 words. Address them as [CUSTOMER].
Don't add late fees, interest, deadlines, or consequences I haven't
listed. Don't mention legal action.

Then write a firmer second reminder I could send in two weeks, using
the same rules.

Check this before you trust it

• The amount, invoice number, and dates, against the invoice itself.
• Anything that sounds like a consequence: a new deadline, a fee, “further action.” If you didn’t list it, delete it.
• The tone for this customer. A reminder that suits a new client may read as cold to someone you’ve worked with for years.

If it goes wrong

It added a late fee or a deadline anyway. Delete it. Then add to the end of your request: “Remember: no fees, deadlines, or consequences beyond what I listed.”

The draft apologizes for asking. Ask for “polite and direct, with no apology for requesting a payment that’s owed.”

They reply with a reason: a dispute, a cash-flow problem, a lost invoice. Paste their reply, with names removed, and ask for a response that addresses it and proposes a next step, like a payment date or a call.

This is the third reminder and nothing has changed. A drafting tool can’t tell you what to do next. Check your contract, and for larger amounts, talk to an accountant or attorney about your options before you send anything that mentions them.