8 most effective payment reminder emails, to get invoices paid 

Email is an incredibly effective tool for credit control. According to one of our key software partners Chaser, approximately 80% of unpaid invoices can be successfully collected through email reminders alone. This means that those finance teams and companies that have an effective email practice for payment reminders will benefit massively compared with those that choose not to use or badly use this highly effective route and tool for their credit control. We have helped many of our clients implement and get the benefit from cloud accounting platforms including accounts receivable software which can automate invoice payment reminders like Chaser. So why not contact us today to see how we can help you or read on to get some templates you can implement and use yourself. 

Common unpaid invoice email issues include using an unfriendly or overly legal or business tone of voice, the appearance of the emails simply being automated, emails that are written with a lack of humanity, an aggressive or judgemental approach to overdue invoices, and even chasing payments from the wrong person entirely. The last one is particularly important as you think about the data your business and your finance team has on your clients and the key client data points you should keep and maintain. 

The recent Covid-19 pandemic created many challenges for a lot of businesses, but it also forced many businesses to look hard at their processes and practices.  Neglecting to appreciate the impact of difficult situations, such as the pandemic, and the impact they can have on your customers’ business and their ability to pay in your email reminders will only lead to lower response rates — it is essential that you adapt your credit control to the current economic situation. 

Best practice shows that using a human approach to invoice chasing delivers the best results. So, these free templates demonstrate how to use emotional intelligence in your invoice chasing, and approach customers with kindness and diplomacy during these uncertain times. 

These templates from our partner Chaser can be copied and pasted directly into your emails, for you to send to customers. In our experience, personalisation is key in making sure reminders don’t get ignored and invoices get paid! So, our templates are built from two parts: 

Normal Text 

<Placeholders> 

Normal text is outside of brackets and stays the same across all reminders. Placeholders are within angle brackets “< >”, and signify where adapted text may go, e.g. <our_name> would be replaced with your company’s name. 

8 of the best-practise templates are featured below. No more tiresome trial and error — you can start automatically chasing all of your customers with reminders that look hand-typed! 

1. Before Due 

We recommend sending this polite payment reminder via email 7 days before an invoice is due 

Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you that <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> is due for payment on <date_due>. 

I would be really grateful if you could confirm that everything is on track for payment? 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

2. Early Overdue 

We recommend following up with this polite reminder when an invoice is 1 day overdue 

Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. 

We wanted to drop you a gentle reminder that we have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>. 

I understand this may be a hectic time for you, so I would be really grateful if you could give me an indication of when we can expect to receive payment? 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

3. Medium Overdue 

If an invoice payment reaches 14 days overdue, we recommend sending this message to remind customers and give them a greater sense of urgency 

Subject: Update on <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. 

We have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>. 

I understand this may be a hectic time for you, but this invoice is now <overdue_days> days overdue and is becoming problematic for us too. 

Please let us know when we can expect to receive payment as soon as possible? Or if you are struggling with cash flow, please update us so we can plan internally and suggest a payment plan. 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

4. Late Overdue 

Once an invoice reaches 30+ days overdue, we recommend sending this email reminder and suggesting alternative payment options. There may be a very good reason they are unable to pay large sums, so we recommend being flexible to maintain great relationships with your customers. 

Subject: Alternative payment options for <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. 

We have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>. 

I would be really grateful if you could let me know when we can expect to receive payment? 

We understand this may be a difficult time for you. So alternatively, please call us on [insert company phone number] if you would prefer to arrange a payment plan that works for you? 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

5. Thanks for Paying 

Once you have received payment, we recommend sending an email to thank customers for their payments. Whilst easily forgotten, we have found this significantly improves future payment times. Particularly during uncertain times, it is important to show you are grateful for customer payments! 

*Chaser automatically thanks customers after every payment, so you don’t have to! 

Subject: Thank you for your payment: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we have received your recent payment in respect of invoice <invoice_refnum>. Thank you very much, we really appreciate your payment during this time of uncertainty. 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

6. Multiple: Before Due 

Where a customer has multiple outstanding invoices, we recommend sending this polite reminder before their invoices are due 

Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. 

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you of the below outstanding invoices that will soon be due for payment. 

<invoice_table_MULTI> 

I would be really grateful if you could confirm that everything is on track for payment? 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

7. Multiple: Overdue 

We recommend sending this polite reminder when a customer’s invoices are overdue. We also recommend suggesting alternative payment options.  

Subject: Alternative payment options for <our_name>: invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. 

We have yet to receive payment from yourselves for the outstanding invoices summarised in the table below. 

<invoice_table_MULTI> 

The total amount owed for these invoices comes to <invoice_amount_owed_aggregate_MULTI>. I would be really grateful if you could let me know when we can expect to receive payment as soon as possible? 

We understand this may be a difficult time for you. So alternatively, please call us on [insert company phone number] if you would prefer to arrange a payment plan that works for you? 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

8. Multiple: Thanks for Paying 

When you receive payment for multiple invoices at once, we recommend sending a ‘thanks for paying’ message. Whilst easily forgotten, we have found this significantly improves future payment times. 

Subject: Thank you for your payment: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum_MULTI> 

Hi <recipient_firstname> 

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we have received your recent payment in respect of invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI>. Thank you very much, we really appreciate your payment during this time of uncertainty. 

Best regards 

<sender_firstname> 

We hope you found these payment reminder email templates useful and if you would like to learn more about about we can help you implement your own cloud accounting solution to payment reminders just call us today on 01603 981750 or contact us today and we will be happy to help!