· 10 min read
Once an invoice is clearly overdue, your emails should do more than remind the customer that it exists.
At seven days late, you might be checking for a problem. At 14 days, you want a firm payment date. By 30 days, you may need another person involved. At 45 days, a payment plan might be more realistic. At 60 days, it may be time for a final notice.
Below are templates for each stage, along with what should change as the invoice gets older.
In practice, very little.
In the US, "past due invoice" is common language.
In the UK, businesses often talk about an "overdue invoice", "outstanding invoice" or "aged debt".
They all describe the same basic situation: the invoice has passed its agreed payment date and has not been paid.
What matters more is how long it has been overdue and why.
A three-day delay from a normally reliable customer is very different from an invoice that has been unpaid for 60 days with no response.
Your follow-up should reflect that.
Here is a useful starting point:
| Days overdue | Main goal | Who to contact | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Check for a problem | Normal contact | Friendly and direct |
| 14 days | Get a payment date | Normal contact | Direct |
| 30 days | Escalate ownership | Finance or senior contact | Firm |
| 45 days | Agree a realistic resolution | Decision-maker | Practical and firm |
| 60+ days | Set out final next steps | Senior contact | Formal |
These timings are not rules.
Your payment terms, customer relationship, invoice value and previous payment history all matter.
The important part is having a clear next step.
At seven days overdue, you want to find out whether the delay is simple or whether something needs fixing.
Do not assume the customer is refusing to pay.
Ask.
Subject: Invoice [Invoice number] overdue
Hi [Customer name],
I'm following up on invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], which was due on [Due date].
Could you confirm when payment is scheduled?
If there's anything holding it up, please let me know and I'll help get it resolved.
I've attached the invoice again for reference.
Thanks,
[Your name]
This gives the customer two easy ways to respond.
They can give you a payment date, or tell you what is wrong.
If you are still at the earlier reminder stage, see our payment reminder email templates.
Two weeks after the due date, "we'll get to it soon" is no longer very useful.
You need a date.
Subject: Payment date needed for invoice [Invoice number]
Hi [Customer name],
Invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount] is now 14 days overdue.
Please could you confirm the date payment will be made?
If there is an issue preventing payment, let me know what needs to be resolved from our side.
Thanks,
[Your name]
If they reply with a date, record it.
Then follow up if the payment does not arrive.
A promise to pay is not the end of the collections process. It creates the next action.
At 30 days overdue, it may be time to involve somebody else.
That could mean accounts payable, a finance manager or the person who originally approved the work.
Do not copy half the company into an angry email. Escalate to the person who can actually help.
Subject: Invoice [Invoice number] now 30 days overdue
Hi [Customer name],
I'm following up again regarding invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], originally due on [Due date].
The invoice is now 30 days overdue and remains outstanding.
Please confirm when payment will be made, or let me know who I should speak with to get this resolved.
I've attached the invoice again for reference.
Thanks,
[Your name]
At this point, also check your own history.
Has the customer given a reason?
Did they previously promise a date?
Did somebody ask for a PO?
Is there an unresolved query sitting with your team?
Do not escalate the tone if the real problem is that nobody dealt with their last reply.
At 45 days, you should have a clearer idea of what is happening.
If the customer says they cannot pay the full amount immediately, you may decide that a realistic payment plan is better than another month of chasing.
Subject: Resolving overdue invoice [Invoice number]
Hi [Customer name],
Invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], due on [Due date], remains unpaid.
Please confirm when the outstanding amount will be paid.
If paying the full balance immediately is difficult, let me know what payment schedule you can realistically commit to and we can discuss the options.
I'd like to get a clear plan agreed for resolving the balance.
Thanks,
[Your name]
You do not have to offer a payment plan.
Whether one makes sense depends on the customer, the amount and your own business.
If you do agree one, put the amount and date of every installment in writing.
By 60 days overdue, repeated friendly reminders may no longer make sense.
A final notice should state:
Do not fill it with legal language you do not understand.
Do not threaten action you have no intention of taking.
Subject: Final notice: invoice [Invoice number]
Hi [Customer name],
This is a final notice regarding invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], which was due on [Due date] and remains unpaid.
Please arrange payment or contact me by [Date] to confirm how the outstanding balance will be resolved.
If there is a genuine issue with the invoice that has not yet been raised, please let me know immediately.
If we do not hear from you by [Date], we will review the next steps available to us for recovering the outstanding amount.
Regards,
[Your name]
"Review the next steps available to us" is deliberately factual.
If you have already decided on a specific next step and are genuinely prepared to take it, you can say what that is. If not, do not pretend.
Our guide to collecting unpaid invoices covers the broader options when normal chasing has failed.
Sometimes you may want a more formal letter rather than another ordinary email.
That could be sent as a PDF attachment or by post, depending on how your business handles collections.
Overdue payment letter
[Date]
Dear [Customer name],
Re: Invoice [Invoice number]
We are writing regarding invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], which was due for payment on [Due date].
The amount remains outstanding.
Please arrange payment of [Amount] by [Payment deadline], or contact [Your name] at [Contact details] if there is an issue preventing payment.
If payment has already been made, please send the payment date and remittance details so we can check our records.
If we do not receive payment or hear from you by [Payment deadline], we will review the appropriate next steps for recovering the outstanding amount.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Company name]
Keep a copy of what you send and when you sent it.
If the matter later becomes formal, a clear record of the correspondence is useful.
Be careful here.
Whether you can add a late fee or interest can depend on the agreement with the customer and applicable state law.
Do not invent a charge after the invoice becomes overdue.
If your agreed terms allow a late fee and you have confirmed it applies, keep the wording factual:
Under the payment terms agreed for this invoice, a late charge of [Amount/rate] now applies to the outstanding balance.
The current amount due is [Total amount].
For anything material or uncertain, get appropriate advice on the contract and state rules that apply.
Qualifying business-to-business late payments can be subject to statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate. GOV.UK also states that statutory interest cannot be claimed where the contract provides a different rate of interest.
Businesses can also be entitled to fixed debt recovery compensation of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt.
If you decide to claim statutory interest, GOV.UK says to send a new invoice for the interest added.
This is general information, not legal advice.
The biggest mistake with overdue invoice emails is sending the same message again and again.
The progression should look more like this:
7 days: "Is there a problem?"
14 days: "When will you pay?"
30 days: "Who needs to own this?"
45 days: "What realistic payment plan can we agree?"
60+ days: "This now needs to be resolved by a defined date."
The customer should always know what you want them to do next.
Do not blindly continue the sequence.
The reply changes what should happen next.
If they say:
"We'll pay Friday." Confirm Friday in writing and follow up if they miss it.
"We need a PO." Get the PO and resend the invoice.
"This invoice is wrong." Pause the normal reminders and resolve the dispute.
"Send this to accounts payable." Get the right contact and redirect it.
"We've already paid." Ask for remittance details and check your records.
"We can't pay right now." Decide whether a payment plan makes sense.
The full collections email sequence covers these reply paths in detail.
There is no single number of days that tells you when to stop chasing.
Look at:
For businesses in England and Wales, GOV.UK says a business can apply to a county court to claim money it is owed, with online and postal routes available depending on the claim. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different processes.
Formal recovery is a different stage from ordinary invoice chasing. Get appropriate advice if the amount or situation warrants it.
State the invoice number, amount and original due date, then ask for a clear next action. Early on, that might mean asking when payment is scheduled or whether anything is holding it up. For older invoices, ask for a firm payment date and make the escalation clearer.
Yes, in ordinary accounts receivable use they describe the same basic situation: an invoice has passed its payment date without being paid. "Past due" is common in the US, while "overdue invoice" and "outstanding invoice" are common terms in the UK.
The tone should become more direct as the invoice ages, but it should remain professional. Firm does not mean aggressive. State what is owed, what has already happened and what you need next. Avoid threats, accusations or artificial urgency, especially if you have not yet established why payment is delayed.
Check that you are contacting the right person, then consider escalating to accounts payable, finance or a senior contact. If the invoice remains unpaid despite repeated attempts, decide whether a final notice or formal recovery step is commercially worthwhile rather than continuing to send the same email.
It depends. In the US, late charges can depend on the contract and applicable state law. In the UK, qualifying B2B late payments can carry statutory interest and debt recovery compensation. Check what applies to the particular invoice before adding charges, and get professional advice where necessary.
A final notice is a formal communication near the end of your normal collections process. It states the outstanding amount, the invoice and due date, sets a clear deadline for payment or contact, and explains that you will consider the next recovery steps if the issue is not resolved.
The AR Agent follows up overdue invoices by email and keeps the next action tied to what is actually happening.
If a customer promises to pay on a particular date, the promise is recorded and followed up if it is missed. If the customer needs a PO, says the invoice is wrong or asks for another contact to be used, the blocker is tracked instead of the system blindly continuing the reminder sequence.
Disputes pause normal chasing. When a situation genuinely needs human judgment, The AR Agent asks rather than guessing.
Every email, promise, blocker and action stays recorded against the customer and invoice.
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