Payment reminder messages: what to send when a trade invoice goes overdue

The most common mistake with a payment reminder message isn't being too soft or too firm. It's sending one the customer can't act on straight away, with no invoice number, no amount, no due date and no way to pay. Below are three reminders to copy, a timetable for when to send each one, and the lines the law says you must keep out of them.

The wording works for plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, roofers, builders and joiners, whether a sole trader sends it from the van at night or an office person sends it from a desk. For invoicing and payment terms in full, see how to invoice and chase late payment in a trade business.

What to put in every payment reminder

A reminder is only as good as the facts in it. A customer who has to dig out the invoice, work out what it was for or ask how to pay will put it off, and a week goes by. Put everything they need in the message itself:

1. Who it's from: your name and the business name, so it doesn't look like a scam.
2. The invoice number and the job: "invoice 4051, boiler repair", not "your bill".
3. The amount and the due date: the exact figure, and when it was or is due.
4. How to pay: your bank details as printed on the invoice, or an offer to send a card payment link.
5. A way to raise a problem: a line inviting them to tell you if something on the invoice is wrong.

The last point matters more than it looks. Many late invoices are held up by a question the customer hasn't asked: a charge they don't recognise, an extra they didn't expect, or a snag they want sorted first. A reminder that invites the question gets you an answer instead of silence.

Keep each reminder about the invoice and nothing else. The ICO, which regulates marketing by email and text, says its definition of direct marketing doesn't cover messages sent for administrative or customer service purposes, and that adding promotional content to one of those messages makes it marketing. A payment reminder with a line about your winter servicing offer is no longer just a reminder.

Never change your bank details in a reminder. If a customer gets a message saying your account has changed, they should ring you on a number they already have. Say that on your invoices too, so a fraudster's fake reminder stands out.

Reminder timetable from due date to final notice

The point of a timetable is that every overdue invoice gets chased the same way, on dates you set in advance, instead of when you happen to remember or when you finally lose patience. This is a suggested starting point, not an industry rule. Adjust the gaps to your customers and the size of the bill.

1. A few days before the due date: a short courtesy reminder, for larger invoices only.
2. The day after the due date: check your bank first, then send the friendly reminder below.
3. About seven days overdue: ring the person who pays. Note any date they promise.
4. Fourteen days overdue: a firmer written reminder with a date to pay by.
5. Thirty days overdue: the final reminder, saying exactly what you'll do next.
6. After the final date: do what you said, whether that's a formal letter, a payment plan or writing the debt off.

Write the dates against each invoice the day you send it, in your invoicing app, a spreadsheet or a notebook. Then one person looks at the list once a week and sends what's due. Chasing in one sitting is quicker than chasing in odd moments, and you won't send a firm message to someone who paid yesterday.

Send reminders from the same number or email address the invoice came from, and reply on the same email thread where you can, so the invoice is right there. If the customer normally texts you, a text is fine for the early reminders. Put the fourteen-day and thirty-day reminders in writing by email or letter, because you may need to show later what you sent and when.

Before the due date: a courtesy reminder

For most small invoices you can skip this step. For a larger job, such as a bathroom refit, a rewire or a new roof, a short note a few days before the due date costs nothing and catches problems early. It's the point where you find out the invoice went to the wrong email address, or the landlord hasn't seen it yet.

Keep it to one or two lines: the invoice number, the amount, the due date and a thank you. Don't mention late payment at all. The customer hasn't done anything wrong yet, and a reminder that reads like a warning starts the relationship off badly.

First overdue reminder: assume it was missed

Before you send anything, check your bank account and any card payment records. Customers pay with the wrong reference, pay two invoices in one amount, or pay from a partner's account under a name you don't recognise. Sending a "you haven't paid" message to someone who has is the quickest way to annoy a good customer.

If it hasn't arrived, assume the customer forgot. Most do. The tone is friendly and short, and it gives them an easy way out if they've paid in the last day.

The names in the example messages here are invented. Mrs Doyle is a homeowner who had a boiler repaired, and Sam runs a two-person heating firm.

If the customer replies with a question about the invoice, answer it the same day and write the answer on the invoice record. A question means they intend to pay once it's sorted.

Ring before you send anything firmer

About a week overdue, pick up the phone. A two-minute call often finds out what three messages can't: the invoice went to a tenant, the letting agent is waiting for the landlord to approve an extra, or the customer is unhappy about something and hasn't said so.

Keep the call short and polite. Ask whether they received the invoice, whether anything on it needs explaining, and when they expect to pay. Write down the date they give you, and follow up on that date rather than yours.

If the customer raises a problem with the work, treat it as a complaint first and a debt second. Agree what you'll do and by when, and say whether you're asking them to pay the undisputed part now. Then send a short message confirming what was agreed, so you both have the same record.

If you reach voicemail, leave your name, the business, the invoice number and that you'll send a message. Then send the next reminder on the timetable. Don't ring again the same day.

Fourteen days overdue: put it in writing

At fourteen days, the reminder gets firmer. It gives a date to pay by and says what happens if the invoice stays unpaid. It's still polite, and it still invites the customer to tell you if there's a problem.

What you can add depends on who the customer is. For a business customer, such as a letting agent, a property management company or a builder you work for, you can mention your right to interest and compensation under the late payment rules (see the business customers section below). Those rules cover payments between businesses, so don't quote them to a homeowner.

For a homeowner, the fourteen-day reminder is the same as the day-after one, but with a date to pay by and an offer to talk about a payment plan if paying in one go is hard.

Only say you'll add interest if you will. A threat you don't carry out teaches the customer that your reminders can wait.

Thirty days overdue: the final reminder

The final reminder lists what you've already done, gives a last date and says exactly what you'll do next. It is the message most likely to be read by someone else later, such as a mediator or a judge, so keep it factual and calm.

Name the dates of your earlier reminders and your call. Offer a payment plan if the customer can't pay in full. Then state the next step, and only a step you intend to take.

After the final date, do what the message said. If you don't, the next customer who hears about it learns that your final reminders aren't final. The Getting paid hub covers the letter before action, small claims and the Small Business Commissioner, and when each is worth the cost. If the next step is a formal letter, our letter before action template for an unpaid trade invoice has one for homeowners and one for business customers.

Keep threats and pressure out of reminders

Most trades chase politely and never come near the law. But a long-overdue bill makes people angry, and an angry message written at 11pm can cross a line. Two sets of rules matter here.

For business customers in England and Wales, section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 makes it an offence to harass someone with demands for payment which, by how often or how they're made, or by any threat or publicity that goes with them, are calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. It's also an offence to falsely say that criminal proceedings will follow non-payment, or to claim official authority you don't have. Reasonable steps to recover a debt you're owed are allowed. The section doesn't apply where the other person is a consumer and the conduct falls under the consumer rules below.

For homeowners, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans aggressive practices that use harassment, coercion or undue influence. Business Companion, the trading standards guidance for businesses, says the rules apply before, during and after a contract. The factors it lists include the timing and location of the practice, threatening or abusive language, and threats to take action that can't legally be taken. Its guidance covers England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has separate guidance.

If you're not sure whether a message crosses a line, read it as if it had been sent to your mum. If it would upset her, rewrite it.

This is not legal advice. It summarises the legislation and guidance linked above. Section 40 applies in England and Wales only.

Business customers: interest and fixed compensation

When the customer is a business, you have a legal right to more than the invoice. GOV.UK says statutory interest is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions. You can't use it if your contract sets a different rate. If you decide to add interest, GOV.UK says to send a new invoice.

You can also claim a fixed sum for the cost of recovering the debt: £40 for a debt up to £999.99, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more. You can only charge it once for each payment. GOV.UK says you can also claim reasonable costs each time you try to recover the debt.

Illustrative example: Sam's invoice 4047 to the letting agent is for £1,280, so the fixed compensation is £70. If it stays unpaid after the fourteen-day reminder, Sam sends a new invoice for £1,350 plus interest worked out from the due date. The Getting paid hub works through the interest sum in full.

You don't have to charge either. Many small firms mention the right in the fourteen-day reminder and only add it if the bill drags on, because a good landlord or builder who pays late once is worth more than £70. What matters is deciding your rule before you need it, and applying it the same way to everyone.

A homeowner having work done on their own home isn't a business customer, so none of this applies to them. If you're not sure which one you're chasing, check who the quote was addressed to and who agreed to it.

Part payments, queries and payment plans

Not every overdue invoice is a customer who won't pay. Some can't pay all of it at once, and some are holding back over one line.

When only part of the bill is in question, ask the customer to pay the rest now while you sort out the disputed part. Put the agreed split in writing. A £2,000 invoice held up over a £90 extra is a cash problem you can halve with one message.

When a customer can't pay in one go, a written payment plan is usually better than chasing for the full amount. Agree the amounts and dates, send them in a short message, and record each payment against the invoice as it arrives. If a payment is missed, send one reminder about that payment before you treat the whole plan as broken.

Payment problems often start before the invoice. A variation agreed on site but never written down, or a job sheet that doesn't show what was done, gives the customer a reason to query the bill. Our job sheet template for trade visits shows how to record extras and sign-off so the invoice matches what was agreed, and the guide to recording trade jobs on site covers handing the job back to the office in the same week. For deposits and stage payments agreed up front, the guide to writing a trade quote sets out what to put in the quote.

Many invoicing and job apps can send reminders automatically. That can save time, but read what they send before you switch them on. Check they use your wording, stop when the invoice is paid or queried, and don't fire a firm reminder at a customer you've just agreed a payment plan with. If you follow up quotes as well, our quote follow-up messages use the same short, factual style.

Chase this week's overdue invoices in one sitting

Open your invoicing app or your list of unpaid invoices and sort them by due date. For each one, check the bank, then send the reminder that fits where it is in the timetable and write the next date against it. It takes twenty minutes, and by Friday you'll know which bills are late and which are stuck.

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