Finances · Free forever
Late-payment emails
An invoice has gone past due and you don't want to be rude or a pushover. Three emails, escalating properly, so you never have to write this one from scratch at 11pm.
Chase in writing, always by email
Send these from the email address on the invoice, and if you get a promise on a call, reply summarising it in writing. Pair this with the invoice generator — a clear invoice with a due date on it is what makes these emails easy to send.
How late is it?
Start warm. Escalate only as far as you need to.
Each stage changes tone rather than repeating the last email.
Why this one works
Most late payments are an unopened email or an invoice stuck waiting for one approval, not a refusal to pay. Sending a warm, early nudge costs you nothing socially and often gets the invoice paid that week — and it starts the written trail you'd need if it doesn't.
The details
Only the fields this email actually uses are shown.
Anything you leave blank shows up as [a bracketed note] so you can spot it before sending.
Subject
Quick nudge: invoice [invoice number] ([amount due])
Hi [their first name], Hope things are good at [company or brand]. Just a friendly nudge that invoice [invoice number] for [amount due] was due on [original due date] and I don't have it on my side yet. I'm sure it's just sitting in an inbox somewhere — happy to resend it, or forward it to whoever handles payments if that's easier. You can pay by [how they can pay]. If it's already been sent, ignore me entirely and thank you! Best, [your name]
Read it once out loud before sending. Firm and unbothered beats angry — you want the money, not the argument.
Stop this happening again
Put a due date and a late fee on every invoice, agree payment terms up front in a contract, and check what you're signing against the red-flags checklist.