What to do about a past-due invoice
Send a friendly reminder a day or two after the due date, a firmer one about two weeks later, and a final notice around thirty days late that says what happens next. Add a late fee only if it was agreed in advance, pause further work, and treat small claims court as the last step.
Most late invoices are not refusals. They are forgotten, lost in an inbox, or waiting on somebody else’s approval. The aim of everything below is to get paid while keeping the customer, and to have a clear record if you cannot do both.
A timeline that works for most small jobs
Each step is a little firmer than the last, and each one is written down. Stretch or shorten the gaps to suit your terms and the customer; a phone call between the emails often does more than any of them.
If you make your invoices on JobPaperwork, you do not have to keep the dates in your head. An invoice that passes its due date turns red and shows as Overdue in My papers, and its row gets a Send reminder button. That opens the send screen with the message reworded as a reminder — “Hi Dana, a reminder that invoice #1043 from Rivera Plumbing for $480.00 is still open”, then the invoice link — which you can edit before it goes. Nothing is sent automatically: the reminder leaves when you pick WhatsApp, text, email or another app.
- On the due date: check whether the money has arrived before you chase anybody.
- One to three days late: a friendly reminder. Assume it slipped.
- About two weeks late: a firm reminder. Name the amount and the date, and ask when they will pay.
- About thirty days late: a final notice that says what you will do next, and by when.
- After that: a payment plan, stopping work, a late fee if one was agreed, a collection agency, or small claims court.
Reminder one: friendly (a day or two late)
Short, warm and with everything they need to pay on the spot. Copy it and fill in the brackets:
- Subject: Invoice [number] — friendly reminder
- Hi [first name], just a quick reminder that invoice [number] for [amount], for [the job] on [date], was due on [due date]. If your payment has crossed with this email, thank you, and please ignore it.
- If not, you can pay by [how to pay]. The invoice is here again: [link or attachment].
- Thanks, [your name], [business], [phone]
Reminder two: firm (about two weeks late)
Still polite, but now it states the facts and asks for a date. Giving the customer a way to raise a problem matters: a complaint you hear about now is far easier to fix than one you discover in court.
- Subject: Invoice [number] — now [X] days overdue
- Hi [first name], invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [due date] and is now [X] days overdue. I sent a reminder on [date] and have not heard back.
- Please pay by [a date about a week away], or reply to tell me when payment will be made. If something about the invoice or the work is not right, let me know and I will sort it out.
- You can pay by [how to pay]. Invoice: [link]. Thanks, [your name], [phone]
Reminder three: final notice (about 30 days late)
Name one next step and a date, and only name a step you will actually take. A threat you do not carry out teaches the customer to wait. Keep it factual and calm: some states regulate how businesses chase their own customers as well as how collection agencies do, and a polite letter is never the problem.
- Subject: Final notice — invoice [number], [amount] overdue
- Hi [first name], invoice [number] for [amount], due on [due date], is now [X] days overdue. I wrote about it on [date] and [date].
- If payment is not received by [a date 7–10 days away], I will [the one step: add the late fee in our agreement / stop further work / pass the account to a collection agency / file a small claims case].
- I would much rather settle this between us. If paying in full is hard right now, call me on [phone] and we can agree a payment plan. [your name], [business]
Adding a late fee
A late fee holds up best when the customer agreed to it before the work started — in the contract, a signed estimate or the payment terms. Many states limit late fees and interest on unpaid bills, sometimes differently for homeowners and businesses, and some only allow a fee that was agreed in advance. Check with your state before you add one, and put it on a new line or statement that refers to the original invoice rather than editing the one the customer already has.
If you are charging one, the late fee calculator on this site works out a flat fee or a monthly percentage for the number of days late.
When to stop work
On a job still in progress, or for a regular customer, the strongest lever you have is not doing more work on credit. Say so in writing — “I will pick the job back up when invoice [number] is paid” — so the pause is about the bill and not a surprise. Check your contract first: it may say how and when work can be stopped.
If the job is on the customer’s property, lien rights may also be open to you, but they come with notice and filing deadlines that run whether or not you are chasing. Those deadlines are set by each state; check them early rather than at the final notice.
If the final notice does not work
Write down any payment plan you agree — amounts, dates, and what happens if one is missed. A collection agency takes on the chasing for a share of what it recovers. Small claims court is built for amounts like a trade invoice, usually without a lawyer, but the most you can claim, the filing fee and the forms are set by each state and court. Your local court’s website or clerk is the place to check.
Whatever you choose, the reminders above are your record: what was owed, when you asked, and what you said would happen. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions
Is it rude to send a payment reminder the day after an invoice is due?
No, if it is friendly. Most customers who pay late simply forgot, and a short note with the amount and a link gets them to pay without anybody feeling chased. Waiting weeks before saying anything is what makes the second message awkward.
Should I call or email about an overdue invoice?
Both, for different jobs. A call is quicker and often finds the real reason — a lost invoice, a query about the work, a cash-flow problem. The email is the record. A good pattern is to call, then send a short email confirming what was said and agreed.
Can I take a customer to small claims court over an unpaid invoice?
Usually, if the amount is under your state’s small claims limit, and many tradespeople do it without a lawyer. The limit, the fees and how you serve the customer vary by state and sometimes by county. Your local court’s self-help pages or the clerk can tell you the rules before you file.