How many days late should the first reminder be?

Three days is a good point: close enough that the client has not had time to build a story around it, far enough that a slow payment run has finished. A reminder sent on the due date itself reads as impatient. Wait until the money has clearly not arrived.

Should the reminder repeat the bank details?

Yes, every time. The client should be able to pay from the message alone. A reminder that sends somebody back to the original invoice, or to a portal they have lost the details for, adds a day to the payment.

What should the subject line say?

The invoice number and the status, in plain words: Invoice INV-1043 is 10 days overdue. The subject line is what decides whether the message is opened and actioned or filed for later. Vague subjects such as a quick question get read as a favour request rather than a bill.

Can I add a late fee or interest to the reminder?

Only if your terms provide for it and only at the rate they set. Adding a charge the contract does not allow misstates the debt, and the national guideline for collectors and creditors treats representations about the status of a debt as a compliance matter. Get advice before you add one.

How short should a payment reminder be?

Six lines is a reasonable target: the invoice number, the amount, the days overdue, one ask with a date, the payment details, and your contact. Long messages bury the ask and invite a reply that discusses everything except the payment date.

What goes in a final notice that is not in the earlier reminders?

A single firm date and one statement of what happens if it passes, plus a closing offer to discuss a schedule by phone. Nothing else should be new. The final notice is the last written step before a call, a letter of demand, or a claim.

Payment reminder email templates

Four reminders word for word: 3 days late, 10 days late, 21 days late, and the final notice. Copy them, replace the placeholders, and keep the facts identical at every stage.

Updated 28 September 2026

The short answer

These four templates are a first reminder at 3 days late that assumes an oversight, a second at 10 days late that asks for a payment date, a third at 21 days late that names what stops, and a final notice that sets one date and states the next step. Every one repeats the invoice number, the amount outstanding and the same payment details.

A reminder does one job: move an invoice to paid without doing more damage to the relationship than the situation requires. The four templates below do that in order. Replace the placeholders in square brackets, keep the facts identical in every version, and send from an address the client can reply to.

The rules that make a reminder work

The subject line carries the facts. Invoice number and status, in words somebody scans in a list of mail: Invoice INV-1043 is 10 days overdue. Not a quick question.
Always repeat the amount and the payment details. The client should be able to pay from the message alone, without opening the original invoice or hunting for bank details.
Never apologise. An apology at the top of a reminder tells the client the message is optional, and asks for a favour rather than payment.
Always ask for one clear next step. A date, a payment, or a call at a set time. Not a request for the client thoughts.
Keep it short. Six lines and one ask beats a page of context, because anything after the ask gets skimmed.
Keep the same thread and the same recipients. A new thread each time hides the record of what you have already sent.
Never threaten anything you will not do. A threat you have no intention of carrying out can be misleading conduct.

What every reminder should contain

The invoice number, the invoice date and the original due date, with the days overdue.
The amount outstanding, stated as a figure rather than as a percentage.
How to pay: the bank details with the invoice number as the reference, or the payment link, repeated in full.
One next step, with a date attached.
A line for the client who has already paid, asking them to ignore the message if payment has crossed with it.
A name, an email address and a phone number. Chasing from a no-reply address is how invoices go quiet.

The four templates

The tone escalates. The facts do not change. Square brackets mark the parts you replace. Placeholders for bank details and links are deliberately left generic: use the details that are already on the invoice, and never a different account.

3 days late: the first reminder Subject: Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] is 3 days overdue Hi [CLIENT NAME], Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] for [AMOUNT] was due on [DUE DATE]. It does not appear to have been paid. If it has gone through already, please ignore this message. If not, the bank details are below and the invoice is attached. Could you confirm the payment date? Thanks, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR BUSINESS EMAIL] [PHONE] [BSB] [ACCOUNT NUMBER], reference [INVOICE NUMBER] [PAYMENT LINK]
10 days late: ask for a date Subject: Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] is 10 days overdue: [AMOUNT] outstanding Hi [CLIENT NAME], Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] for [AMOUNT] is now 10 days past its due date of [DUE DATE]. No payment has been received. Can you confirm payment by [DATE]? The bank details are [BSB] [ACCOUNT NUMBER], with the invoice number as the reference. The payment link is [PAYMENT LINK] and the invoice is attached again. If something has changed and that date does not work, tell me what date does and I will note it against the invoice. [YOUR NAME] [PHONE]
21 days late: name the consequence Subject: Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER], [AMOUNT], now 21 days overdue Hi [CLIENT NAME], Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] for [AMOUNT] was due on [DUE DATE] and is still unpaid after two reminders. If payment is not received by [DATE], I will pause [further work / further supply / the next stage of the job] until the account is up to date. That does not affect anything already supplied or invoiced. Payment details: [BSB] [ACCOUNT NUMBER], reference [INVOICE NUMBER]. The payment link is [PAYMENT LINK]. If there is a reason the invoice has not been paid, tell me today and we can deal with the reason rather than the invoice. [YOUR NAME] [PHONE]
The final notice Subject: Final notice: invoice [INVOICE NUMBER], [AMOUNT] overdue since [DUE DATE] Hi [CLIENT NAME], This is a final payment reminder. Invoice [INVOICE NUMBER] for [AMOUNT] was due on [DUE DATE] and remains unpaid after three reminders. Unless payment of [AMOUNT] is received by [DATE], I will [lodge a claim in the [STATE] small claims process / send a letter of demand / refer the account to a collection service]. Payment details: [BSB] [ACCOUNT NUMBER], reference [INVOICE NUMBER]. The payment link is [PAYMENT LINK]. If you have paid in the last two days, ignore this notice and send me the receipt. If paying in full by [DATE] is not possible, ring me on [PHONE] to agree a schedule in writing. [YOUR NAME] [YOUR BUSINESS EMAIL]

What changes at each stage

Stage	What you assume	What you ask for	Words to drop
3 days late	An oversight	Confirmation of the payment date	Nothing yet
10 days late	The invoice needs a deadline	A specific date	No rush
21 days late	The payment needs a consequence	Payment by a date, or a reason	Just checking in
Final notice	Only a formal step will move it	Payment by a firm date	Any hint the date can move

Lines to leave out of a reminder

A warm opening line that asks for nothing.
Sarcasm, capital letters, or the same message sent three times in a day.
New charges the contract does not provide for. Adding interest or a late fee the terms do not allow misstates the debt.
Details of how badly you need the money, or which other clients owe you. They give the client a reason to wait.

After the final notice

Email has done its work at this point. The next steps are a phone call, then a letter of demand, then a claim in the small claims body for your state or territory.

Keep every reminder, every reply and a dated note of every call. If the invoice is ever disputed in front of somebody else, the file decides it, and a tidy record of four reasonable messages looks very different from three months of silence followed by one angry letter. There is no reason to delete old reminders either: business records generally have to be kept for five years for tax purposes.

The four messages above are the same ones this app sends on a schedule, at 3, 10, 21 and 35 days after the due date, and the sequence stops by itself as soon as the invoice is marked paid, so a client who clears the invoice never gets the next reminder.

You can run these four templates by hand. If you would rather not remember them, the app writes the invoice, sends the reminders on that schedule, and keeps the record. The free plan is 3 invoices a month, with no card required.

Start the free plan

Questions people ask

How many days late should the first reminder be?: Three days is a good point: close enough that the client has not had time to build a story around it, far enough that a slow payment run has finished. A reminder sent on the due date itself reads as impatient. Wait until the money has clearly not arrived.
Should the reminder repeat the bank details?: Yes, every time. The client should be able to pay from the message alone. A reminder that sends somebody back to the original invoice, or to a portal they have lost the details for, adds a day to the payment.
What should the subject line say?: The invoice number and the status, in plain words: Invoice INV-1043 is 10 days overdue. The subject line is what decides whether the message is opened and actioned or filed for later. Vague subjects such as a quick question get read as a favour request rather than a bill.
Can I add a late fee or interest to the reminder?: Only if your terms provide for it and only at the rate they set. Adding a charge the contract does not allow misstates the debt, and the national guideline for collectors and creditors treats representations about the status of a debt as a compliance matter. Get advice before you add one.
How short should a payment reminder be?: Six lines is a reasonable target: the invoice number, the amount, the days overdue, one ask with a date, the payment details, and your contact. Long messages bury the ask and invite a reply that discusses everything except the payment date.
What goes in a final notice that is not in the earlier reminders?: A single firm date and one statement of what happens if it passes, plus a closing offer to discuss a schedule by phone. Nothing else should be new. The final notice is the last written step before a call, a letter of demand, or a claim.