Payment reminder email templates: the first reminder, the personal follow-up and the final notice, with subject lines
Short answer
Send three different messages, not the same one three times: a short automatic reminder the day after the due date, a personal note about a week later that asks whether anything is wrong, and a final notice two to three weeks after the due date that names a date and the next step under your terms. Every version keeps the invoice number, the exact amount, a way out for a client who has already paid, and an invitation to reply. Only the first one should be automatic.
Copy-ready overdue invoice emails: a friendly first reminder, a personal follow-up, a final notice, plus replies for partial payments and disputes.
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Most overdue invoices are not refused. They are forgotten, stuck with the wrong person, or waiting on a question nobody asked. The wording of a reminder decides which of those you find out about. A friendly, exact first email gets the forgotten ones paid; a personal second message surfaces the stuck ones; and a clear final notice tells the rare client who is simply not paying what happens next.
This page is the copy: five emails you can paste and edit, with subject lines, the day each one goes out, and what to leave out. The schedule behind it, the Make scenario that sends the first reminder by itself, and the late-payment rules are in the main guide on automatic invoice reminders; this page does not repeat the setup.
Send the first reminder automaticallyThe main guide: a daily Make check on your Google Sheet, the schedule, the costs and when to stop
The sequence at a glance
This is the order we use and suggest. It is practice, not research: we found no controlled study comparing reminder wording or timing for small-business invoices, so this page does not claim a number for how many clients each email moves to pay.
| When | Sent by | Subject line | Its one job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Courtesy note (optional) | 3 days before the due date | Your invoicing tool, or a copy of the Make scenario | Invoice [number] is due on [date] | Catch invoices that never reached whoever pays them |
| 1. First reminder | 1 day after the due date | The Make scenario | Reminder: invoice [number] — [amount] | Remind; give a paid client a way out |
| 2. Personal follow-up | 7 days after | You | Invoice [number]: is anything holding it up? | Find a problem an automatic email cannot hear |
| 3. Final notice | 14–21 days after | You | Final notice: invoice [number], [amount], due [date] | Name a date and the next step under your terms |
| Thank-you | When the payment arrives | The payment scenario | Thank you — invoice [number] is paid | Close the loop, so nobody is chased after paying |
Email 1: the first reminder (automatic)
This is the text the invoice-reminder blueprint sends, word for word. It is short on purpose: the client should be able to read it on a phone, see which invoice and how much, and either pay or reply in under a minute.
- Subject: Reminder: invoice [number] — [amount]
- Body: Hi, a friendly reminder that invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date] and is still open on our side. If you have already paid, thank you, and please ignore this message. If anything is unclear, just reply to this email. Thank you, [your name]
Invoice past due → an automatic, polite reminder
Once a day it finds open invoices past their date and sends a reminder. The client no longer has to remember to chase.
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Why each line is there
- "Still open on our side" puts the gap in your records, not in the client's honesty. Payments cross in the post, and a bank transfer can take a day or two to show.
- "If you have already paid, thank you" is the escape hatch for the day between payment and your sheet being updated. Without it, a client who paid yesterday reads the email as an accusation.
- "Just reply to this email" invites the real reason: the invoice went to the wrong person, a purchase order number is missing, the amount is disputed. You want to hear that on day one, not day thirty.
- No interest, no fees, no "as per our terms". A first reminder that threatens reads as if you expect not to be paid. Keep the firm language for the final notice.
Email 0: the courtesy note before the due date (optional)
Useful when invoices go to a company's accounts department, where the person who approved the work is not the person who pays. It is the one reminder almost nobody minds, because nothing is late yet.
- Subject: Invoice [number] is due on [date]
- Body: Hi [first name], a quick note that invoice [number] for [amount] is due on [date]. It is attached again here in case it did not reach the right person. You can pay by [bank transfer / card link]. If it should go to someone else, just tell me who and I will send it on. Thank you, [your name]
If your invoices live in QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks or Stripe, their built-in reminders can send this before the due date; the main guide compares their limits. With a Google Sheet, copy the Make scenario and change the date filter to "due date is three days from today".
Email 2: the personal follow-up (about 7 days after)
Write this one yourself, from your own address, and change it every time. Its job is not to remind: the client has had a reminder. Its job is to find out whether something is wrong. A person who reads a personal question tends to answer it; a second automatic email tends to be filed with the first.
- Subject: Invoice [number]: is anything holding it up?
- Body: Hi [first name], I sent a reminder last week about invoice [number] for [amount], due on [date], and I have not seen a payment yet. Is there anything wrong with the invoice, or anything you need from me, such as a purchase order number, a different billing address or a copy in another format? If it is just in the queue, a rough date is all I need. Thanks, [your name]
If you prefer the phone, call instead and send a two-line email afterwards that repeats what was agreed: "Thanks for the call. As agreed, invoice [number] for [amount] will be paid by [date]." The written line is what you point to if the date passes.
Email 3: the final notice (14–21 days after)
Firm, specific, and still written as if you expect to keep the client. It says three things: what is owed, the date by which you expect it, and what you will do next if it does not arrive. Only name a consequence you will actually carry out, and only one your contract or the law allows.
- Subject: Final notice: invoice [number], [amount], due [date]
- Body: Hi [first name], invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date] and is now [N] days overdue. I have sent a reminder on [date] and followed up on [date]. Please arrange payment by [new date]. If it has not arrived by then, [pause further work until the account is settled / add the late payment charge set out in our terms / pass the debt to a collection service]. If there is a problem with the invoice, reply today and we will sort it out. Regards, [your name]
What you can add to a final notice depends on your country and your contract; this is not legal advice. In the UK, business-to-business debts can carry statutory interest and a fixed recovery charge per invoice; the main guide lists the GOV.UK figures with the date we checked them. Elsewhere, what you can charge is usually what your own terms say, so put late-payment terms on the invoice before you need them.
Late payment rules and the full reminder scheduleThe main guide: UK statutory interest and fixed sums, and when a person should take over
The thank-you when the payment arrives
The message clients remember is often this one, because almost nobody sends it. It also closes the loop on your side: the same scenario that sends it marks the invoice paid in the sheet, so the reminder above never goes to someone who has paid.
- Subject: Thank you — invoice [number] is paid
- Body: Hi [first name], we have received [amount] for invoice [number]. Thank you. Nothing else is needed from you. [your name]
Payment received → invoice marked "paid" → a thank-you to the client
A paid invoice keeps getting reminders. The payment webhook marks the invoice "paid" with the date in the sheet, and the client gets a short confirmation.
Two replies you will need sooner or later
When a client pays part of the invoice
- Subject: Invoice [number]: [amount received] received, [balance] still open
- Body: Hi [first name], thank you for the payment of [amount received] towards invoice [number]. That leaves [balance] open. If the difference is deliberate, for example a deduction or a query about one line, tell me which line and we will look at it; otherwise please pay the balance by [date]. [your name]
When a client disputes the invoice
Stop the automatic reminders for that invoice first: set its status to something other than "open" (the reminder scenario only picks up rows whose status is exactly "open"). Then reply.
- Subject: Re: invoice [number]
- Body: Hi [first name], thanks for telling me. I have paused reminders on invoice [number] while we look at this. Can you tell me which items you disagree with and why? If part of the invoice is not in question, could you pay that part now, and we will settle the rest once we have agreed it. [your name]
Wording rules that apply to every email
- Put the invoice number and the amount in the subject line. A client searching their inbox for "invoice 1042" should find every message.
- Use the exact amount, with the currency, copied from the invoice. A reminder with the wrong amount costs more trust than the late payment.
- Attach or link the invoice every time. "Can you resend it?" is the most common reply to a reminder.
- Say how to pay in one line: the bank details or the card link.
- Keep the tone the same from the first email to the last; only the content gets firmer. Anger in writing is permanent.
- Send from an address a person reads. Reminders from a no-reply address throw away the replies that tell you why an invoice is late.
What it costs to automate the first email
The reminder scenario runs once a day: about 30 credits a month for the daily search, plus 2 for each reminder it sends. Make's Free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and two active scenarios (checked 2026-09-29), so the reminder and the payment scenario together fit on Free at small-business volume. The second and third emails stay manual, so they cost nothing to run.
Make credits explainedWhat one operation costs, and why a search multiplies the modules after it
The reminder and the payment scenario run on Make; the free plan is enough to import them and test on a copy of your sheet: Sign up (one month of Core free) → paid link · we earn a commissionPaid link. If you sign up through it we earn a commission from Make; your price is the same, and the link gives you one month of Core free.
What does not work
- Sending the same automatic email three times. Clients learn to ignore it after the first, and the third one reads as a machine that does not know who they are. Automate the first; write the others.
- Threatening in the first reminder. Interest, fees and collection belong in the final notice, and only if your terms or the law allow them.
- Reminding without a payment check. If payments are not marked in the sheet the same day, clients who paid get chased. Connect the payment scenario or update the status by hand every day before you switch the reminder on.
- Emailing a dispute. An invoice that is late because the client disagrees with it needs a conversation. Pause the reminders on that row and pick up the phone.
- Treating a template as legal wording. The final notice above is a starting point; check late-payment charges against your contract and your country's rules before you name them.
What should I write in a first payment reminder?
The invoice number, the exact amount, the due date, a line for clients who have already paid ("if you have already paid, thank you") and an invitation to reply if anything is unclear. Leave out interest and fees; they belong in a final notice, if at all.
How many reminders should I send before calling?
One automatic reminder the day after the due date, then a personal message about a week later. If that gets no answer, call before the final notice. A person hears a dispute or a missing purchase order that no email template will.
Should the subject line say "overdue"?
Not in the first reminder. "Reminder: invoice 1042 — USD 3,400" is clear and not accusatory; payments often cross with reminders. Use "final notice" only in the last email, when it is true.
Can I automate the second and third reminders too?
Technically yes: copy the Make scenario and change its filter to invoices reminded more than seven days ago. We suggest a person writes them, because by then the reason for the delay matters more than the reminder, and only a reply or a call finds it.
What do I do when the client pays only part of the invoice?
Thank them for the amount received, state the balance and ask whether the difference is deliberate. Keep the invoice open in your sheet until the balance is paid, and check that your payment scenario compares the amount received with the amount due before marking anything paid.
- BuilderStack — invoice-reminder blueprint (the first-reminder wording above is its email text)
- GOV.UK — Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery
- QuickBooks Online Help — Send invoice reminders automatically or manually
- Stripe Docs — Send customer emails (automatic reminders for unpaid invoices)
- Make — Pricing (Free: 1,000 credits, 2 active scenarios; checked 2026-09-29)
Related guides
Next step
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EMAIL → TASKLabelled email → task in the log → reminder
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AUTO WELCOMENew client → welcome email → onboarding checklist → alert
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QUOTE FOLLOW-UPQuote unanswered for 3 days → one follow-up, automatic
Every quote sent and unanswered within three days gets one short follow-up email, and the consultant gets an alert. Nothing to remember, nobody to chase.
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