Firm reminders, fewer awkward conversations about money
Chasing an unpaid invoice doesn't need an apologetic email or an angry one. Use precise wording and private conversations to get a useful answer while keeping the customer relationship intact.
Delete ‘Sorry to chase again’ from your next payment reminder email, then check whether the rest of the message gives the recipient something useful to do. You can be courteous without treating an agreed payment as a favour, and firm without making the person reading your email feel accused.
The Insolvency Service reports that monthly company insolvency numbers in England and Wales during the first nine months of 2026 were below the average of the preceding three years. That doesn't tell you whether your customer is short of money or simply waiting for someone to approve your invoice, which is why a neutral opening beats an accusation.
Before writing, check the bank and any customer messages so you don't chase money already received or contradict a conversation your colleague has just had. Then send one clear request to the person who can progress it, rather than copying every contact you've accumulated on the account.
For a fictional £2,400 invoice that was due last Friday, use a subject line such as ‘Invoice 418: payment date requested’, then keep the message focused:
"Hi Priya, invoice 418 for £2,400 was due last Friday, and I've attached a copy with the agreed purchase order reference so you don't need to search your inbox for the details. Could you confirm the scheduled payment date, or let me know if there's anything holding it up that I can help resolve? Please reply within two working days so I can update our records and avoid unnecessary follow-ups."
The deadline here is for a reply, not an attempt to rewrite the agreed payment terms or demand an immediate transfer without discussion. You've stated what's owed and asked for a specific next step, while leaving room for the customer to raise a problem without losing face.
Address the reminder to whoever handles supplier payments, using your usual contact to introduce you if necessary, rather than assuming the person who commissioned the work can release the money. If a customer requires a supplier portal, ask where to check the invoice's approval status and whether an email reply reaches the right team. The approver and the payer may be different people.
Choose a follow-up time and stick to it, instead of sending increasingly irritated messages whenever the unpaid balance catches your eye during the working day. For an ordinary commercial account with no warning signs, allowing two working days for a response is a reasonable starting point, although a known payment deadline may justify a call sooner. Daily chasing rarely adds useful information.
When email starts getting in the way
After an unanswered reminder, change the channel rather than adding capital letters or copying in the customer's director, because neither helps you find the person who can authorise payment. A short phone call can establish whether your email reached the right inbox; open with the invoice reference and ask whether it's approved for payment.
If you're told it's ‘being processed’, ask: ‘Does that mean it's approved and scheduled, or is someone still checking it?’ That distinction gives you a useful next question: ‘What date is the payment scheduled for?’ or ‘Who needs to approve it, and is anything missing from us?’
If the customer sounds embarrassed, give them time to answer rather than filling the silence with an offer to knock money off the bill. A pause on the phone can feel awkward, but a discount offered before you've understood the issue may cost you money without solving the approval problem.
Where a customer raises a complaint, acknowledge the specific issue without agreeing that the whole balance is wrong: ‘I understand you're querying the extra delivery charge; I'll ask our operations manager to review that today.’ For example, if £200 of the hypothetical £2,400 is disputed, request the remaining £2,200 is paid while you investigate.
Keep the discussion between the people who can help, rather than copying senior managers into a long thread that makes the recipient defend their reputation internally. If you need their manager's involvement, explain the reason privately: ‘I need help getting invoice 418 reviewed; would you introduce me to whoever can approve it?’
Your own team needs the same discipline, especially if the customer speaks to you about orders and to a colleague about outstanding invoices. Choose one person to lead the chasing, record the latest conversation where colleagues can see it, and pause automatic reminders while an agreed query is being checked, with a dated task to review progress.
Better wording has limits when a customer genuinely can't pay, so don't keep polishing reminders once they've told you there's a financial problem. Move to a separate conversation about what they can realistically pay and when, confirming any arrangement in writing rather than leaving your accounts team to interpret a sympathetic phone call.
When payment arrives, check which invoice it covers before closing the reminder thread, especially if the customer has several balances or has paid only part. Then acknowledge the amount received and stop the relevant reminders that day; few things make a polite collection conversation feel more pointless than another demand for money you've already received.