Best payment reminder templates for email and sms

Having to chase down outstanding invoices constantly and late payments can be an exhausting activity for service providers and companies of all sizes. However, when researchers looked into why businesses fail, they found that 82% of organizations in the study blamed a lack of cash flow on their undoing.

Securing timely payments from customers is a skill. So we’re here to help — with the best payment reminder templates for email and SMS, so you can follow up with clients without stressing about how to ask for a payment professionally. 

What do you do when a customer doesn’t pay on time?

Late payments are a reality for small business owners, even if you’re upfront about your payment terms. Here are some steps you can take the next time you deal with overdue payments to protect your bottom line.

• Pause current and future work with clients who have missed a payment due date until they pay the total amount owed plus any applicable late fees or interest charges.
• Email or send SMS follow-ups to your customers regarding their outstanding invoices using the payment reminder email templates below.
• Try making a phone call or sending a payment reminder letter if other forms of outreach don’t work.
• Reach out to a lawyer who can walk you through other options if the client still hasn’t taken care of their overdue payments.
• Contact a debt collection agency to see if they can help you recoup a portion of the original invoice amount.

How to follow up on late payments

Here are some payment reminder emails you can customize to proactively send to customers ahead of upcoming deadlines to ensure timely payments and follow up with clients who may have missed an invoice due date.

Payment reminder email templates and payment reminder letter templates

The following templates can be used for payment reminder emails or payment reminder letters.

#1: Due next week payment reminder

Send this via email or a letter in the mail one week before the payment due date.

Subject line options:

• Invoice number [xxx] is due next week

• Upcoming invoice reminder

• Payment due date coming up

Dear [client name],

This is a friendly reminder that your invoice payment is due next week. 

Invoice number: [xxx]

Amount due: [Balance]

Please pay by: [Due date]

Make online payment: [Link]

Payment methods accepted: [List payment options, such as credit card or via online payment apps]

Have any questions? Give us a phone call at [phone number] or reach out to us at [contact information]. 

Thanks for choosing [company name]!

#2: Payment due today reminder

After the first email above, here’s a great template you can use to send follow-up emails on the due date.

Subject line options:

• Invoice number [xxx] is due today

• Invoice payment due today
• Friendly reminder – [$x.xx] amount due today

Dear [client name],

As a reminder, your invoice number [invoice number] is due today.

Amount due: [Balance]

Make online payment: [Link]

Payment methods accepted: [List payment options, such as credit card or via online payment apps]

Have any questions? Give us a phone call at [phone number] or reach out to us at [contact information]. 

Thanks for choosing [company name]!

#3: Overdue invoice

If the client is a week or more overdue, you can send follow-up emails like the one below.

Subject line options:

• Outstanding payment reminder

• Late payment reminder

• Overdue invoice

• Past due invoice 

Dear [client name],

As a local company, we rely on timely payments to stay in business. That’s why we’re following up on an outstanding payment.

Original amount due: [$x.xx]

Late fees/interest charges: [$x.xx]

Total amount due: [$x.xx]

Please pay by: [Due date]

Make online payment: [Link]

Payment methods accepted: [List payment options, such as credit card or via online payment apps]

Have any questions? Give us a phone call at [phone number] or reach out to us at [contact information]. 

Thanks for choosing [company name]!

Payment reminder SMS templates

Suppose you regularly use text campaigns to communicate with your customers. In that case, you can automate activities like sending mobile invoices. Payment reminders can also be automated to go to customers one week before their payment due dates, the day their payments are due and when they have overdue invoices.

As with all types of SMS campaigns, we suggest sending payment reminders that are 160 characters or less. If not, your texts may be broken into multiple messages.

#1: Due next week payment reminder

Send this SMS invoice notification one week ahead of the payment due date to get more timely payments from your clients.

Dear [client name],

Your payment is due next week.

Amount due: [Balance]

Pay by: [Due date]

[Link]

#2: Due today payment reminder 

Set up a marketing automation campaign to send invoice reminders like this one below to any clients who haven’t paid up by their invoice due date. 

Hi [client name],

Invoice number [xxx] is due today [link]

Total amount due: [Amount]

Thanks, [company name]

[phone number] [contact information]

#3: Overdue invoice follow up 

Use this SMS template to send any time after a customer has missed a payment deadline, whether by one day, one week or one month. 

Dear [client name],

This is a friendly reminder your payment is past due.

Late fees/interest charges: [$x.xx]

Original amount due: [$x.xx]

Total amount due: [$x.xx]

Original payment due date: [Date]

Make an online payment: [Link]

Thank you, [company name]

When you should follow up on late payments

Overdue invoices deserve immediate attention, especially when cash flow is at stake.

Small business owners should follow up with late payment reminder emails the very next day after the original invoice due date.

And then again at the following intervals, if necessary:

• When the invoice is one week overdue
• One month, two months, and 90 days after the original due dates of the unpaid invoices

If a client is more than 90 days behind in making a payment, consider reaching out to a debt collection agency to see if they can recover any of the original invoice amounts.

How to prevent late payments

It’s not just you — overdue invoices are stressful for all business owners. Fortunately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has these recommended steps you can take to ensure on-time online payments.

• Evaluate prospective clients before doing business with them to ensure they’re reputable. 
• Discuss your company’s payment terms before beginning work, including:
  • Your pricing for goods and services
  • Payment methods and payment options your company accepts, such as cash, credit card, Paypal, Venmo 
  • Your policy for handling overdue invoices, such as any late fees or interest charges
• Send new invoices right away.
• Accept online payments to make the transaction process smoother for clients via apps like PayPal and Venmo.
• Send email invoice reminders and follow-up notifications, such as the ones provided in our templates above.

Best collection payment tools 

The best collection payment tools, such as Broadly’s Payments, take the work out of collecting online payments.

Top invoicing platforms offer features for:

• Sending automated payment reminders via email and SMS
• Creating, saving and using payment reminder templates
• Customizing payment reminders to include essential details such as:
  • Client name
  • Company name
  • Invoice number
  • Due date
  • Company phone number and contact information
• Accepting a range of payment methods
• Tracking cash flow

How Broadly can make receiving online payments easier

Broadly offers convenient invoicing software for small business owners. Our platform, Payments, makes it simple to create and send online payment requests via the Broadly invoicing app. When you team up with Broadly, you get:

• Professional invoice templates for email outreach and SMS campaigns
• Flexible payment methods and payment options, including the ability to accept invoice payments via credit card and debit card
• Automated customer review requests that can be sent via email and SMS in real-time after invoice payments are received to generate more reviews for your local business
• Integrations with accounting software, such as Quickbooks Online