Past due invoice email sample: 30, 60 and 90-day versions

A good past due invoice email is short, lists the invoices, states the amount, and asks for one thing. Below are three real samples, for invoices 30, 60 and 90 days past due, each firmer than the last but still plain and factual. They are the default wording Past-Due Invoice Chaser sends, so you can copy them or see them filled in with your own customers in the free check above.

What should a past due invoice email include?

Five things: the invoice numbers, each due date, how many days late, the amount owed, and how to reply. Everything else is optional. Put every late invoice for that customer in one email instead of sending one per invoice, so the customer sees the full total and can pay it in one go.

What does a 30-day past due email look like?

Assume the payment is on its way. Subject: Past due: 2 invoices from Harbor Supply.

Hello Ridgeline Plumbing,

Our records show the invoices below are more than 30 days past due. If payment is already on its way, thank you, and please disregard this note. If not, please arrange payment, or reply to let us know when to expect it.

- Invoice 4821, due Aug 29, 47 days past due: $1,240.00 - Invoice 4867, due Sep 12, 33 days past due: $860.00

Total past due: $2,100.00

Reply to this email with any question about these invoices; your reply goes to Harbor Supply.

Thank you, Harbor Supply

Names and amounts above are illustrative. The tone is a polite check, not a demand, because most invoices this late are lost in someone's inbox.

What does a 60-day past due email look like?

Subject: Second notice: invoice 4821 from Harbor Supply. The body keeps the same list and replaces the opening paragraph:

We have not yet received payment for the invoices below, which are now more than 60 days past due. Please arrange payment this week, or reply to this email if there is a problem with an invoice.

It asks for payment within a week and invites the customer to name a dispute. A dispute you hear about at day 60 is cheaper than one you hear about at day 120.

What does a 90-day past due email look like?

Subject: Final notice: invoice 4821 from Harbor Supply.

The invoices below are now more than 90 days past due. Please arrange payment now, or reply today so we can resolve this. This is our last reminder by email; after this we will call you.

State the next step you will actually take. Past-Due Invoice Chaser stops emailing after this one and lists the customer under "needs a call" in your Monday summary. It does not phone anyone or add late fees.

How do you change the wording?

After you subscribe, the default text for each of the three reminders is editable. The company name signs the email, and replies go to the address you choose, so a customer's answer lands in your inbox, not ours. Wording is limited to 1,200 characters per reminder. Every email also ends with a line saying it was sent for your company by the product, and a link to stop reminders for that customer, which is honoured at once.

How often should you send a reminder?

On the 30-60-90 ladder above, each reminder on the day the invoice reaches 30, 60 or 90 days past due, never less than two weeks after the one before, on weekdays at 8:00 your time, and never more than one email a day to the same customer. Past-Due Invoice Chaser follows this: an invoice first seen at 75 days past due starts at the second reminder, never the polite first one, and one past 90 days gets only the final one. To see how the buckets work, read the accounts receivable aging report guide. To get the data out of QuickBooks, see the QuickBooks aging report guide.

Should you send the emails yourself?

You can, and for a handful of customers that is fine. The cost shows up when you have dozens: someone must check the aging, find the email, write each message and record what happened. If that someone is a hired assistant, the comparison of accounts receivable automation options lays out the trade-offs.

What mistakes make a reminder weaker?

Four are common. Sending one email per invoice, so the customer never sees the total. Leaving out the invoice numbers, so the reader has to ask which ones. Changing tone too fast, such as threatening on day 31. And burying the reply path: if the customer cannot answer in one click, they will not. Keep the list, the total and a single instruction in every version.

These samples avoid all four: one email per customer per round, every late invoice listed with its due date and balance, wording that escalates one notch at a time, and replies that go straight to your inbox.

FAQ

How do I politely ask for payment on an overdue invoice?

Assume good faith, name the invoice and amount, and ask for a date. The 30-day sample above does this.

How many reminders should I send before calling?

Three emails at 30, 60 and 90 days past due, then a call, is the sequence used here. Adjust it to your own terms and customers.

What if the customer disputes the invoice?

Reply from your inbox and mark the invoice disputed in the log. A disputed invoice stops getting reminders.