Late payment reminder emails: five templates by how late the invoice is
By Tudor Bungardean. Published 12 October 2026. Every outside fact read on 12 October 2026.
A late payment reminder email names the invoice, the amount and the date, says how to pay, attaches the invoice again, and asks for a date, in a tone that stays polite for the first two weeks and firm after that. The five templates below cover the whole ladder: three days before the due date, the due date, one week late, two weeks late and thirty days late. Each one is short enough to send as it stands, with the square brackets filled in.
The rules that make a reminder work
- Name the invoice number, the amount, the date it was due and how many days it is late. A reminder the reader has to look up is a reminder that waits.
- Attach the invoice again every time. The most common reason an invoice is unpaid is that it was never seen.
- Say how to pay, in one line, with the account or the link. Remove every step between reading and paying.
- Ask for a date, not for payment. “Can you confirm when this will be paid?” gets an answer; “please pay” gets silence.
- Keep the first two reminders warm and the next two plain. GoCardless’s guide, last edited in July 2026, draws the line at fourteen days: polite before it, firm after it, and a final notice at thirty days that states what happens next.
- Send them on a schedule you decided before the invoice was late, so no reminder is a mood.
Template 1: three days before the due date
Subject: Invoice [number] is due on [date]. Hi [name], a quick note that invoice [number] for [amount] is due on [date]. I have attached it again in case it is easier to find here. Payment details are at the bottom of the invoice, or you can pay at [link]. If anything on it needs changing before then, tell me and I will sort it. Thanks, [your name].
Template 2: on the due date
Subject: Invoice [number] due today. Hi [name], invoice [number] for [amount] is due today. If it is already on its way, thank you and please ignore this. If not, the payment details are on the attached invoice and at [link]. Could you let me know when to expect it? Best, [your name].
Template 3: one week late
Subject: Invoice [number], seven days overdue. Hi [name], our records show invoice [number] for [amount], due on [date], is still open a week later. I have attached a copy. Could you confirm when it will be paid, or tell me if something is holding it up on your side? If you need a different payment method, say so and I will arrange it. Thanks, [your name].
Template 4: two weeks late
Subject: Invoice [number], now 14 days overdue. Hi [name], invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date] and is now fourteen days overdue. I have attached it again. Please arrange payment by [date, five working days out], or reply with a date I can rely on. Our terms allow a late fee of [amount or rate] from [date], which I would rather not apply. Regards, [your name].
Template 5: thirty days late, the final notice
Subject: Final notice: invoice [number], 30 days overdue. Dear [name], despite reminders on [dates], invoice [number] for [amount], due on [date], remains unpaid thirty days later. This is a final notice. If payment is not received by [date, seven days out], we will [the step you will actually take: pause the account, pass the debt to a collection agency, or begin a court claim], and late fees of [amount] will apply from [date]. If there is a dispute about the invoice, tell me today and we will resolve it. The invoice is attached. [Your name, company, phone].
The ladder, in one table
| When | Tone | The one new thing it says |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days before | Warm | The invoice is coming due; here it is again |
| Due date | Warm | Due today; ignore if paid |
| 7 days late | Polite | Still open; is anything holding it up? |
| 14 days late | Firm | A date to pay by, and the late fee the terms allow |
| 30 days late | Final | The step you will take, on a date, and the door left open for a dispute |
How Castan writes them, and waits for you
Castan is an AI that builds and runs a company with its owner, who owns everything it makes, and chasing invoices is one of the things it does on its own schedule. It reads the invoices from the connected books, notices the one coming due and the one gone late, and drafts the reminder from the invoice itself and from the last thing that customer said, on a call or in a thread, so the mail mentions the project by name and the delay they told you about. Nothing goes out until you approve it: the draft waits in Agents with the context beside it, you edit a line or send it as it is, and the chaser leaves under your name. The ladder above is the one it follows, and the thirty-day step is always yours to take.
Questions people ask
How do I ask for payment politely?
Name the invoice, the amount and the due date, attach the invoice, say how to pay in one line, and ask for a date rather than for payment. Keep the tone warm for the first two weeks; firmness belongs to the fourteen-day and thirty-day reminders.
When should I send payment reminders?
Three days before the due date, on the due date, seven days late, fourteen days late and thirty days late. Decide the schedule before an invoice is late, so every reminder is routine rather than a reaction.
What should a late payment email include?
The invoice number, the amount, the due date, the days overdue, a copy of the invoice, the payment method or link, a request for a payment date, and, from fourteen days, the late fee the terms allow and the step that follows.
Can an AI chase my invoices for me?
Castan drafts each reminder from the invoice and the last thing the customer said, follows the ladder above, and sends only what you approve. The thirty-day step, a pause, a collection agency or a claim, stays a decision you make.
Sources
- GoCardless: how to write a late payment email, last edited July 2026, polite under fourteen days, firm after, a final notice at thirty days
- Castan: how agents propose and act with approval
Prices and terms at other companies change over time. Every figure on this page carries the day it was read, and the page it was read on is linked above. If one has moved since, write to hello@castan.ai and the page is corrected.