Guide

Payment reminder email template

A payment reminder is a short email with the facts and one request. You do not need a new writing style for it. You need the invoice number, the amount, the due date, and a sentence that tells them what to do next.

Use the first template a few days after the due date. Use the second only after that note has had time to be read. Swap the name, the number, the amount, and the date before you send either one. If you would rather not assemble it by hand, the free payment reminder fills those details in. Nothing on that page sends mail.

What the email has to include

Four facts belong in the first two sentences: who the bill is for, which invoice it is, how much it is, and when it was due. Add the project name if the number alone will not ring a bell. Attach the PDF or paste the payment link in the body. A reminder that says “as discussed” and skips the link makes them go looking, and a lot of people never do.

The ask is one sentence. Pay by a day you name, or reply with the day they can pay. That second option matters. Someone who cannot pay today can still answer, and an answer tells you the invoice is in the right queue. Skip the paragraph about how long the project took. They already have the work. This note is about the bill.

Subject lines that can be searched

Put the invoice number in the subject. “Invoice 1042” is easier to find later than “Just checking in” or “Quick question”. If there is no number, use the amount and the project: “Website invoice, $850”. Keep it under a short line so the phone inbox does not cut off the number.

Match the subject to the moment. The first note can say the invoice is still open. The next one can say it is overdue. A last note, after at least one earlier reminder, can say final notice. Do not use “final” on the first email.

What to leave out

Do not open with an apology for writing. You are asking for money you are owed, on a date you already agreed. “Sorry to bother you” makes the due date sound optional. You can still be warm. Warm is “Hi Sam” and a clear request, not a hedge.

Leave out a lawyer, a court, a collections agency, and any fee you did not already agree in writing. A firmer second note only repeats the facts and names a day. The steps around that note are in how to follow up on an unpaid invoice.

Also cut “per my last email”, a recap of the whole project, and more than one question. If they already replied with a problem, do not send a template over the top of it. Answer the problem. A template is for silence or for a date that passed, not for a conversation that is already going.

How to personalize it in a minute

Change four spots and the template sounds like you: their name, the invoice number, the amount, and the due date. Add one clause only if it is true, such as “I can resend the PDF for your accounts team” or “the purchase order you mentioned is now on the invoice”. One true detail is enough. A rewritten essay is how reminders stay in drafts.

If you are writing the second note, mention the day you sent the first one. “I wrote on Tuesday” is specific. “I have followed up several times” is vague, and it is often untrue. Keep your own one-line log so that sentence stays accurate. When the second note is about tone rather than structure, read how to politely chase a late payment before you harden the wording.

When a template is the wrong tool

Do not send a reminder the same day you sent the invoice, unless the due date really is today and they asked for a same-day nudge. Give the first email time to be approved inside their company. A duplicate on day one looks like you lost track.

If they go quiet for weeks, switch to a shorter check-in aimed at silence, like the notes in how to follow up with a client who ghosted you. If you have already sent two clear reminders and you will pause the work, use a final notice template instead of a third friendly version of this one.

Emails you can copy

Change the name, the invoice number, the amount, and the dates before you send anything. Select the subject and the note, then paste them into your mail.

Friendly payment reminder

Subject: Quick check on invoice 1042

Hi Sam,

A quick check on invoice 1042 for $850, for the website homepage. It was due on Tuesday, 3 March. I’ve attached the PDF, and the payment link is below.

Could you pay it this week, or tell me the date you can? If it is already sent, ignore this and I’ll match it up.

Thanks,
Alex

Firmer reminder after the first note

Subject: Invoice 1042 is overdue

Hi Sam,

Invoice 1042 for $850 was due on 3 March and is still unpaid. I sent a note on 6 March.

Please pay by Friday, or reply today with the date you will send it. The PDF is attached again in case it is stuck with your accounts team.

Thanks,
Alex

Write it from the invoice

The free payment reminder builds a subject and body from the client, the amount, and the due date. Nothing is emailed from that page. Copy the note, or change the words first.

Questions

What should a payment reminder subject line say?

Include the invoice number, or the project and the amount if you have no number. “Invoice 1042 is still open” is easier to find later than “Just checking in”. Save “final notice” for a later email.

Should I apologize for sending a payment reminder?

No. A short hello and a clear request is enough. Apologizing for asking makes the due date sound optional. Stay polite by being specific, not by hedging.

Will this page email my client?

No. Copy the subject and the body into your own mail. The free payment reminder on this site also only writes a draft. You choose when anything is sent.