Overdue invoices: how to chase and get paid
A plain process for overdue invoices: when to send each note, what to write, when to stop work, and how to invoice so fewer of them turn up unpaid.
Spodus team
Published 6 min read
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Overdue invoices are invoices that have passed their due date without being paid. Most are not a refusal to pay. They are an invoice sent to the wrong person, a missing purchase order number, a dispute about the amount, or a client managing their cash. Each has a different fix, and a fixed chasing schedule finds which one you have.
Why invoices go unpaid
The usual reasons, in no particular order:
- The invoice did not reach the person who pays. It went to your contact, who is not in finance.
- Something is missing. A purchase order number, the legal entity name, a tax number, or the bank details.
- The amount is disputed. The invoice does not match the quote, or it includes work the client did not think was agreed.
- Their process is slow. Some companies pay on a fixed run once a month, whatever your terms say.
- They are short of cash. This is the one people fear and it is the least common.
The first two are fixed by a phone call. The third is fixed by the statement of work. The fourth is fixed by asking about their payment run before you send the first invoice. Only the fifth needs a hard conversation.
Outstanding, overdue, unpaid: what each word means
Outstanding invoices are all the invoices you have sent and not yet been paid for. Some are not due yet.
Overdue invoices are the outstanding invoices whose due date has passed.
Unpaid invoices usually means the same as outstanding. Some people use it only for invoices with no payment at all, as opposed to part-paid ones.
An aging report groups the overdue ones by how late they are: 1 to 30 days, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, over 90. The over-90 column is the one to read first, every month.
A chasing schedule that works
The schedule matters more than the wording. The same steps for every client, every time, so nobody on your side has to decide whether to chase and nobody on their side is surprised.
- Three days before the due date: a short note that the invoice is due on Friday. Friendly, no pressure. It reaches the payer before the date passes, which is when many late payments are decided.
- Day 1 after the due date: a polite note asking whether they have everything they need to pay it.
- Day 7: a second note, still polite, asking for a payment date.
- Day 14: a phone call. Not an email. Ask who is paying it and when. Many overdue invoices are resolved on this call.
- Day 30: a final notice in writing. State the amount, the late fee if your agreement has one, and that work pauses until it is paid.
- Day 45 and beyond: pause work, and decide between a payment plan, a collections agency, or a small claims process, depending on the amount and the country.
Send every note to the person who pays as well as your contact. Attach the invoice each time.
What to write
Keep every message short. Copy these and change the details.
Day 1. "Hello [name], invoice [number] for [amount] was due yesterday. Could you confirm it is in your payment run, or let me know if anything is missing? The invoice is attached. Thanks, [you]."
Day 7. "Hello [name], a quick follow-up on invoice [number], now a week overdue. Could you give me a date for payment? If it needs a purchase order number or different details, tell me and I will reissue it today."
Day 30. "Hello [name], invoice [number] for [amount] is now thirty days overdue. Under our agreement a late fee of [amount] applies from [date]. Please arrange payment within seven days. Work on [project] is paused until the invoice is settled. I would rather sort this out on a call; I am free [times]."
No apologies, no long explanations. Direct is not rude.
When to stop work and when to charge a late fee
Stop work at a fixed point, and say what that point is in the agreement. Thirty days overdue is common. Earlier feels aggressive; later means you are lending the client money at no interest while adding to what they owe.
Late fees work best as a right you hold rather than a charge you always apply. Put the fee in the agreement and on the invoice. Apply it when a client is habitually late, waive it when a good client had a one-off problem. Check your country's rules; many set a statutory interest rate for late commercial payments and some limit what you may add.
Deposits prevent the whole problem for new clients. A deposit before work starts, and a final invoice at delivery, means the largest exposure you carry is one instalment.
Invoice pricing and terms that get paid faster
A lot of late payment is decided before the invoice is sent.
- Match the quote. The invoice pricing must be the pricing the client approved, line by line. A different number is the fastest way to a dispute. If a change order was approved, show it as its own line and reference the change order.
- Put the due date on it. Not "net 30"; a date. "Due 30 September."
- Put everything the payer needs on it. Your legal entity, tax number, bank details, their purchase order number, and the email to send remittance to.
- Ask about the payment run. If the client pays on the 25th, invoice on the 10th.
- Invoice on time. A late invoice teaches the client that dates are loose.
- Shorter terms for smaller clients. Fourteen days is normal for small businesses. Thirty is normal for larger ones and hard to change.
From carbon copy invoices to a list you can filter
How you produce invoices decides how easily you can see what is overdue. Carbon copy invoices from a duplicate book give you a paper record and nothing else; you find out what is unpaid by going through the book. A spreadsheet is better, until two people edit it. An invoicing tool gives you the list: every invoice with its status, the aging report, and a statement per customer showing what they owe.
Custom invoices matter too. The invoice should carry your terms, your late fee line and your bank details every time, without anyone retyping them. A template with those fields fixed removes the missing-details reason for late payment.
Spodus creates and sends invoices, shows receivables aging and a per-customer statement, and raises recurring invoices on a schedule. Spodus AI drafts the chasing note for each overdue invoice, and it asks before it changes anything; the schedule above is still the habit, and the aging report tells you who to run it on.
The weekly routine
Once a week, open the aging report and read the oldest column first. For each invoice, note which of the five reasons applies and which step of the schedule it is on, then run that step. Ten minutes a week keeps many agencies to a handful of overdue invoices at any time.
Questions, answered
- How long should I wait before chasing an overdue invoice?
- Do not wait. Send a polite note the day after the due date. Most late payments are not a decision; the invoice went to the wrong inbox, the approver was away, or it sat in a queue. A same-week note fixes those. Then follow a fixed schedule: a second note at seven days, a call at fourteen, a final notice at thirty. A schedule removes the awkwardness because it is the same for every client.
- Can I charge a late fee on an overdue invoice?
- Usually yes, if the fee was in the agreement the client signed and it is within the limits of your country's law. Many countries set a statutory interest rate for late commercial payments; some cap what you can add. State the fee on the invoice itself as well as in the contract. Then decide case by case whether to apply it. The right to charge it is often more useful than the money.
- What is the difference between outstanding and overdue invoices?
- An outstanding invoice is any invoice you have sent and not yet been paid for, whether or not the due date has passed. An overdue invoice is an outstanding invoice that is past its due date. Unpaid usually means the same as outstanding, though some people use it for invoices with no payment at all, as opposed to part-paid ones. Your aging report shows all three by how many days late.
