Overdue Invoice Chase Email

Get a firm, unembarrassed escalation ladder for an unpaid invoice: friendly nudge, formal notice, and the final letter before you stop work.

The Prompt — replace [BRACKETS] with your details

Act as a small-business advisor. Write an escalation ladder for an overdue invoice.

The situation:
- Client: [NAME AND HOW LONG WE HAVE WORKED TOGETHER]
- Invoice: [NUMBER, AMOUNT, ISSUE DATE, DUE DATE, DAYS OVERDUE]
- Payment terms agreed: [TERMS, INCLUDING ANY LATE FEE IN THE CONTRACT]
- Contact history: [WHAT I HAVE ALREADY SENT AND ANY REPLY]
- Work status: [ONGOING / COMPLETE / MORE WORK SCHEDULED]
- The relationship: [DO I WANT TO KEEP THIS CLIENT — be honest]

Write four messages:
1. Day 1-7 overdue: a light, no-blame nudge that assumes an admin slip, restating the invoice details and payment link
2. Day 14: a clearer message that names the terms, asks for a specific payment date, and asks who in accounts payable I should contact
3. Day 30: a formal notice referencing the contract, any late fee, and the pause in work — polite, unambiguous, no threats
4. Day 45: the final message before I hand it to a collections service or take other action, written so it could be read by a third party without embarrassing me

For each: the subject line, the body, and who to copy. Keep every message under 130 words, never apologetic about asking to be paid, never sarcastic.

Then list what to fix in my contract and invoicing so this is less likely next time. Note where I should take actual legal advice.

How to use this prompt

Send them on schedule rather than when frustration peaks — the ladder works because it is predictable.
Get the accounts payable contact early; in larger companies your client often is not the person who pays.
Before the day-45 message, check what your contract and local law actually allow you to charge or claim.

Why this prompt works

Late-payment emails go wrong at the tone extremes: too apologetic to be acted on, or angry enough to burn the relationship. A pre-written ladder fixes the tone at each stage in advance, when you are calm, so escalation is a schedule rather than a mood.

Variations to try

Ask for a version addressed to an accounts payable department rather than your day-to-day contact.
Add "the client has disputed part of the work" for a different, more careful sequence.
Ask for the payment terms clause you should add to future contracts.

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting three months out of awkwardness, by which point recovery is much harder.
Threatening consequences your contract does not support.
Continuing to deliver work through the entire ladder, which removes any reason to pay.

Works well with

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

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