The three reminders #
Each one copies as plain text, ready to paste into an email. They are a starting point: change the tone to suit the customer, and keep the facts exact.
Click anything in brackets to type over it, then copy, print or download the result. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Subject: Invoice [INV-0001] for [£0.00], due [due date]
Hi [first name],
A quick note about invoice [INV-0001] for [£0.00], for [a short description of the work]. It was due on [due date] and I cannot see a payment for it yet.
If it is already on its way, thank you, and please ignore this. If not, the details are below and a copy of the invoice is attached.
Account name: [account name]
Sort code: [00-00-00]
Account number: [00000000]
Reference: [INV-0001]
If anything on the invoice needs looking at, just reply and I will sort it out.
Thanks,
[Your name]
[Business name]
[Phone number]
Click anything in brackets to type over it, then copy, print or download the result. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Subject: Overdue: invoice [INV-0001], now [number] days past due
Hello [name],
Invoice [INV-0001] for [£0.00] was due on [due date] and is now [number] days overdue. I wrote about it on [date of the first reminder] and have not had a reply.
Please pay the full amount by [a date seven days from today], or reply by then to tell me when it will be paid. If there is a problem with the invoice or the work, tell me what it is and we can put it right.
Account name: [account name]
Sort code: [00-00-00]
Account number: [00000000]
Reference: [INV-0001]
A copy of the invoice is attached again for your records.
Regards,
[Your name]
[Business name]
[Phone number]
Click anything in brackets to type over it, then copy, print or download the result. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Subject: Final reminder: invoice [INV-0001], [number] days overdue
Dear [name],
This is a final reminder that invoice [INV-0001] for [£0.00], due on [due date], is still unpaid, despite my emails of [date] and [date].
[For a business customer only:] As this is a debt between two businesses, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 entitles us to statutory interest at 8 per cent a year above the Bank of England base rate, from the day after payment was due, and to fixed compensation of [£40, £70 or £100] for this debt. Interest to today comes to [£0.00] and continues at [£0.00] a day. A revised invoice showing these amounts is attached.
Please pay [total now due] by [a date seven days from today]. If it is not paid by then, we will consider the next steps to recover the debt, which may include a formal letter before action and a claim through the courts.
If you believe any part of this is wrong, please tell me in writing before that date.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Position]
[Business name]
[Phone number]
When to send each one #
The law does not set a timetable for reminders, so the one below is practice, not a rule. What matters more than the exact days is that every message is dated, keeps to the facts, and says what happens next.
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Friendly, a few days after the due date
Write as though it has been missed rather than refused. If it has, a copy of the invoice is all the customer needs.
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Firm, when the friendly one has had no answer
Name the number of days overdue, set a date, and invite them to tell you about any problem. A dispute you hear about now is cheaper than one you hear about in court.
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Final, with a deadline and the consequence
For a business customer this is where the statutory interest and compensation come in. Only say what you are prepared to do.
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Then a letter before action
If the final reminder goes unanswered, the next document is the one the court expects to see before any claim. The letter before action templates cover it.
What the law adds for a business customer #
Where you and your customer are each acting in the course of a business, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 adds two things to a late invoice, whether or not your terms mention them. Neither applies to a householder.
| What you can add | How much | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory interest | 8 per cent a year above the Bank of England base rate: 11.75 per cent at present | Not where your contract sets its own rate for late payment |
| Fixed compensation | £40 | Debt under £1,000 |
| Fixed compensation | £70 | £1,000 or more, but under £10,000 |
| Fixed compensation | £100 | £10,000 or more |
The base rate used is fixed for six months at a time. For interest that starts running between 1 July and 31 December, it is the rate in force on 30 June; for 1 January to 30 June, the rate on 31 December. Bank Rate has been 3.75 per cent since 18 December 2025 and was held there on 17 September 2026, so a debt that fell due in the second half of 2026 carries 11.75 per cent. Check again for anything that falls due after 31 December 2026.
The fixed sum is charged once for each late payment, not once per reminder. If your reasonable costs of recovering the debt come to more than the fixed sum, section 5A of the Act lets you claim the difference as well.
How to use them well #
Do
- Reply in the same email thread, so the history travels with every message
- Attach the invoice every time; it is the first thing a busy customer asks for
- Use real dates, not "last week" or "30 days"
- Send the final reminder from a named person the customer can call
Do not
- Add statutory interest to a householder’s invoice
- Threaten court action you have no intention of taking
- Keep chasing a customer who has told you what is wrong without answering the point
- Leave the interest paragraph in when your contract sets its own late payment rate
What sending these by hand costs #
Reminders are about the most rule-shaped work a business does. An invoice is due, a set number of days pass, the next message goes, and the interest on it is arithmetic on a published rate. The decision that genuinely needs a person is a different one: whether to charge the interest to this customer at all, and when to pick up the phone instead.
Done by hand, the whole sequence depends on somebody remembering, usually in the evening. The late invoice calculator puts your own figures against the hours it takes, and getting paid on a trade invoice separates the parts of the chase that run on rules from the parts that do not.