How to chase unpaid wholesale invoices
Chasing works best when it is early, regular and a little dull. Here is a process, and the wording, to get trade invoices paid without damaging the relationship.
In short
- Start before the due date, chase on a fixed schedule, and make paying easier than ignoring you.
- Use text and phone as well as email; the person who pays is rarely watching the accounts inbox.
- Attach a consequence at a set point, usually pausing new orders at 14 days, and apply it every time.
- Keep the wording short, factual and the same for everyone. Reliability is what gets paid, not tone.
Principles
- Start before the due date. A heads-up five days out prevents most late payments.
- Be regular. A reminder on a fixed schedule is not personal, so it is easier for both sides.
- Make paying easy. Every message needs the amount, the invoice number and a link to pay.
- Use more than email. Texts and calls reach the person who can actually pay.
- Have a consequence. Pausing new orders gets more attention than any wording.
- Keep a record. Every message sent, every reply and every promise, in one place per invoice.
The schedule
- Day -5
Heads-up
Email. Amount, due date, pay link. Friendly.
- Day 0
Due today
Email and text. Short, with a one-tap link.
- Day 7
Overdue notice
Email and text, invoice attached, and the date orders will pause.
- Day 14
Hold
Email and text. New orders paused until the balance is paid.
- Day 30
Final notice and call
Email, text and a phone call. Interest and compensation where they apply. Decide the next step.
Text wording you can copy
Short enough for a text, clear enough for an email. Swap in your own names and figures.
| Stage | Message |
|---|---|
| Before due | Hi Sam, a quick note that invoice 1047 for $8,420.00 is due on 12 Sep. You can pay here: [link]. Thanks for your order. |
| Due today | Hi Sam, invoice 1047 for $8,420.00 is due today. Pay in one tap here: [link]. |
| 7 days late | Hi Sam, invoice 1047 for $8,420.00 is now 7 days overdue. Please pay here: [link], or reply if there is a problem with the order. |
| 14 days late | Hi Sam, invoice 1047 is 14 days overdue, so new orders on your account are paused until it is paid. Pay here: [link]. |
| 30 days late | Hi Sam, invoice 1047 is 30 days overdue. Please pay today to avoid further action. Late payment interest and compensation now apply under our terms: [link]. |
Only mention statutory interest if your buyer is a UK business and you intend to claim it. Longer email versions are in our reminder email templates.
The phone call
By day 30 one call is worth more than five more emails. Keep it short and specific: the invoice number, the amount, the fact that reminders have been sent, and a question, 'when can we expect payment?' Then stop talking. Write down the date they give you, send a one-line email confirming it, and set the reminder for the day after.
If the buyer raises a problem with the order, deal with that first and chase the money second. If they say the invoice was never received, send the statement while you are on the phone. If they say they cannot pay, move to a payment plan: see when a customer will not pay.
Chasing that works, and chasing that does not
Does not work
- Waiting until the invoice is late to send anything.
- One long email with the history of the account.
- Apologising for asking.
- Threatening action you will not take.
- Chasing some buyers hard and others not at all.
Works
- A heads-up before the due date.
- Short messages with the amount, the number and a link.
- A text to the person who decides.
- A consequence you always apply, at a point you always apply it.
- The same sequence for everyone, every time.
When to stop supplying
Decide this in advance and put it in your trade terms, so it is a rule rather than a judgement call each time. Holding orders at 14 days overdue is common. Terms Due applies the rule automatically at checkout. See credit holds.
A hold is not the end of the relationship. It is the point at which the buyer has to talk to you, and most do. Lift it the moment they pay, and say so.
Worked example
What a month of chasing costs by hand
A wholesaler with sixty trade accounts and an average of twenty-five invoices late at any time spends about ten minutes per late invoice per week finding it, writing to the buyer and noting what was sent. That is roughly four hours a week, or eighteen hours a month, of someone's time, before a single phone call. At even a modest hourly cost the chasing costs more than the app that would do it, and the app does it on the right day.
| Late invoices at any time | 25 |
|---|---|
| Minutes per invoice per week | 10 |
| Hours per month | about 18 |
| Reminders sent by hand with Terms Due | 0 |
Questions
Is it acceptable to text business customers about invoices?
Messages about an existing account are generally accepted, but say in your trade terms that you may contact buyers by text about payments, and always include a way to opt out.
Should I add late fees?
Only if your trade terms allow it. In the UK you can claim statutory interest and fixed compensation on business debts. See our UK late payment interest guide.
How many reminders before I stop?
Five over thirty days is plenty. After that the invoice needs a person, a payment plan or a formal step, not a sixth email.
What if the buyer says they have paid?
Ask for the date, amount and reference, check your bank, and if it is not there send the statement showing the invoice still open. Most 'we have paid' replies are a payment to the wrong supplier or a payment that has not been made yet.
Should the owner or a staff member chase?
The sequence can come from the business. The phone call at day 30 is better from someone with the authority to agree a plan or stop supply, which is often the owner.
Related
Email and text reminders
Send automatic email and text reminders for Shopify B2B invoices before and after the due date, with a one-tap pay link and firmer wording as invoices age.
Read moreReminder email templates
Five payment reminder emails for wholesale invoices, from a pre-due heads-up to a final notice, with subject lines, when to send each and what to change.
Read moreWhen a customer will not pay
The steps after the final notice: stopping supply, payment plans, letters before action, collection agencies, small claims and knowing when to write a debt off.
Read moreStop chasing wholesale invoices by hand
Install Terms Due, set a credit limit for each buyer and let the app hold, remind and collect.
Install on Shopify