Four emails for the life of an invoice: the one that sends it and three reminders that get firmer in tone, never in the facts. Each one is ready to copy or to open in your mail app.
To write an invoice email, put the invoice number and your name in the subject line, give the amount and the due date in the first sentence, say how to pay and attach the PDF. A payment reminder repeats exactly those facts and changes only the tone. The four templates below fill in from your latest invoice, ready to copy.
Showing placeholders. If you have made an invoice on this device, its details fill in here.
Send on the day you issue the invoice, with the PDF attached.
SubjectInvoice [Invoice number] from [Your name]
Around the due date. Polite, and assumes it simply slipped through.
SubjectFriendly reminder: invoice [Invoice number]
Once the invoice is overdue and the first reminder got no reply.
SubjectSecond reminder: invoice [Invoice number] is unpaid
When the second reminder goes unanswered. Still courteous, and asks for a date.
SubjectFinal reminder: invoice [Invoice number]
Each email has one job. Sending them in this order keeps every message polite and makes the next step obvious to the client.
| When to send it | What it asks for | |
|---|---|---|
| Send the invoice | The day you issue the invoice | Payment by the due date, with the PDF attached and your payment details in the body |
| Friendly reminder | Around the due date | Nothing new: a short note that the invoice is due or still open |
| Second reminder | Once the invoice is overdue and the first reminder got no reply | A date when payment will be made, or what is wrong with the invoice |
| Final reminder | When the second reminder has gone unanswered | Payment as soon as possible, or the payment date if it has already been paid |
The invoice itself has to be right before any email can help: the guide to writing an invoice lists what goes on it, and the payment terms guide explains how to choose a due date the client will actually meet.
These are the subject lines the templates produce, shown here for a fictional invoice INV-0042 from Acme Studio to Globex Corporation:
The templates do not mention interest or fees. That is deliberate: whether you claim them depends on your contract and on where you and your client are, so it is a decision to make, not a default to send. For business-to-business payments the UK and the EU do give you a statutory right to both.
United Kingdom. Once a commercial payment is late you can charge statutory interest at 8 percent plus the Bank of England base rate, and claim a fixed sum for debt recovery costs once per late payment: £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 for a debt of £1,000 up to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more. Source: GOV.UK, Late commercial payments.
European Union. Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payment sets statutory interest of at least 8 percentage points above the reference rate and a minimum of 40 euro in recovery costs. Source: EUR-Lex.
If you decide to claim either, add one sentence to the second or the final reminder stating what you are claiming and on what basis. The payment terms guide has the full UK and EU rules, and the UK invoice requirements and EU invoice requirements cover what the invoice itself must show. This describes the published rules; it is not legal advice.
Every legal requirement on this page comes from the authority that publishes it. Dates below are the day we last opened each page.
Put the invoice number and your name in the subject line. In the first sentence give the amount and the due date, then add how to pay, attach the PDF and sign off with your name. The first template on this page does exactly that, and fills in the details from your latest invoice.
The word invoice, the invoice number and who it is from, for example Invoice INV-0042 from Acme Studio. Finance teams search their inbox by invoice number, so a subject line without one is the easiest way for an invoice to get lost.
Restate the facts and leave room for an honest mistake: the invoice number, the amount, the due date and how long ago it was, then ask when payment will be made. The reminders on this page are written that way. From one to the next only the tone changes, never the facts.
Send a friendly reminder around the due date, a second reminder once the invoice is overdue and the first got no reply, and a final reminder if that one goes unanswered too. Whatever the timing, each reminder should repeat the invoice number, amount and due date exactly as they appear on the invoice.
For business-to-business payments in the UK and the EU, yes. In the UK you can charge statutory interest at 8 percent plus the Bank of England base rate and claim a fixed sum for debt recovery costs of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. In the EU, Directive 2011/7/EU sets statutory interest of at least 8 percentage points above the reference rate and a minimum of 40 euro in recovery costs. The templates leave interest out, because claiming it is your decision under your own contract.
Attach the invoice as a PDF and keep the key facts in the body: the number, the amount, the due date and how to pay. The PDF is the document the client files; the body is what they read first and search for later. The generator puts the invoice number in the PDF file name, so the attachment and the subject line match.
From the newest invoice in the register on your own device: InvoiceSnap saves an invoice there when you download its PDF. This page reads it in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Without a saved invoice the templates show placeholders such as [Invoice number] for you to replace.
Every email above fills in from an invoice you made and downloaded on this device.