Email is an incredibly effective tool for credit control. Here at Chaser, we’ve seen that approximately 80% of unpaid invoices can be successfully collected through email reminders alone. As powerful as that is, a shocking number of finance teams don’t keep their email sword sharpened, and are likely to see drastically subpar success with their credit control.
Common unpaid invoice email aberrations include unfriendly tone, the appearance of automation/lack of humanity, an aggressive or judgemental approach to overdue invoices, and even chasing payments from the wrong person entirely.
Particularly during these times of uncertainty, neglecting to appreciate the impact Covid-19 may have had on your customers’ business and their ability to pay in your email reminders will only lead to lower response rates — it is essential that you adapt your credit control to the current situation.
Chaser prides itself on using a human approach to invoice chasing. So, these free templates demonstrate how to use emotional intelligence in your invoice chasing, and approach customers with kindness and diplomacy during these uncertain times.
Join thousands of businesses automating their credit control and getting invoices paid on time in less time, whilst maintaining great customer relationships. You can access Chaser’s credit control software completely free for 14 days. (No card details required).
These templates can be copied and pasted directly into your emails, for you to send to customers.
In our experience, personalisation is key in making sure reminders don’t get ignored and invoices get paid! So, our templates are built from two parts:
- Normal Text
- <Placeholders>
Normal text is outside of brackets and stays the same across all reminders. Placeholders are within angle brackets “< >”, and signify where adapted text may go, e.g. <our_name> would be replaced with your company’s name.
When you sign up for Chaser, 8 of our best-practise templates are pre-loaded onto your account and placeholder fields are automatically personalised for every recipient. No more tiresome copying and pasting — you can start automatically chasing all of your customers with reminders that look hand-typed!
Try it for free, for 14 days (no card details required).
We recommend sending this polite payment reminder via email 7 days before an invoice is due
Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you that <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> is due for payment on <date_due>.
I would be really grateful if you could confirm that everything is on track for payment?
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
We recommend following up with this polite reminder when an invoice is 1 day overdue
Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty.
We wanted to drop you a gentle reminder that we have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>.
I understand this may be a hectic time for you, so I would be really grateful if you could give me an indication of when we can expect to receive payment?
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
If an invoice payment reaches 14 days overdue, we recommend sending this message to remind customers and give them a greater sense of urgency
Subject: Update on <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty.
We have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>.
I understand this may be a hectic time for you, but this invoice is now <overdue_days> days overdue and is becoming problematic for us too.
Please let us know when we can expect to receive payment as soon as possible? Or if you are struggling with cash flow, please update us so we can plan internally and suggest a payment plan.
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
Once an invoice reaches 30+ days overdue, we recommend sending this email reminder and suggesting alternative payment options. There may be a very good reason they are unable to pay large sums after the impacts of Covid-19 on their business, so we recommend being flexible to maintain great relationships with your customers.
Subject: Alternative payment options for <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty.
We have yet to receive payment from yourselves of <invoice_amount_owed> in respect of our invoice <invoice_refnum> which was due for payment on <date_due>.
I would be really grateful if you could let me know when we can expect to receive payment?
We understand this may be a difficult time for you. So alternatively, please call us on [insert company phone number] if you would prefer to arrange a payment plan that works for you?
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
Once you have received payment, we recommend sending an email to thank customers for their payments. Whilst easily forgotten, we have found this significantly improves future payment times. Particularly during uncertain times, it is important to show you are grateful for customer payments!
*Chaser automatically thanks customers after every payment, so you don’t have to!
Subject: Thank you for your payment: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we have received your recent payment in respect of invoice <invoice_refnum>. Thank you very much, we really appreciate your payment during this time of uncertainty.
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
Where a customer has multiple outstanding invoices, we recommend sending this polite reminder before their invoices are due
*Chaser automatically groups multiple invoices into one reminder, creating automatic tables and totals — so you don’t have to!
Subject: Polite reminder: <our_name>: invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty.
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you of the below outstanding invoices that will soon be due for payment.
<invoice_table_MULTI>
I would be really grateful if you could confirm that everything is on track for payment?
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
We recommend sending this polite reminder when a customer’s invoices are overdue. We also recommend suggesting alternative payment options. There may be a very good reason they are unable to pay during Covid-19, so we recommend being flexible to maintain great relationships with your customers.
Subject: Alternative payment options for <our_name>: invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I hope you’re keeping well during this time of uncertainty.
We have yet to receive payment from yourselves for the outstanding invoices summarised in the table below.
<invoice_table_MULTI>
The total amount owed for these invoices comes to <invoice_amount_owed_aggregate_MULTI>. I would be really grateful if you could let me know when we can expect to receive payment as soon as possible?
We understand this may be a difficult time for you. So alternatively, please call us on [insert company phone number] if you would prefer to arrange a payment plan that works for you?
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
When you receive payment for multiple invoices at once, we recommend sending a ‘thanks for paying’ message. Whilst easily forgotten, we have found this significantly improves future payment times.
*Chaser automatically thanks customers after every payment (when multiple invoices are paid, we use a multi-template, like the example below) so you don’t have to!
Subject: Thank you for your payment: <our_name>: invoice <invoice_refnum_MULTI>
Hi <recipient_firstname>
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we have received your recent payment in respect of invoices <invoice_refnum_MULTI>. Thank you very much, we really appreciate your payment during this time of uncertainty.
Best regards
<sender_firstname>
To view a glossary for all placeholders used in the above templates, and all placeholders available to Chaser users, you can download our PDF guide: 8 templates to effectively and empathetically chase your customers during Covid-19.
14 days free: You can automate your credit control process, whilst maintaining great customer relationships with 2 weeks free access to Chaser’s market-leading credit control software.
Chaser was launched with the mission to transform credit control, save businesses time and boost their cash flow. We are now proud to be the market leader in automated credit control, and have helped businesses chase over $3BN in invoices.
Every feature in our product is designed to help maintain the human-touch in invoice chasing. This is why we wanted to provide businesses with 8 free and effective templates that maintain a human touch, and a sense of empathy whilst trying to get invoices paid during this time of uncertainty.
Chaser automates invoice chasing and streamlines your credit control process, to get you paid on time — in less time. We work by integrating seamlessly with leading cloud accounting platforms.
Chaser:
- Gets invoices paid sooner: avg. user sees a 16-day debtor day reduction
- Saves time: avg. user saves 7.3hours/week
- Improves cash flow: avg. $4,400 boost in cash flow for every $100,000 of turnover
Try it for free, for 14 days (no card details required).
You view all of our Covid-19 credit control support resources here, including PDF guides, on-demand webinars, tailored advice and more.