Late payers are back. The email that gets you paid.
Firm, friendly and surprisingly effective. Copy, paste, get paid.
Late payment is creeping back up
Across UK small firms, the average invoice is being paid later than a year ago. For a business living on its cashflow, two weeks' slippage is the difference between calm and overdraft.
Tone matters less than timing and specifics
The emails that work name the invoice number, the amount, the original due date and a new one. They assume good faith and make paying the path of least resistance.
Use this three-message sequence
Spaced a few days apart, escalating in firmness but never in rudeness. Keep copies - you'll rarely need them, but it helps if you do.
- ✓Day 1 overdue: a one-line friendly nudge with the invoice attached
- ✓Day 7: a firmer note with a clear new payment date
- ✓Day 14: mention your right to statutory interest, calmly
Statutory interest you can charge on overdue commercial invoices (base rate + 8%)
Source: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act - gov.uk
Mentioning the right rarely costs you the relationship; being owed money does. Most pay before it's applied.
Self-taught marketer who started selling online at 17 and went on to freelance for brands across Europe before founding Adlarion. He writes The Small Business Digest in plain English - the news he wishes he'd had when he was starting out.
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