Promised to pay
When a client promised to pay and didn’t
Send this the day after the date they gave you, or the next business day. Name that date. Ask for a new one. Don’t recap every email that came before.
A promise is a date you were given. When that date passes and the invoice is still open, the next note is short. Say the invoice, the amount, the work, and the day they named. Then say it is still unpaid, and ask what day the payment will actually be sent.
You don’t need to sound disappointed, and you don’t need to list the reminders you already sent. They know. The useful part is the new date. “Looking into it” and “soon” are the same answer you already had.
If they reply with a new day, put it on your calendar and don’t write before it. If that day also passes, you have had two dates fail. That is when you pause new work, or, if the job is already finished, send the final reminder. The ordinary second ask is for silence. This note is for a date they put in writing, or in a reply, and then missed.
If they paid part of the invoice and promised the rest, write about the remaining balance and the date they gave for that rest. Don’t treat a partial payment as if nothing arrived.
Copy this and change the names, the amount, and the date they gave you.
Subject: Invoice 1842 — the March 8 payment Hi Priya, You said invoice 1842 would be paid on March 8. It is $1,800 for the March furnace replacement, and it is still open. Please reply with the date the payment will be sent. Jordan Hale Hale Heating