A cadence that works for service businesses
- At delivery — confirm receipt and that the amount and reference are correct.
- Three days before due — a short, friendly reminder with the amount and date.
- Due date — confirmation that payment is due today, with the payment link.
- Day 3 past due — different channel, short and direct, asking whether anything is blocking payment.
- Day 10 past due — a named person calls; the goal is a commitment with a date.
- Day 21 past due — written notice of terms, restating the agreement.
- Day 30+ — escalation decision: payment plan, formal demand, or the path your attorney advised.
Why the first touch is not a reminder
The highest-value message in the sequence is the one confirming the invoice arrived at the right person with the right reference. On commercial work, half of late payments are a missing purchase order number or an invoice sent to a person who left.
Asking early costs nothing and removes the most common cause of aging before it starts.
Tone: firm without being adversarial
- State the amount, the date and the requested action in the first two lines.
- Ask a question rather than making an accusation — "is anything holding this up?"
- Keep the work out of it unless the customer raises quality.
- Never negotiate the price in a collections message; move that to a call.
- Document what was said and what was promised, every time.
When to stop the cadence and escalate
Escalate when the customer stops responding across two channels, when a promised date passes twice, or when the balance crosses a threshold you set in advance. Deciding these rules while nobody is angry is the entire point.
Formal demands, liens, interest and collection agencies carry legal requirements that vary by state and trade. Get that path reviewed by an attorney once, then follow it as written.