First Reminder Email Template

The template

Send this within a day or two of the due date. Assume an oversight rather than bad faith — most early arrears are simply forgotten. Replace every bracketed field before sending.

Subject: Invoice [Invoice Number] from [Your Business] — now due

Hi [Customer Name],

I hope you are well. This is a friendly reminder that invoice [Invoice Number] for [Amount] became due on [Due Date] and appears to be outstanding.

If payment has already been made in the last few days, thank you — please disregard this note. Otherwise, you can pay by:

  EFT: [Account Name] / BSB [BSB] / Account [Account Number]
  Reference: [Invoice Number]

A copy of the invoice is attached for your convenience. If anything about it is unclear, or there is a query I can help with, just reply to this email and I will sort it out quickly.

Many thanks,
[Your Name]
[Your Business] | [Phone] | [Email]

How to use it

Keep the subject line specific so it survives a crowded inbox — the invoice number and the word due do more than a generic "reminder". Attach the original invoice so the customer never has to dig for it, and lead with the payment details rather than burying them at the foot. The "if you have already paid" line is deliberate: it acknowledges the post may have crossed and protects your credibility if money is already on its way. Send from a monitored address so replies, queries, and disputes land somewhere a person reads them.

Tone and timing

This first contact should be unmistakably friendly. Its job is to jog a memory, not to apply pressure — that escalation comes later, on a schedule, only if needed.

• When: one to three days after the due date.
• Tone: warm, assuming an honest oversight.
• Ask: a single, easy action — pay using the details shown.
• Log: save a copy so any colleague can see contact was made.

What happens next

If the invoice is still unpaid roughly a week later, move to a firmer second reminder rather than resending the same friendly note. Repeating an identical message trains a customer to ignore it. Should the account keep ageing without contact, the cadence ends in a letter of demand and, if needed, referral to a commission-only agency such as Merion — you can refer a debt once in-house follow-up has run its course.