GUIDE · UNPAID INVOICE CHASE
The unpaid-invoice chase is a calendar, not a mood.
If you are googling how to chase an unpaid invoice, the PDF already went out. The client is quiet. You do not want to sound desperate or rude. Use dates. Keep a paper trail. This is sample language, not legal advice.
What “chase” actually means
It is not daily pings. It is one email the day after the due date, one ask for a payment date on day 7, and a pause-work line on day 14. Most late invoices are forgotten, not refused. The chase is reminding them that a calendar date already passed.
The three emails that do the work
- Day +1 — buried, not refused. Copy the free sample.
- Day +7 — ask for a date. “Soon” is not a date. Ask-for-a-date sample.
- Day +14 — pause remaining work, in writing. Pause-work sample.
What not to do
- Do not apologize for asking to be paid. You already did the work.
- Do not keep delivering unpaid remaining work. That trains delay.
- Do not invent legal threats you will not follow. Paper trail first.
- Do not use Wave or FreshBooks as a substitute for the words. They make the PDF.
DueKit is the chase pack: seven emails, demand letter, phone script, $29 once. Not a collection agency. Not affiliated with Wave or FreshBooks.