Freelancing has its challenges, and chasing payments is one of them. I recently dealt with a client who was 30 days overdue. After delaying my follow-up email, I finally reached out gently and they paid within two days. It struck me how much I overthink this.
A simple follow-up like this works well: “Hi, just following up on invoice #123 from [date]. Let me know if you need anything from my end.”
Avoid apologies or excuses. You did the work and they owe the money. Keep it factual and brief.
One thing that changed everything for me was flipping my mindset. Instead of thinking I’m bothering them, I remember that I’m helping them stay organized with their payables.
My approach now:
- Send the original invoice with clear due date
- Follow up exactly on the due date with “Invoice due today”
- Wait 5 business days, then send “Past due notice”
- After that, I pick up the phone
The phone call is where magic happens. Email gets buried but a quick call usually sorts things out fast. Most times they just forgot or had some internal process delay.
I also started asking new clients about their payment process during onboarding. Some companies need 3 weeks to cut checks and they’ll tell you upfront if you ask. Saves a lot of stress later.
Just send a reminder. Most clients know they owe money. Give them a few days to respond.
Set up payment terms before you start any work. Net 15 or Net 30, whatever works for your business. When they hit that deadline, send a simple statement showing the overdue amount. No need to be polite or pushy. Just facts. Invoice date, amount due, days overdue. If they still don’t pay after the second notice, add a late fee. Most clients pay up once they see you’re serious about getting paid on time.
I learned to stop overthinking this too. What helped me was creating a payment schedule that I stick to no matter what.
Day 1 after due date: Send the invoice again with “Payment Reminder” in the subject line. Sometimes they just lost it.
Day 10: Send a note saying “This invoice is now 10 days past due. Please let me know when I can expect payment.”
Day 20: Phone call. Way more effective than emails at this point.
The key thing is being consistent. Once clients see you follow the same process every time, they start paying faster. I used to wait weeks before following up and it just made things worse.
Also learned to ask for payment methods upfront. Some clients genuinely have slow approval processes and will tell you if you ask.
Just give them a call after a week or two.