What to message a customer who hasn't paid
Copy-ready messages for chasing payment, matched to what the customer has actually done: gone quiet, broken a promise, said they've paid, raised a complaint or asked for more time.
The job's finished, the invoice has gone out, and the money hasn't arrived. Now you need to send something, and that's the part most tradespeople put off. The right message depends less on how many days it's been and more on what the customer has told you so far, or hasn't.
A customer who's gone quiet needs a different message from one who promised to pay on Friday, one who's unhappy about a snag, or one who's just lost their job. Send the wrong one and you either sound harsh to someone with a real problem, or soft to someone who's stringing you along.
Below is the wording for each of those situations, plus which channel to use. If you want the day-by-day timeline (day 7, day 14, day 30), our polite late payment message templates cover that. This guide is for the moment you're staring at the chat, wondering what to type.
First, check the invoice actually reached them
Before you chase anyone, rule out the boring causes. Invoices land in spam folders, go to an email address the customer stopped using years ago, or get sent to the partner who didn't book the job. Chasing someone for an invoice they've never seen gets things off to a bad start.
- Check the email address on the invoice matches the one the customer used to book the job.
- Check you sent it to the person who agreed the work. With couples, landlords and letting agents, the person you dealt with on site isn't always the one paying.
- If your invoicing tool shows whether the invoice was opened, look before you chase. An unopened invoice needs resending, not chasing.
- Message: "Hi [name], just checking my invoice for the [job] reached you. I sent it to [email] on [day]. Happy to resend it, or send it to a different address if that's easier."
- Why it works: there's no hint of blame, and if the invoice really did go astray, you've fixed the problem in one message.
When the customer has gone quiet
Silence is the most common situation and the easiest one to overreact to. Usually the customer is busy, not dodging you. A homeowner who's just had a new bathroom fitted has twenty other things on their list, and your invoice slid down it. Your first message should make paying easy, not make them feel caught out.
- First nudge, by text or WhatsApp: "Hi [name], quick nudge on the invoice for the [job], which was due on [date]. The bank details are on the invoice, or you can pay by card here: [link]. Thanks!"
- No reply after a week? Switch to email so there's a written record: "Hi [name], I haven't heard back about invoice [reference] for £[amount], due on [date]. If there's a problem with the work or the invoice, please tell me and I'll sort it. If not, could you let me know when you'll be able to pay? Thanks, [your name]"
- Read but not replied to? Don't mention the blue ticks. "I can see you've read this" sounds like you're watching them, and it puts people on the defensive. Send your next message as normal.
- Keep it private, and keep it to the person who booked the job. Never chase in a family group chat or a street WhatsApp group.
When they promised to pay and didn't
"I'll sort it on Friday" is the most frustrating reply you can get, because it feels like progress. When Friday comes and goes, follow up the next working day. Leaving it a week tells the customer the date they gave you didn't really matter.
- The next working day: "Hi [name], just checking in. You mentioned you'd be paying the [job] invoice on Friday and I haven't seen it come through yet. Has it gone through on your side?"
- Why "has it gone through on your side?" works: it lets them save face if they forgot. And if they did send it, you find out about a banking problem straight away.
- The second broken promise: ask for a date and an amount in writing. "Hi [name], I know things come up. Could you confirm the date you'll pay the £[amount]? If the full amount is tricky right now, tell me and we can agree something that works."
- The third time: stop accepting vague dates. Move to the formal email further down this page.
When they say they've already paid
Don't accuse anyone of lying. Payments genuinely do go missing: a wrong digit in the account number, a transfer held while the bank checks a new payee, a payment sent from the wrong account. Ask for the details calmly and most of these sort themselves out within a day.
- Message: "Thanks [name], I appreciate that. It's not showing on my side yet. Could you send me a screenshot of the transfer, or the date, amount and account details it went to? First payments to a new account sometimes get held for a day or two, so it may just be that."
- If the screenshot shows the wrong account number or sort code, send your correct details again and ask them to call their bank about getting the payment back.
- If they paid into an account that isn't yours at all, and the details came from an email, tell them to contact their bank straight away. Scammers do intercept invoice emails and swap in their own bank details.
- Never ask a customer to pay to new bank details by email alone. If yours change, ring them to confirm.
When they're unhappy with the work or the price
Sometimes silence is a complaint the customer hasn't said out loud. A snag they spotted after you left. A total higher than they expected. A variation they don't remember agreeing to. Push for payment before you deal with it and a £40 snag can turn into a refused invoice and a one-star review.
- Bring it out into the open: "Hi [name], I haven't heard back about the invoice and wanted to check: is everything OK with the [job]? If something's not right, I'd much rather know and fix it."
- If they raise a snag, separate it from the bill: "Thanks for letting me know. I can come back on [day] to sort the [issue]. Would you be happy to pay the rest now and hold back £[amount] until it's fixed?" Most customers will take that, and you get most of your money now.
- If they dispute the price, go back to what they agreed: "The quote you accepted on [date] was £[amount], and the extra £[amount] is for the [variation] we agreed on [date]. I've attached both so you can see them side by side. Happy to talk it through." This is where a signed quote and written variations pay for themselves.
- If it's getting heated over text, ring them. Arguments by text only get worse. Afterwards, send a short written summary of what you agreed.
When they can't pay it all at once
Some customers will tell you they're struggling. Maybe a job loss, a big bill they weren't expecting, or a small business waiting on its own customers to pay. Believe them the first time, but put the plan in writing. A payment plan agreed on the phone and never confirmed is just a politer way of not getting paid.
- Message: "Thanks for being upfront, [name]. Let's find something that works. Could you pay £[amount] now and the rest in [number] payments of £[amount] on the [date] of each month? I'll put it in an email so we both have it."
- Confirm by email with every amount and date, and say what happens if a payment is missed: the rest of the balance becomes due straight away.
- Send a short reminder a day or two before each payment is due. It's much easier than chasing one that's been missed.
- If a customer asks for a plan before you've even chased, that's a good sign. Say yes quickly.
When it's time to stop being friendly and get formal
If several messages have been ignored, or the promises keep breaking, stop texting and put it in a formal email or letter. Formal doesn't mean rude. It means a clear amount, a clear deadline and a clear next step.
- Formal email: "Dear [name], invoice [reference] for £[amount] for [job] was due on [date] and is still unpaid, despite my messages on [dates]. Please pay the full amount by [date, 14 days from now]. If you can't, please contact me before then so we can agree a plan. If I don't hear from you, I will start formal debt recovery. Kind regards, [your name]"
- Business customers (letting agents, property companies, main contractors you subcontract for): you can claim statutory interest and a fixed compensation fee of £40, £70 or £100, depending on the size of the invoice, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
- Homeowners: the Act doesn't apply to them, so don't quote it. You can't add interest to a homeowner's invoice unless your terms said so before they agreed to the job. If it ever ends up in court, you can ask the court for interest then.
- In England and Wales, before you take a homeowner or a sole trader to court, you're expected to send a letter of claim under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and give them 30 days to reply. Our guide to chasing an unpaid invoice covers what comes after that.
Messages that make things worse
Some messages feel good to send and cost you the money, the customer or both. Read yours back before you hit send, and ask whether you'd be happy for a judge, or the customer's neighbour, to read it.
- Sarcasm and passive aggression. "Not sure if my messages are getting through..." or "As per my last three texts..." make people defensive, and they look bad if the dispute ever goes further.
- Threats to name them online. Posting about a customer on Facebook or a local group can expose you to a defamation claim, and it puts off the next customer who sees it.
- Threats to come and take the work out. You can't go onto their property without permission, and it turns money you're owed into a dispute you might lose.
- Chasing late at night, several times a day, or through their employer or family. In England and Wales, harassing someone over a debt in a way meant to cause alarm, distress or humiliation can be a criminal offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970.
- Voice notes about money. They're hard to search later and leave no clear written record of the amount and date you asked for.
After they pay
Send a short thank-you on the day the money lands, and don't mention that it was late. The chase is over, and this is the message the customer will remember.
- Message: "Hi [name], payment received, thanks very much. Hope you enjoy the new [kitchen]. If anything comes up, just give me a shout."
- Add a note to the customer's record about what happened. Next time you'll know to send the invoice to a different address, or to ask for a deposit before you start.
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Check the invoice reached the right person before you chase.
Work out which situation you're in: silence, a broken promise, a "paid it" claim, a complaint, or money trouble.
Use text or WhatsApp for a first nudge, email for anything with amounts and deadlines, and a phone call when things get tense.
Follow up a broken payment promise the next working day.
Deal with snags and price queries before pushing for the money.
Put every payment plan and every formal demand in writing.
Only quote the Late Payment Act to business customers.
Thank the customer when the money lands, and note what happened on their record.
Most unpaid invoices get sorted with one or two calm, specific messages. What matters is replying to what the customer has actually told you, or what their silence suggests, rather than to how annoyed you are. Silence gets a nudge. A broken promise gets a polite follow-up the next day. A complaint gets fixed before you ask for the money again.
If you'd rather the routine reminders went out without you having to remember them, PaidProper can email polite payment reminders for you once an invoice is due, and keeps every message with a customer in one thread on their record. That leaves you free for the messages that need a person: the snag, the payment plan and the broken promise. Start with the oldest unpaid invoice on your list today, work out which situation it's in, and send the matching message.
Często zadawane pytania
What should I text a customer who hasn't paid?
Keep the first text short, friendly and easy to act on: "Hi [name], quick nudge on the invoice for the [job], which was due on [date]. The bank details are on the invoice, or you can pay by card here: [link]. Thanks!" Assume they've forgotten rather than refused. If there's no reply after a week, follow up by email so you have a written record with the amount and the due date.
Should I chase payment by text, WhatsApp or email?
For the first friendly nudge, use whatever you've already been using with the customer, which for most domestic jobs is text or WhatsApp. Switch to email once you're asking for a specific amount by a specific date, because it gives you a clear record. Pick up the phone when there's a complaint or things are getting heated, then confirm what you agreed in writing.
What do I say when a customer says they've already paid?
Thank them and ask for the details without sounding suspicious: a screenshot of the transfer, or the date, amount and account it went to. Banks sometimes hold first payments to a new account for a day or two. If they paid into an account that isn't yours after getting bank details by email, tell them to contact their bank straight away, as that can be a sign of invoice fraud.
Can I charge interest to a homeowner who pays late?
Not under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which only covers invoices between businesses. You can only add interest to a homeowner's invoice if your terms said so before they agreed to the job. If the debt ever ends up in court, you can ask the court to award interest as part of the claim.
What if a customer won't pay because they're unhappy with the work?
Find out exactly what's wrong and offer to fix it on a set date. Then suggest they pay the rest of the invoice now and hold back a fair amount until the snag is sorted. Customers who feel listened to usually pay. Customers who feel pushed before their complaint is dealt with often refuse to pay anything and leave a review instead.
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