Subject: Final notice: invoice [#1234], $[amount]
Hi [First name], This is a final notice on invoice [#1234] for $[amount], now [N] days past due. If payment is not received by [deadline, 7 days out], we will [pause work / apply the late fee in our terms / refer the balance to collections]. I would much rather not, and a reply with a payment date today is enough to stop that. Invoice attached. Payment details: [link or remittance details]. [Your name]
A final notice has exactly one job: to state a consequence you will act on, with a date. Its entire power comes from follow-through. A final notice that is not acted on teaches the client that none of your notices mean anything, and every future invoice pays later because of it.
Choose the consequence before you send it. Pausing work, applying a late fee your terms already include, or referring the balance to a collections agency are all legitimate. Pick the one you will actually do on the day after the deadline.
What to change
- The consequence. One of the three in the brackets, or your own. Only one. Only if you will do it.
- The deadline. Seven days is standard. Do not extend it after sending.
- The way out. 'A reply with a payment date today is enough to stop that' keeps the door open without weakening the notice.
What to avoid
- Consequences you will not follow through on.
- Multiple consequences. Pick one.
- Sending a second final notice. If the first did not work, act.
Common questions
What should a final notice for an unpaid invoice say?
The invoice, amount, and days past due; one specific consequence (paused work, a late fee your terms include, or referral to collections); a deadline about seven days out; and a way out (a reply with a payment date). Under 100 words.
When should you send a final notice?
After an escalation to a decision maker has passed its deadline with no payment and no committed date, typically 60 or more days past due. It should be the fifth or sixth touch, never the first firm one.
What happens after the final notice deadline?
Whatever you said would happen. Pause the work, apply the fee, or place the account with an agency. Then decide whether the remaining balance is worth the agency's fee or should be written off.