Hey there, How many days after you send the initial invoice is it okay to send a friendly reminder?
This answer may not suit every situation--and it depends quite a bit on your customers. We require payment when the project starts. But, Griffin Waste is a dumpster rental business--so when we drop off the dumpster, we invoice immediately. The customer is now happy the dumpster has been delivered, and we send an invoice through jobber by text. They pay us often before we've left their driveway!
For most businesses, and for any net 30 customer, it’s generally a good idea to send a friendly reminder 7 to 10 days after the initial invoice if the payment hasn’t been received or acknowledged. This timeframe strikes a balance between giving the client sufficient time to process the invoice and ensuring it stays on their radar.
If your payment terms are shorter (e.g., pay upon receipt, net 7 or net 14), you might send a reminder a little sooner, around the 5-7 day mark. For longer terms (e.g., net 30), a reminder at the 10-14 day point works well.
The key is to keep the tone light and polite—sometimes payments just get overlooked! Also, if there is any time, have the friendliest person on your staff give them a call. If it is truly, "Oh, I forgot," well you just reminded them. A written invoice is very official--a friendly call is just a nice discussion that might start, "Hey, did everything get done to your satisfaction? Oh, and . . . we've not been paid yet" comes up later in the conversation.
