--- type: Guide title: How to chase overdue invoices description: How to chase overdue invoices: the sequence from the due date to a 30-day final notice, the channels that get a reply, and when to escalate. resource: https://accounting.events/resources/how-to-chase-overdue-invoices/ tags: [how to chase overdue invoices, chasing unpaid invoices, chase late payments, how to get an invoice paid] timestamp: 2026-10-19 author: Harry P. Smart fact_checked_by: Julie Turnbridge fact_checked: 2026-10-26 --- Summary - To chase an overdue invoice, confirm it was received and is correct, then run a fixed reminder sequence from the due date to a final notice at 30 days. - Use email plus SMS and call larger or stuck accounts: email plus SMS gets about 73% of invoices paid within two weeks, against 49% for email alone (Chaser 2026 Accounts Receivable Report). - Escalate by 90 days, because the chance of collecting falls to roughly a third past 90 to 120 days overdue. **Related guides:** [overdue invoice email templates](https://accounting.events/resources/overdue-invoice-email-templates/), [the credit control process](https://accounting.events/resources/credit-control-process/), [the credit control metrics that matter](https://accounting.events/resources/credit-control-metrics/), [credit control software vs a spreadsheet](https://accounting.events/resources/credit-control-software-vs-spreadsheet/) **Video:** [How to Chase Overdue Invoices: A Sequence by Invoice Age](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ChR-WDgfw4) ### Video chapters and transcript - 0:00 Short answer - 0:25 The chase sequence by invoice age - 0:45 Match the approach to the payer - 1:09 Why invoice age decides everything How do you chase overdue invoices? Confirm the invoice was received and is correct. Then run a fixed reminder sequence from the due date to a final notice at 30 days. Add SMS to email, and call larger or stuck accounts. Escalate by 90 days, because the chance of collecting falls to roughly a third after that. The biggest lever is chasing every invoice, every time. Start with a short heads-up before the due date. Send a reminder on the day. At seven days, send a firmer note with the amount. At fourteen days, call, and add the late fee. At thirty days, send a final notice. Keep the tone warm early and factual late, and always state the one next step you want. Not every late payer is the same. A forgetful payer needs a reminder and a payment link. A cash-strapped payer should be offered a short payment plan. Someone who will not pay needs firmness and a consistent late fee. When contact has gone quiet, switch channel and find the right person. You can usually tell which one you have after the second contact. Debt gets harder to collect the older it gets. Around 95 percent is collected in the first 30 days. That falls to 60 to 75 percent at 61 to 90 days, and around 30 to 40 percent by 91 to 120 days. Put the effort into the first 60 days, and act on a fixed schedule. ## What should you check before you chase an overdue invoice? Before the first reminder, rule out the two reasons a customer has a legitimate excuse to delay: the invoice was wrong, or they never received it. Confirm it went to the right person, that the purchase-order number and amount are correct, and that your payment details are on it. Many late invoices are stuck in the wrong inbox or queued behind a missing PO number. Clearing those first means every chase after it is on solid ground. ## What chase sequence works for overdue invoices? A chase sequence that works has 5 steps on a fixed schedule, from a heads-up before the due date to a final notice at 30 days. - Step 1 Pre-due A short heads-up a few days before Step 2 Due date A same-day reminder Step 3 +7 days A firmer note with the amount Step 4 +14 days A call, plus the late fee Step 5 +30 days Final notice, then escalate - A chase sequence that escalates on a schedule instead of by mood. 1. **Pre-due**: A short heads-up a few days before 2. **Due date**: A same-day reminder 3. **+7 days**: A firmer note with the amount 4. **+14 days**: A call, plus the late fee 5. **+30 days**: Final notice, then escalate A chase sequence that escalates on a schedule instead of by mood. A predictable sequence beats a perfectly worded one-off. A reminder on the due date, a polite follow-up within a few days, a firmer note at one to two weeks that mentions your right to statutory interest, the late fee applied at two to three weeks, and a final notice at 30 days. Keep the tone warm early and factual late, and always state the single next step you want. For the actual wording at each stage, our overdue invoice email templates give you five you can copy. A sequence works because it is consistent. Businesses that follow up on every overdue invoice are 76% more likely to be paid within a week than those that let some slide (Chaser 2026 Accounts Receivable Report), and about a third of businesses leave some invoices unchased every month. Chasing everything is the lowest-cost performance gain in credit control. A written [credit control policy](https://accounting.events/resources/credit-control-policy-template/) fixes the schedule so the sequence runs the same way for every customer. ## How should you match the approach to the debtor? Match your chasing approach to the debtor, because 4 types of late payer cover almost all cases and each responds to a different approach: - **The forgetful payer**, who simply missed it. A reminder and a payment link usually does it; do not escalate. - **The cash-strapped payer**, who wants to pay but cannot right now. Offer a short payment plan rather than threats; a partial recovery on terms beats a standoff. - **The won't-pay payer**, who is using you as free credit. Here firmness and the late fee matter, applied consistently and early. - **The gone-quiet account**, where contact has broken down. Switch channel, find the right person, and move to formal notice faster. Identifying which one you are dealing with, usually after the second contact, tells you whether to soften or to firm up. ## Why does invoice age matter when chasing? Invoice age decides how likely a debt is to be collected: about 95% at 0 to 30 days and under 20% at 180+ days, so chase early. Likelihood of collecting an overdue invoice by age - 0 to 30 days: ~95% - 30 to 60 days: ~85% - 60 to 90 days: ~70% - 90 to 120 days: ~35% - 120 days +: ~20% A widely cited collections rule of thumb. Your numbers will vary, but the direction is universal: older debt is harder to recover, so chase early. The single most important fact in chasing is that a debt gets harder to collect the older it gets, and faster than most people expect. Practitioner data on collectibility by age tells a clear story. Indicative collectibility by invoice age, from commercial collection practitioners (Leib Solutions, 2026). Figures vary with how actively the debt has been chased. | How overdue | Likelihood of collecting | | --- | --- | | 0-30 days | Around 95% | | 31-60 days | 80-90% | | 61-90 days | 60-75% | | 91-120 days | Around 30-40% | | 180+ days | Under 20%, often a write-off | The lesson is to front-load the effort. The energy you spend in the first 60 days is worth far more than the same effort at 120, when the odds have already collapsed. ## Which channel gets a reply to a chase? Email combined with SMS gets about 73% of invoices paid within two weeks, against roughly 49% for email alone (Chaser 2026 Accounts Receivable Report). **Passive chasing:** Email only; Same template each time; No call, ever; Easy for the payer to ignore **Assertive chasing:** Email, then SMS, then a call; Tone rises at each step; A real person at day 14; Harder to keep ignoring Why the channel you chase on matters as much as the words. Email is the default channel, and it works better combined with others. Combining email and SMS gets about 73% of invoices paid within two weeks, against roughly 49% for email alone, and a phone call is rated the most effective lever of all, especially on higher-value invoices. Sending from your own domain rather than a shared address also helps, both for deliverability and because it reads as you. The practical rule: start with email, add SMS for anything that goes a week overdue, and pick up the phone for larger or stuck accounts. ## When should you escalate an overdue invoice? Because collectibility falls off a cliff past 90 to 120 days, your escalation has to come earlier than instinct suggests. Issue a formal notice, with letter-before-action language, at around 30 days, and have a firm trigger to escalate by about 90. At that point you can apply [statutory interest at the current 11.75% and the fixed recovery fee](https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery), and prepare to hand the debt on. Waiting until an invoice is six months old to get serious is the most common, and most expensive, chasing mistake. ## When should you bring in a third party to collect a debt? If a debt is genuinely owed, undisputed, and still unpaid at around 90 days despite a full chase, it is time to consider outside help. A debt-collection agency typically works on a fee or a percentage of what it recovers, and acting in the 90 to 120 day window gives it the best chance. For larger sums, a solicitor's letter before action or a county court claim may be more appropriate. Either way, the decision should be made on a schedule, and the costs of recovery can usually be added to the debt under the late payment rules. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I chase an overdue invoice without damaging the relationship? Use a set sequence that starts warm and only firms up over time, and assume the best early on, most late invoices are oversights. The relationship-safe move on the late fee is to state it, then offer to waive it if the invoice is paid promptly. Consistency is what gets you paid. ### How many times should I chase before escalating? Run a full sequence, roughly five steps from a due-date reminder to a 30-day final notice, then escalate. Because the chance of collecting drops sharply after 90 to 120 days, you should have escalated to formal action or a collection agency by about 90 days, not left it for six months. ### What is the best way to chase, email, phone or SMS? The best way to chase is a combination of email, SMS and phone. Email plus SMS gets about 73% of invoices paid within two weeks against 49% for email alone, and a phone call is the most effective single lever, especially for higher-value invoices. Start with email, add SMS at a week overdue, and call for larger or stuck accounts. ### When should I send an invoice to a debt collector? Around 90 days overdue, if the debt is undisputed and a full chase has failed. Collectibility is still around 30 to 40% in the 90 to 120 day window but falls away sharply afterwards, so acting then gives an agency or solicitor the best chance. You can usually add the cost of recovery to the debt. ## The bottom line Chasing overdue invoices is a method: clear the basics, run a consistent sequence that firms up over time, match the approach to the kind of debtor, use the channel that gets a reply, and escalate by 90 days while the debt is still collectable. The businesses that get paid fastest chase every invoice, every time, and act before the odds turn against them. Figures cited are attributed where they appear; collectibility varies with how actively a debt is chased. This guide is published by Accounting.Events. ## Sources Sources checked by Julie Turnbridge on October 26, 2026: 1. [statutory interest at the current 11.75% and the fixed recovery fee](https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery) (gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery)