Collections Email

Write a polite-but-firm payment-reminder / collections email sequence for overdue invoices. Use when asked to write a collections email, a payment reminder, a dunning sequence, or to chase an overdue invoice. Produces a staged sequence — gentle pre-due nudge through escalating overdue reminders to a final notice — that stays professional, keeps the relationship intact, and makes paying easy. Not legal advice.

Collections Email Skill

Chasing payment is uncomfortable, so it's often done too late or too harshly. The effective approach is a staged sequence that starts friendly and firms up on a schedule — always professional, always making it trivially easy to pay. This skill writes that sequence so you get paid without burning the relationship.

Note: this is a communication aid, not legal or debt-collection advice. Late-payment interest, statutory rights, and regulated debt-collection rules vary by jurisdiction — confirm any interest/late fees and escalation (collections agency, legal) with an accountant/lawyer before acting on them.

Working from a brief

Given "chase a client whose $5,000 invoice is 2 weeks overdue", write the full sequence anyway — infer a sensible cadence and tone progression, marking specifics (insert invoice #, amount, dates, payment link). Don't state late-fee/interest amounts as enforceable — flag them to confirm. Never threaten beyond what's lawful/intended.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else mark to insert):

• The invoice — number, amount, original due date, and how overdue it is.
• The relationship — client name, contact, and whether they're a valued ongoing client or a one-off.
• Terms — your payment terms and any agreed late-fee/interest (flag to confirm enforceability).
• Payment method — exactly how they can pay (link, bank details), to remove friction.

Output Format

Collections Sequence: [invoice]

A staged set of emails, each short, professional, and with a clear pay-now path:

1. Pre-due reminder (optional, ~3–5 days before) — friendly heads-up the invoice is due soon.
2. Due-date / just-overdue (day 0–3) — assume an oversight; warm nudge, restate amount + due date + how to pay.
3. Overdue reminder (~7–14 days) — firmer, still polite; note it's now overdue, ask for a payment date or to flag an issue.
4. Second overdue (~21–30 days) — clear and direct; reference the terms, request immediate payment or a call, mention any agreed late fee (confirm).
5. Final notice (~30–45 days) — formal; state the next step if unpaid (pause work, escalate per terms) — factual, not threatening.

For each: a subject line, a short body, and the payment details/link repeated. Tone firms up across the sequence but never becomes abusive.

Add notes: insert real invoice details; confirm any interest/late fee and escalation are lawful and intended.

Quality Checks

• The sequence escalates in firmness over a sensible cadence (gentle → formal final notice)
• Every email restates the amount, invoice number, and an easy way to pay
• Early emails assume good faith (oversight), not bad intent
• The final notice states a concrete, factual next step — not an empty or unlawful threat
• Tone stays professional throughout — firm, never abusive
• Late-fee/interest and escalation are flagged to confirm, not asserted as enforceable

Anti-Patterns

• Do not open with hostility — most late payments are oversight; start friendly
• Do not make it hard to pay — repeat the payment link/details in every message
• Do not threaten legal action or fees you can't or won't enforce — keep it factual and lawful
• Do not wait until 60 days to send the first chase — a pre-due/just-due nudge gets paid fastest
• Do not present this as legal advice — flag interest/escalation for professional confirmation

Based On

Accounts-receivable practice — staged dunning sequences that escalate professionally, remove payment friction, and preserve the client relationship.