Chasing money is the part of running a plumbing company that people avoid hardest, which is why invoices that would have been settled with one reminder sit for months.
The fix is a schedule decided in advance, so nobody has to judge each time whether it is too soon to ask.
Before anything: make sure they got it
A meaningful share of unpaid invoices were never seen. Wrong email, spam folder, a landlord expecting the tenant to forward it.
Before treating anything as late, confirm delivery. A one line text on the day the invoice goes out prevents most of this.
The schedule
| Day | Action | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Text | Invoice sent, amount, due date |
| 7 | Email reminder | Assumes it was missed. Invoice attached again |
| 14 | Phone call | Is there a problem with the work or the invoice? |
| 21 | Written notice | States terms and what happens next |
| 30 | Final notice | Names the date after which it escalates |
| 45 to 60 | Decide | Collections, small claims, or write off |
The day 14 phone call is the one that matters most and the one most often skipped. It converts better than any written reminder, because it surfaces the actual reason, which is frequently not what you assumed.
What to say
Day 7, email. Assume innocence, because it is usually true. "Hi Dana, just a reminder that invoice INV-1043 for $333.50 was due on 22 October. I have attached it again in case it went astray. If you have already sent it, apologies and please ignore this."
Day 14, phone. Ask rather than demand. "I am calling about the invoice from the work on the 8th. I wanted to check whether there is anything wrong with the job or the bill before I chase it any further." That question does two useful things: it gives an unhappy customer a route other than silence, and it makes it clear you are paying attention.
Day 21, written. Shift register. State the amount, the original due date, your terms, and what happens if it is not settled by a named date. No threats, just the sequence.
Day 30, final. Name the date and the consequence, and mean it. A final notice you do not act on teaches every future customer that your final notices are decorative.
When they say there is a problem
Deal with it immediately and separately from the money. A disputed invoice is a service problem wearing a payment problem's clothes.
If the complaint is fair, fix it and reissue. If it is not, explain plainly once, in writing, and offer a partial settlement if the relationship is worth keeping. What does not work is arguing and chasing at the same time.
Deciding when to stop
At around 60 days the question stops being how to collect and becomes whether to. Three things decide it:
The amount. Below a few hundred dollars, the time spent chasing usually exceeds the recovery. That is not a reason to be casual about it, it is a reason to decide quickly.
The evidence. A signed work order, photos and a clear invoice make small claims straightforward. A verbal agreement and a text message do not.
Whether they can pay. A customer in genuine difficulty is a payment plan. A customer who is avoiding you is a different decision.
Worth remembering: the cost of an unpaid invoice is not just the invoice. It is the materials, the wages and the van, all of which you have already paid. The cash flow calculator shows what carrying that for sixty days does to the cash you have available for the next job.
Preventing it next time
- Take a deposit on anything above a threshold you set. It filters out the customers who were never going to pay.
- Bill on the day. Payment behaviour tracks how promptly you invoiced more than most people expect.
- Take payment on site for service calls. A card reader in the van removes the entire problem for small work.
- Put terms on the estimate, not just the invoice, so they were agreed before the work.
- Do not start new work for a customer with an overdue invoice. This is the policy people find hardest and it is the one that changes behaviour.
If the reminders are the part that does not happen, the follow-up sequence builder writes them with your details filled in.
General guidance, not legal advice. Late payment interest, collection practices and small claims limits are governed by state law, and what you may charge or threaten varies.
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