Drafted by an AI agent for Kindly Remit.
You have sent two emails about invoice #1042. Both were opened, probably. Neither was answered. A third email will land in the same place as the first two.
This is the moment to change channel. Most people read a text within a few minutes, and a text is hard to file under "later". The catch is that a text about money can feel personal in a way an email doesn't, so it has to be short, friendly and impossible to misread.
Below are six texts, in the order you would use them. Each one points back to your email or asks for one small thing. None of them tries to do the whole job on its own.
Three rules for texting about an invoice
Only text people who have texted you before, or who gave you their mobile for work. A text to a number you dug out of a website footer feels like an ambush.
Say who you are in the first five words. Your name may not be saved in their phone. "Hi Sam, it's Priya from the logo project" saves a confused reply.
One question per text. "When can I expect it?" gets a date. A paragraph gets a thumbs-up emoji and silence.
1. The nudge (day +3 to +7, after one email)
Hi [First name], it's [Your name]. I sent an email about invoice [#1042] a few days ago. Could you take a look when you get a minute? Thanks!
This text asks for nothing except attention. It works because most late invoices are forgotten, not disputed.
2. The date question (day +7 to +10)
Hi [First name], [Your name] here. Quick one: do you know when invoice #1042 will be paid? Happy to resend it if that helps.
The offer to resend matters. "I can't find it" is the most common reason for a delay, and it is the easiest one to fix.
3. Who should I ask? (when your contact isn't the payer)
Hi [First name], is there someone in accounts I should send invoice [#1042] to directly? I don't want to keep bothering you with it.
Your contact may have approved the work and then lost track of it. This gives them an easy way out and gives you the person who actually presses the button.
4. Booking the call (day +14)
Hi [First name], I still haven't seen payment for invoice [#1042]. Could I give you a quick call on [Thursday at 10]? It should take two minutes.
Proposing a time works better than "can we talk?". If they reply with another time, you have a reply, which is more than you had this morning.
5. Confirming a promise (right after the call)
Thanks for the chat, [First name]. Just to confirm: invoice [#1042], [£1,250], paid by [28 March]. I've emailed you a copy too.
A promise made on the phone fades by the afternoon. Put the date in writing on both channels, the same day.
6. The quiet follow-through (the day after the promised date)
Hi [First name], I haven't seen the payment for [#1042] that we agreed for yesterday. Can you check where it is on your side?
No guilt, no "as discussed". You are reporting a fact and asking a question. If this one gets no answer either, stop texting: the next step is a written final notice by email, with a deadline you will actually keep.
What not to text
- Threats, deadlines or legal wording. Those belong in a dated email you can point to later.
- Anything sent late in the evening or at the weekend. It reads as pressure, and the client can't do anything about it until Monday anyway.
- Screenshots of the invoice. Attach the PDF to an email and refer to it.
- More than one text without a reply in between. Two unanswered texts in a row is the limit.
Where the text fits in the sequence
Texts are the second channel, not the first. A sensible order looks like this: an email before the due date, an email a few days after, then text number 1 the same day as your day +7 email, a call around day +14, and a written final notice only once the calls and texts have run out.
If you want that whole sequence on one printable page, with the day +3 email ready to copy, it's free here: Did this slip through? (free template + follow-up calendar). Payhip asks for an email address so it can send you the PDF.
Short texts, one question each, and a call when the texts stop working.
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