Most late payments are not disputes and they are not clients refusing to pay. They are invoices that landed at a busy moment and slid down someone's list. That means the fix is mostly mechanical: shorter terms, easier payment, and a reminder that arrives before the invoice is forgotten rather than a month after.
Set terms that suit your cash flow
"30 days" is a habit, not a rule. You set your own terms, and for a one-person business shorter is almost always better:
- 7 or 14 days for individuals and small businesses. There is rarely a reason for longer.
- Payment on completion for short jobs — invoice as you finish, while the work is fresh.
- 30 days only for larger clients whose accounts payable genuinely runs on a monthly cycle.
Put the due date on the invoice as a date, not a duration. "Due 19 September" is unambiguous; "Net 14" requires someone to do arithmetic before they can act on it.
Take a deposit
For any job of meaningful size, a deposit before work starts is standard and reasonable — commonly 20% to 50%. It covers your materials, filters out clients who were never going to pay, and means a job that goes wrong does not leave you fully out of pocket. On longer projects, bill in stages rather than once at the end.
Make paying easier than not paying
Every extra step between reading your invoice and settling it is a chance for the invoice to be set aside. A bank transfer means opening a banking app, typing a BSB and account number, and getting the reference right. A payment link is one tap.
That is what a Pay now button does — card, PayID or bank transfer from the invoice itself. Keep your BSB and account number on there as well, because some clients will always pay that way.
A reminder schedule that works
Reminders work best when they start before the invoice is late — a nudge before the due date is helpful rather than confrontational, and it catches the ones that were simply forgotten.
| When | Tone | What to say |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days before | Helpful | A heads-up that the invoice falls due shortly, with the payment link. |
| On the due date | Neutral | The invoice is due today, here is the link. |
| 7 days overdue | Direct | State the amount and how many days overdue it is. Ask them to pay or flag a problem. |
| 21 days overdue | Firm | A final notice, in writing, naming a date after which you will escalate. |
Sending these by hand is the part that does not happen when you are busy, which is precisely when cash flow matters most. Automating them removes the decision.
Wording that gets a reply
Keep it short, factual and free of apology. A reminder that opens with "Sorry to bother you" invites being ignored. Something like:
Hi Sam — invoice INV-0042 for $1,540 was due on 19 September and is currently 14 days overdue. You can pay it here: [link]. If there is a problem with the invoice, let me know today and I will sort it out.
It states the fact, gives the amount and the date, provides the action, and offers a way out if something is genuinely wrong. It does not accuse, and it does not ask permission to be paid.
When it is really overdue
Past 60 days, pick up the phone — email is easy to leave unanswered. Ask directly when it will be paid and get a date. If that date passes, escalate in writing with a final notice before considering a debt collection service or, for smaller amounts, your state or territory's small claims tribunal.
Late payment interest is worth mentioning: you can charge it if your terms set it out and the client agreed to those terms before the work started. Adding interest to an invoice retrospectively, when nothing was agreed, generally will not stick.
Related reading
- How to invoice with GST — an invalid invoice is a free excuse to delay
- Payment collection — Pay now and automatic reminders
- Hourly rate calculator — charging enough in the first place
- What is a purchase order? — why a corporate invoice stalls without one
- What is a remittance advice? — reconciling a lump-sum payment
- Credit card surcharges — passing on the cost of taking a card
Frequently asked questions
For most sole traders, 7 or 14 days. Thirty-day terms are a habit inherited from large-company accounts payable cycles and there is rarely a reason to extend that much credit to a client when you are the one funding it.
You can if your payment terms set out an interest rate and the client accepted those terms before the work started. Adding interest after the fact, where nothing was agreed, is generally not enforceable — so put your terms in writing up front.
For any job of meaningful size, yes. A deposit of 20% to 50% before work starts is normal, covers your materials, and is the simplest filter against clients who were never going to pay.
Call rather than email and get a specific date. If that passes, send a final notice in writing. After that your options are a debt collection service or, for smaller amounts, your state or territory small claims tribunal, which is designed for exactly this and does not require a lawyer.