The figure that matters is not the amount, it is the age. What works on a three-week-old invoice fails at ten weeks, and here the delay can cost more than the delay itself.
Here, the delay can cost more than the delay
The local particularity is not client behaviour, it is administrative. Depending on your regime, issuing an invoicing document can trigger obligations before payment is even received, meaning an unpaid invoice can cost you money while bringing none in. These rules are checked with an accountant, this remaining general information. The practical consequence is simple: chasing is not a matter of pride, it is a matter of cash flow.
The issued document may already have declared the income
Many creators discover the mechanism at their first non-payment and believe cancelling the document solves the problem. Correcting an issued document follows precise rules, and improvising costs more than the question put to an accountant. The useful reflex is to ask before, not after.
What works changes with age
Under thirty days
At this stage the invoice is simply waiting in a normal cycle. A short, polite message recalling the number and the due date is enough in the vast majority of cases. Do not dramatise: you are addressing somebody who has probably done nothing wrong yet.
Between thirty and sixty days
The tone changes, the politeness does not. Resend the invoice as an attachment rather than talking about it, ask for a precise date rather than an acknowledgement, and address the person who handles payments. The most effective phrasing is a closed question.
Beyond sixty days
Writing no longer wakes anybody, as explained above. You move to a call, then write a summary, then set a firm deadline.
What to prepare before calling
Six items, all in front of you as you dial.
The invoice number and its issue date.
The exact amount, unrounded.
The overdue date, in number of days.
The name of the person who approved the assignment.
The proof of delivery, with its date.
And the closed question you will ask, written word for word.
The line that avoids almost everything
A single sentence in the quote avoids most non-payments: the payment term in days, with a calculated due date and the payment method. Written before the assignment, it turns a chase into a simple reminder of an existing agreement. Absent, it leaves everybody with their own idea of what was agreed, and it is always the supplier who loses that discussion.
What to write in every reminder
Seven elements, always the same, in this order.
The invoice number, on the first line.
The amount and the due date.
The reminder of the work delivered, in one line.
The attachment, resent systematically.
The closed question about the transfer date.
The fastest reply channel for the person concerned.
And a neutral sentence, with no reproach, which keeps the relationship usable.
When to stop
Stop the amicable chase when three written attempts and one call have produced no date. At that point what follows depends on the amount: below a certain threshold, the time spent costs more than the debt, and the energy is better placed on a new client. Above it, recovery routes are chosen with a professional, this remaining general information.
What you can do before the assignment
Seven precautions that remove most non-payments.
Asking for a deposit from every new client.
Writing the payment term and the due date into the quote.
Identifying the person who handles payments from the start.
Delivering with a message recalling the due date, without aggression.
Not passing on the source files before full payment.
Using secure payment, where the funds are authorised before the shoot and released on approval.
And keeping every written approval, including short messages.
What you do, and in what order
| Step | The delay | What you send |
|---|---|---|
| The simple reminder | 7 days after the due date | A short message, invoice attached |
| The formal follow-up | 15 days | A dated letter, with acknowledgement |
| The formal notice | 30 days | A registered letter |
What makes a claim defensible
The accepted quote, proof the files were delivered, the written approval and the issued invoice. Those four turn a disagreement into a file, and their absence turns a file into one word against another.
What is planned before, not after
A deposit at ordering and a late-payment clause written into the quote. The available remedies and their cost are confirmed with a lawyer, because they depend on the amount and the client's place of establishment.
The most frequent chasing mistakes
Six reflexes that lengthen the delay instead of shortening it.
Writing to the person who ordered, when they do not pay.
Asking an open question, which can be answered without committing to a date.
Apologising for chasing, which weakens the request.
Threatening too early, which closes the door to a quick settlement.
Chasing without attaching the invoice again.
And letting three weeks pass between two reminders, which resets the file.
One last marker: an invoice is handled like a file that ages, not like an annoyance. Three reminders seven days apart, then a call, then a written summary of the call: that sequence settles the vast majority of situations, and it takes less time than the improvised version.
Sources
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
