About once a week for the first month after the due date, starting with a check a few days before it's due. After two written reminders, raise the formality instead of the frequency: a phone call, then a formal notice at around a month. Chasing every day tends to get ignored and can sour the relationship.
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The short version
- About once a week for the first month after the due date is a sensible default.
- After two written reminders, call, then send a formal notice at around a month.
- Chase more often only by changing the channel, not by sending more emails.
- Pause reminders on disputed invoices and for customers keeping to an agreed plan.
- A customer you chase every month is a good candidate for direct debit.
A sensible default rhythm
For most business invoices, a weekly rhythm in the first month tends to work well. It's frequent enough that your customer sees a pattern and knows you're keeping track, and spaced enough that each message you send has time to reach someone who can act on it.
In practice you'd send a check three to five days before the due date, a reminder the day after, another about a week later, a call at two to three weeks and a formal notice at about a month. After the formal notice, frequency matters much less. You're working towards a deadline you've stated, then a decision about what to do next.
There's no published UK evidence for an ideal gap between reminders, so treat the weekly rhythm as a starting point. It helps more to decide it when the invoice goes out and then stick to it. Chasing that depends on someone remembering tends to come in bursts: nothing for three weeks, then three emails in two days, which is harder on the relationship than a steady weekly note.
When to chase more or less often
Adjust your rhythm for the customer and the situation, not for how frustrated you feel that week.
- Customers who always pay: one reminder after the due date is usually enough, and a run of reminders can irritate a good customer.
- Larger invoices: confirm approval earlier instead of chasing more often. In Adfin's payment data, the typical late payment was about eight days late whatever the size of the invoice, so a big invoice doesn't call for heavier chasing, but a missed approval costs you more.
- Customers who are late most months: extra reminders rarely fix a pattern. Direct debit, or an instalment plan for a large balance, changes how the money arrives.
- A disputed invoice: pause reminders on the disputed amount until the query is settled, because chasing it tends to make the customer dig in.
- A customer in difficulty: agree a plan and pause the routine reminders while they keep to it.
If you invoice individuals as well as businesses, keep the rhythm for them gentler. A run of frequent demands can feel like pressure to a person in a way it doesn't to a company's accounts team, and a calm, predictable schedule is easier on everyone.
How many reminders before you escalate
Two written reminders and a phone call is a reasonable point to move to a formal notice, usually around a month after the due date. Each step should differ from the last: a different channel, a more specific request, then a stated deadline. Sending the same email a third or fourth time is unlikely to get a different result.
In the formal notice, you set out your position on a business debt: statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, currently 11.75% a year, plus fixed compensation of £40 to £100 per invoice. If the deadline passes, stop sending reminders and decide your next step, such as a letter before action, a payment arrangement or a small claim.
Once a debt is several months old, more chasing from you is unlikely to change the outcome. By then you're deciding whether to pursue it formally or write it off.
How to keep the rhythm going without doing it by hand
Once you have more than a few dozen customers, it gets hard to hold everyone's rhythm in your head. Writing your schedule down is the first step, and having it run without you remembering is the second.
In Adfin, you set the rhythm once and reminders go out on it, each with a payment link, through whichever of email, SMS and WhatsApp you allow. You can pause chasing for a single customer while a query is open without affecting anyone else. Adfin's collection agents can also vary the rhythm for each customer within limits you set, including a minimum gap between reminders and the channels they may use. A customer who usually pays after the first email isn't sent a string of them, and one who ignores email can get a text instead.
Common questions
How often should you chase an unpaid invoice? About weekly for the first month after the due date, with a check before it's due. After two reminders, escalate by calling and then sending a formal notice.
Is it too soon to chase the day after the due date? No. A short, friendly reminder the day after is routine and shows you keep track, while waiting a fortnight tends to make the conversation harder.
Should I chase every day if an invoice is badly overdue? Daily messages tend to be ignored and can damage the relationship. Escalate the channel and the formality instead.
How many reminders should I send? Usually two written reminders, then a phone call, then a formal notice at around a month overdue.
Is there a best day or time to send a reminder? There's no reliable UK evidence for one. A customer's own record of when they reply and pay is a better guide.
What if regular reminders aren't working? Change how the customer pays. A customer you chase every month is a good candidate for direct debit, which collects on the due date without a reminder.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery
- GOV.UK - Make a court claim for money (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money
- Bank of England - The interest rate (Bank Rate) (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate
- Adfin Help Centre - How to get paid with customer agents (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15288807-how-to-get-paid-with-customer-agents
- Adfin Help Centre - How to pause reminders and collection in Adfin (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/13870679-how-to-pause-reminders-and-collection-in-adfin
