Guide
Late payment follow-up, as a ladder
One awkward message rarely gets an invoice paid. A ladder does: four short follow-ups at day 1, 7, 14, and 30 past the due date, each assuming the last was read and raising exactly one thing. Friendly first, factual always, firm only at the top.
The four rungs
- Day 1: the float-up. Assume it is an inbox problem. Confirm the invoice arrived, offer to resend it, thank them. Most early lateness ends here, quietly.
- Day 7: ask for the pay date. The question changes from "did it arrive?" to "when will it land?" A specific date is a commitment; a vague "soon" is not.
- Day 14: name it plainly. The amount, the due date, and the missing pay date, all in the message. Still factual, never personal.
- Day 30: firm, still polite. Ask for escalation to finance today, and state the consequences calmly: new work pauses and further usage of the content is held until it settles. The full day-30 draft is in the brand-not-paying guide.
Three templates, ready to copy
Short versions of the first three rungs. Replace the brackets, keep the tone.
Day 1 · The float-up
Hi [brand] team, floating the invoice for [the work] back up. It was due [date] and may already be moving through your system. Could you confirm it arrived safely? Happy to resend it if it landed in the wrong inbox. Thanks.
Day 7 · Ask for the pay date
Hi [brand] team, following up on the invoice for [the work], now a week past due. Could you confirm it is in the payment queue, and the date it will land? If anything is missing from me, an invoice copy or paperwork, tell me and I will send it the same day.
Day 14 · Name it plainly
Hi [brand] team, the invoice for [the work] is two weeks past due and I do not have a payment date yet. Please confirm the date it will be paid this week, or tell me exactly what is blocking it. The work is delivered and live; I would like to close the payment side out.
Doing this by hand for every invoice is exactly the work BravoDM's payments desk exists to take over: it watches due dates across your deals and drafts the right rung for your approval. See it in the payments desk or start free. And the cheapest chase is the one you never send: the agreement lines that prevent lateness are in how to price a brand deal.
Follow-up questions
When should I send the first late payment follow-up?
The day after the due date (day 1 of the ladder). Most early lateness is an inbox or approvals problem, not a refusal, and a friendly float-up gets a quiet fix. Waiting two weeks to be polite costs you the easy fix and the pay date.
How many follow-ups should I send?
Four rungs: day 1 (confirm it arrived), day 7 (ask for the pay date), day 14 (name it plainly), day 30 (firm: escalate, pause new work, hold further usage until it settles). Each message assumes the previous one was read and raises exactly one thing.
What if a brand goes silent after day 30?
Keep the paper trail in one thread, restate the amount, the due date, and what is paused, and stop delivering new work. Silence after a firm, factual day-30 message is a decision by the brand, and your next step (a final notice before involving a collections route) should be stated as plainly as the ladder was.