How to chase an unpaid invoice in English (without burning the bridge)

6 July 2026

Chasing money is uncomfortable in any language. In a second language it's worse: push too softly and you're ignored, translate your Spanish directly and you may sound like you're sending a legal threat. English business culture handles this with a very specific escalation ritual — three emails, each one notch firmer — and a handful of fixed phrases that everyone recognises.

First, the vocabulary that does the heavy lifting

• due — when the invoice must be paid: "The invoice is due at the end of the month."
• overdue — past that date: "Invoice #204 is now two weeks overdue."
• outstanding — still unpaid (the polite workhorse): "a reminder that the invoice is still outstanding".
• to come through / to go through — how payments move: "It seems the payment hasn't come through yet."
• to chase — what you're doing, informally: "Just chasing that invoice." (Fine with colleagues; don't say it to the client.)
• to settle an invoice — to pay it, formally: "We'd be grateful if you could settle the invoice this week."

Email 1 — the no-blame nudge

Sent a few days after the due date. The golden rule: open with the possibility that the mistake is on your side. It lets everyone save face, and nine times out of ten the money appears.

Subject: Invoice #204 — quick check

Hi Sarah,

I hope you're doing well. It seems the payment for invoice #204 (due 30 June) hasn't come through yet — could you check on your side? Happy to resend the invoice if that helps.

Best regards,

Why it works: "it seems" and "hasn't come through" treat the missing payment as a technical event, not a human failure. Nobody is accused; the bank is vaguely at fault.

Email 2 — the gentle reminder

A week later. Still warm, but now the request is explicit and has a date.

Subject: Invoice #204 — gentle reminder

Hi Sarah,

Just a gentle reminder that invoice #204 is still outstanding. I'd appreciate it if you could arrange the payment by Friday — and do let me know if anything is holding it up on your end.

Thanks so much,

The phrase "just a gentle reminder" is a fixed formula — everyone recognises it as second notice while staying friendly. Note the escape hatch at the end: you're inviting them to tell you about a problem instead of hiding from your emails.

Email 3 — firm, still professional

Two weeks past due, it's time to be direct. Firm English is not rude English: no exclamation marks, no capital letters, no emotion. Just facts and a consequence.

Subject: Invoice #204 — now three weeks overdue

Hi Sarah,

Invoice #204 is now three weeks overdue despite two reminders. Could you confirm today when we can expect the payment? If there's an issue with the invoice itself, I'd rather fix it now than keep chasing.

I'd appreciate a reply by end of day tomorrow.

Regards,

What changed: "could you confirm today", a deadline, and the sign-off cooled from Best regards to Regards. Native readers feel that temperature drop precisely.

The three mistakes Spanish speakers make

1. Translating "te recuerdo que…" as "I remind you that…" — in English this reads as scolding. Use "just a reminder that…".
2. "Until now we haven't received the payment" — a calque of hasta ahora that sounds odd; say "we still haven't received the payment" or "the payment is still outstanding".
3. Apologising for asking. "Sorry to bother you with this…" weakens a legitimate request. You did the work; asking to be paid needs no apology.

Getting the tone right on the first try is half skill, half practice. The escalation above gives you the skeleton — the rest is writing it in your own words and having something check that your firmness doesn't accidentally read as aggression.