- 1. Cut Your Payment Cycle
- 2. Ageing Analysis
- 3. Credit Policy
- 4. Reminder Scripts — you are here
- 5. MSME 45-Day Rule
- 6. Customer Advances
- 7. Cheque Bounce
- 8. Bad Debts
Six Rules That Make Reminders Work
- Be specific. "Please clear your dues" is ignorable. "Invoice 412 for ₹1,84,000, due 15 August" is not.
- Ask a closed question with a date. "When will you pay?" invites "soon". "Will this be released Friday or Monday?" forces a commitment you can follow up.
- Make paying trivially easy. UPI ID, QR code or bank details in the message itself. Every extra step is a reason to defer.
- Escalate the tone, never the emotion. Firmness works. Anger gives them a grievance to hide behind.
- Keep it short. Especially on WhatsApp. Four lines, read now; twelve lines, read later, which means never.
- Always confirm in writing. After any phone call, send a one-line WhatsApp summarising what was agreed. That message is your record.
Stage 1 — Three Days Before the Due Date
The most valuable message in the sequence, and the one almost nobody sends. It is not chasing; it is a service — and it removes "we forgot" from the list of available excuses.
WhatsApp — English
Dear Sir/Madam, a gentle reminder that Invoice #412 for ₹1,84,000 is due on 15-Aug-2026. Payment details are on the invoice; UPI: yourname@bank. Please let us know if anything is needed from our side. Thank you — [Your Firm]
WhatsApp — Hindi
नमस्ते सर, याद दिला रहे हैं कि बिल #412, ₹1,84,000 की तारीख 15-अगस्त-2026 है। पेमेंट की डिटेल बिल पर हैं, UPI: yourname@bank. कोई जानकारी चाहिए तो बताइए। धन्यवाद — [आपका फर्म]
Stage 2 — On the Due Date
WhatsApp — English
Dear Sir/Madam, Invoice #412 for ₹1,84,000 is due today. Kindly arrange the payment. UPI: yourname@bank / A/c: ______, IFSC: ______. Please share the UTR once done. Thank you — [Your Firm]
WhatsApp — Hindi
नमस्ते सर, बिल #412, ₹1,84,000 आज ड्यू है। कृपया पेमेंट करवा दें। UPI: yourname@bank / A/c: ______, IFSC: ______. पेमेंट के बाद UTR भेज दीजिए। धन्यवाद — [आपका फर्म]
Stage 3 — 7 Days Overdue
Tone shifts from reminder to request, and you ask for a date.
WhatsApp — English
Dear Sir/Madam, Invoice #412 for ₹1,84,000 was due on 15-Aug and is now 7 days overdue. Could you confirm whether the payment will be released this Friday or early next week? If there is any issue with the invoice, please tell us today so we can resolve it. — [Your Firm]
WhatsApp — Hindi
नमस्ते सर, बिल #412, ₹1,84,000 की तारीख 15-अगस्त थी, अब 7 दिन हो चुके हैं। कृपया बताईए — पेमेंट इस शुक्रवार होगी या अगले हफ्ते? बिल में कोई दिक्कत हो तो आज ही बता दें, हम तुरंत ठीक कर देंगे। — [आपका फर्म]
The Phone Call Script
Use at 7 to 15 days. Calls work better than messages at this stage because they are harder to defer — but only if you have a structure.
- Identify and be warm. "Good morning, this is ____ from ____. How are you?"
- State the fact, not the grievance. "I'm calling about invoice 412, ₹1,84,000, which was due on the 15th."
- Ask an open question once. "Can you help me understand where it is in your process?" — then stop talking. The silence does the work.
- Handle the reason (see below).
- Close with a specific commitment. "So can I note it for Friday the 22nd?"
- Confirm in writing immediately. "Thank you — I'll send a short WhatsApp confirming that."
After you ask where the payment is, say nothing. Most people fill silence with information — the real reason, the actual date, who is really holding it. Untrained collectors rush to fill the gap themselves and hand back the initiative.
Stage 4 — 15 Days Overdue
Move to email or letter, attach the statement of account, and copy someone senior.
Email — English
Subject: Overdue — Invoice #412 — ₹1,84,000
Dear Sir/Madam,
Invoice #412 dated 16-Jul-2026 for ₹1,84,000 was due on 15-Aug-2026 and remains unpaid, now 15 days past due. Our statement of account is attached.
We have not received any communication regarding a dispute on this invoice. Kindly arrange payment by 05-Sep-2026, or let us know today if there is a specific issue we should address.
As per our agreed terms, interest at ____% per month applies on overdue amounts.
Regards,
[Name] — [Firm] — [Phone]
WhatsApp — Hindi
नमस्ते सर, बिल #412, ₹1,84,000 अब 15 दिन से ज्यादा समय से बकाया है। हमने खाता भेज दिया है। कृपया 5 सितंबर तक भुगतान करें या समस्या बताएं। शर्तों के अनुसार विलंब पर ब्याज लागू होता है। — [आपका फर्म]
Stage 5 — 30 Days Overdue: Credit Hold
English
Dear Sir/Madam,
Invoice #412 for ₹1,84,000 is now 30 days overdue, despite reminders on ___, ___ and ___.
As per our credit terms, we are placing your account on hold and will not be able to process further orders until the outstanding is cleared. We would much rather keep supplying you, so please treat this as urgent.
If a part payment or a payment plan would help, call me today and we will work something out.
Regards, [Name] — [Firm]
Note the structure: the consequence is stated as policy rather than punishment, and it is immediately followed by a route back. That combination gets far more responses than a threat alone.
Stage 6 — 45 Days: the MSME Claim
If you are a Udyam-registered micro or small enterprise, this is your strongest message — and the first one that creates a problem for the buyer's own accountant rather than for you. Do not send it unless you are genuinely registered.
English
Subject: MSME Payment Overdue — Invoice #412 — Section 43B(h) implications
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are a micro/small enterprise registered under the MSMED Act, 2006. Our Udyam Registration Number is UDYAM-__-__-______, which is also printed on our invoices.
Invoice #412 dated 16-Jul-2026 for ₹1,84,000 has now crossed the 45-day statutory period. We would like to bring two points to your attention, in a spirit of cooperation:
1. Under Section 16 of the MSMED Act, interest becomes payable at three times the RBI bank rate, compounded monthly, from the appointed day.
2. Under Section 43B(h) of the Income-tax Act, your deduction for this purchase is available only in the year the payment is actually made.
We would much prefer to settle this without either consequence arising. Kindly arrange payment by ______.
Regards, [Name] — [Firm]
The tone matters. This is powerful precisely because it is factual and unemotional — you are pointing out a problem that lands on their side of the table. See Part 5 for the full rules before you use it.
Stage 7 — Final Notice Before Recovery
English
Subject: Final Notice — Invoice #412 — ₹1,84,000
Dear Sir/Madam,
Despite repeated reminders dated ___, ___, ___ and ___, invoice #412 for ₹1,84,000 remains unpaid, now 60 days past the due date. No dispute has been raised with us at any point.
Unless payment is received by ______, we will proceed with recovery through the appropriate legal channel, and will claim interest and costs as permitted.
We would still prefer to resolve this directly. Please contact me on ______ before that date.
Regards, [Name] — [Firm]
Before you send a legal notice, have a lawyer draft or review it, and be sure you intend to follow through. A threat you do not act on teaches the customer that your deadlines are decorative — and word of that travels among buyers faster than you would like.
Handling the Five Standard Excuses
| What they say | What to say back |
|---|---|
| "We never received the invoice." | "No problem — I'm sending it again right now on WhatsApp. Can you confirm receipt, and can we target payment by Friday?" Then send it while still on the call. |
| "Payment is in process." | "That's good to hear. Which date will it be released, and can you share the UTR once it's done?" A real process has a date. |
| "Our own customers haven't paid us." | "I understand, that's difficult. Can we do a part payment of ₹____ this week and the balance by ____?" Part payment tests whether it is a cash flow issue or a priority issue. |
| "The person who approves is travelling." | "Who else can approve in their absence? Could you connect me?" Named alternates are much harder to invent. |
| "There's a problem with the goods." (raised only after the due date) | "Let's resolve it today — tell me exactly what the issue is. Meanwhile, can we release the undisputed portion?" Splitting the disputed amount out is the key move. |
What Not to Do
- Do not threaten what you will not do. One unenforced deadline devalues every future one.
- Do not post about it publicly or in trade groups. Beyond the defamation risk, it ends any chance of quiet settlement.
- Do not let it become personal. Anger is the customer's escape route from the actual question.
- Do not keep supplying while chasing. It signals that the deadline was never real.
- Do not chase only the biggest debt. Small old debts are the ones that quietly become write-offs.
- Do not rely on memory. Log every contact and every promise date against the customer, so anyone can pick up the file.
In iAccounting, ask the AI Assistant to "send Rajesh a reminder for his overdue bill" and it opens WhatsApp with the message pre-filled for that customer — you review it and press Send. Nothing goes out automatically. You can also save your own versions of these scripts as favourites so they are one click away. See The AI Assistant.
What's Next?
- Part 5 — The MSME 45-Day Rule: the legal backing behind the Stage 6 message
- Part 7 — Cheque Bounce: what to do when the payment fails
- Part 8 — Bad Debts
- Part 2 — Ageing Analysis: who to send these to