These 12 dunning email templates cover the full reminder cycle: a pre-due nudge, the due date, 3, 7, 14, 30, 45 and 60 days past due, a promise-to-pay confirmation, a dispute acknowledgement, a final notice before services pause, and a thank-you once paid. Copy them, keep the polite tone, and send every one under your own brand.
Why do dunning emails need a fixed cadence?
Late payment is the normal state of B2B trade, not the exception. In 2025, 43% of US credit-based B2B sales were overdue and 5% of long-overdue invoices were written off (Atradius, 2025). On the customer side, 51% of US small employer firms reported uneven cash flows and 56% struggled to pay operating expenses (Federal Reserve Banks, 2025).
Your reminder usually lands with someone who intends to pay and is juggling when. A fixed cadence helps them, because every invoice from you gets the same timed, polite follow-up and moves up the list without anyone getting angry.
The cadence below is the one our DunningDesk process runs. Automate the first four steps in QuickBooks Online or Xero, which both support scheduled reminders (Intuit, 2026; Xero, 2026), and hand the rest to a person.
| Day | Step | Template |
|---|---|---|
| Due date minus 7 | Pre-due reminder | 1 |
| Due date | Due today | 2 |
| Plus 3 | First past-due reminder | 3 |
| Plus 7 | Second past-due reminder | 4 |
| Plus 14 | Third reminder, ask for a date | 5 |
| Plus 21 to 30 | Phone call, then confirmation email | 6, 9 |
| Plus 30 | Statement and terms reminder | 7 |
| Plus 45 | Escalation to a decision-maker | 8 |
| Plus 60 | Final notice before services pause | 11 |
| Any time | Dispute acknowledgement, payment received | 10, 12 |
What makes a dunning email get paid?
Every template below follows five rules. Name the invoice number, amount and due date in the first two lines. Attach the invoice as a PDF so nobody has to search. Give one way to pay, with a link. Ask one question the reader can answer in a sentence. Sign as a real person with a phone number.
Replace the square brackets with your details. [Customer] is the contact’s first name, [Company] is your business, [Invoice #], [Amount] and [Due date] come from the invoice, and [Payment link] is your portal or bank details. Keep subject lines factual, because “Invoice 1042 due 15 October” gets opened and “Friendly reminder” gets filed.
The 12 dunning email templates
1. Pre-due reminder, 7 days before due
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] is due on [Due date]
Hi [Customer],
A quick note ahead of time: invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] is due on [Due date]. I have attached a copy so it is easy to find.
You can pay here: [Payment link]. If it is already in your payment run, no need to reply.
Is there anything you need from us to get it approved?
Thanks, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
2. Due today
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #] is due today
Hi [Customer],
Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] falls due today. If payment is already on its way, thank you, and please ignore this note.
If not, here is the payment link: [Payment link]. The invoice is attached.
Could you let me know the expected payment date?
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
3. Three days past due
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #]: 3 days past due
Hi [Customer],
Our records show invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount], due on [Due date], is still open. Payments sometimes cross in the post, so if you have sent it, a remittance advice would help us match it.
If it has not gone yet, you can pay here: [Payment link].
Is there anything holding it up on your side?
Thanks, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
4. Seven days past due
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] is now 7 days overdue
Hi [Customer],
Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] was due on [Due date] and is now a week overdue. I have attached it again.
If there is a query on the invoice, reply to this email and I will sort it out today. If everything is in order, the payment link is here: [Payment link].
Could you confirm when we can expect payment?
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
5. Fourteen days past due, ask for a date
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #]: can you confirm a payment date?
Hi [Customer],
Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] is now 14 days past its [Due date] due date. We have not heard back, so I want to make sure it reached the right person.
Could you reply with either a payment date or the name of the person handling it? Either helps us plan.
Payment link: [Payment link]. Invoice attached.
Thank you, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
6. Confirmation after a phone call
Subject: Thanks for the call: invoice [Invoice #] payment on [Promised date]
Hi [Customer],
Thank you for your time on the phone today. As agreed, invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] will be paid on [Promised date] by [Method].
I have made a note in our records. If anything changes before then, a quick reply is all we need.
Payment link, in case it is easier: [Payment link].
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
7. Thirty days past due, statement and terms
Subject: Statement of account for [Customer company]: [Total amount] outstanding
Hi [Customer],
Attached is a statement of your account showing [Total amount] outstanding, including invoice [Invoice #], which is now 30 days past due.
Our terms are [Terms], and [late fee or interest wording, only if your contract includes it]. We would much rather agree a date than apply that, so please tell me what works.
Payment link: [Payment link].
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
8. Forty-five days past due, escalation
Subject: Overdue balance of [Total amount] with [Company]: request for your attention
Dear [Manager name],
I am writing to you as [Customer]‘s manager because invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] has been open for 45 days and our emails and calls have not produced a payment date.
We value the relationship and want to resolve this simply. Could you or a colleague confirm a payment date by [Date, five business days out]?
Statement and invoice attached. Payment link: [Payment link].
Yours sincerely, [Your name], [Title], [Company] [Phone]
9. Promise to pay missed
Subject: Invoice [Invoice #]: payment expected [Promised date] not yet received
Hi [Customer],
We agreed that payment of invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] would arrive on [Promised date], and as of today we have not received it.
If it has been sent, please send the remittance details so we can trace it. If not, could you tell me what changed and give me a new date?
Payment link: [Payment link].
Thanks, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
10. Dispute acknowledgement
Subject: Your query on invoice [Invoice #]: we are on it
Hi [Customer],
Thank you for flagging the query on invoice [Invoice #]. I have logged it and will come back to you with an answer by [Date, two business days out].
While we resolve it, could you confirm that the undisputed part, [Undisputed amount], can be paid on its normal terms? Payment link: [Payment link].
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company] [Phone]
11. Final notice before services pause, 60 days
Subject: Final notice: invoice [Invoice #], services will pause on [Pause date]
Dear [Customer],
Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount] is now 60 days past due. We have sent reminders on [dates] and called on [dates] without a confirmed payment date.
Unless payment or an agreed plan is in place by [Pause date], we will pause [service] from that date under section [X] of our agreement. We would prefer not to, and a call to [Phone] today can avoid it.
Payment link: [Payment link]. Statement attached.
Yours sincerely, [Your name], [Title], [Company]
12. Payment received, thank you
Subject: Received, thank you: invoice [Invoice #]
Hi [Customer],
Payment of [Amount] for invoice [Invoice #] arrived today. Thank you. Your account is now [up to date, or showing a balance of [Amount]].
If you would like future invoices sent to a different contact, or a copy of your statement, just reply.
Kind regards, [Your name], [Company]
When should a call replace the email?
Around day 21 to 30. Email chains stall because the reader is not the person who can approve payment. A two-minute call to accounts payable answers three things: whether the invoice was received, whether it is approved, and when the next payment run is.
Log the answer as a promise to pay with a date, then send template 6 the same day. Our payment reminder calls service makes those calls under your brand, never as a collection agency, following each country’s outbound-calling rules. The statement of account at day 30 gives the customer the full picture.
How do you run this cadence without doing it yourself?
The templates are the easy part. The hard part is sending step 5 on day 14 for every invoice, every month, while running the business. Our payment reminders service puts a named accountant on your aging report, runs the cadence inside your QuickBooks Online or Xero file, and logs every promise to pay. The wider dunning process is explained in the glossary.
Pricing depends on volume and scope, so we send a custom quote within 1 business day.
Sources
- Atradius, B2B payment practices trends in North America 2025: group.atradius.com
- Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Report on Employer Firms: fedsmallbusiness.org
- Intuit, Send invoice reminders automatically or manually in QuickBooks Online: quickbooks.intuit.com
- Xero Central, Set up and add invoice reminders: central.xero.com
- GOV.UK, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery: gov.uk
- FTC, CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business: ftc.gov
Frequently asked questions
How many dunning emails should I send before calling?
Four to five emails, then a call. A pre-due reminder, a due-date note and reminders at 3, 7 and 14 days past due cover most honest delays. By day 21 to 30 an unanswered email chain usually means the invoice is stuck with someone who is not reading it, and a short call to accounts payable finds out who. Our payment reminder calls service runs that call under your brand and logs the promise to pay.
What should a dunning email include?
The invoice number, the amount, the original due date, the days past due, a link or instructions to pay, and one specific question. Attach the invoice as a PDF every time so the customer never has to search. Keep it under 120 words, use the customer's name, and sign with a real person's name and phone number. Leave out threats, legal language and anything you would not say on the phone.
Can I charge late fees or interest in a dunning email?
Only if your contract or terms already say so, and only after you have mentioned it politely once. In the UK, business-to-business contracts carry statutory interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act when the contract is silent (GOV.UK, 2026). In the US, late fees depend on your agreement and state law. State the fee in the day-30 email and apply it consistently or not at all.
Is a dunning email covered by anti-spam laws?
In the US, an email whose main purpose is to complete a transaction the customer already agreed to, such as an invoice reminder, is treated as transactional or relationship content, so the CAN-SPAM Act's commercial-message rules do not apply, although sender and header information must still be accurate (FTC, 2026). Keep dunning emails free of promotions so they stay transactional. Automated reminders in QuickBooks Online and Xero follow the same principle.
Should I automate dunning emails in QuickBooks Online or Xero?
Yes, for the first three or four reminders. QuickBooks Online can send automatic reminders up to 90 days before or after the due date (Intuit, 2026), and Xero supports up to five automatic invoice reminders per organization (Xero, 2026). Automate the pre-due, due-date and early past-due steps, then hand invoices past 21 days to a person. Automation is good at timing and bad at reading a dispute.
Sources
- Atradius, B2B payment practices trends in North America 2025 (Payment Practices Barometer)
- Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Report on Employer Firms: findings from the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey
- Intuit, Send invoice reminders automatically or manually in QuickBooks Online
- Xero Central, Set up and add invoice reminders
- GOV.UK, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery
- FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: a compliance guide for business
