Working in the online environment carries numerous benefits, but there are also some common challenges. One of the most frequent obstacles for new freelancers is late payments. Although even a long-term client can sometimes postpone a payment, it’s more likely to have such a problem with new clients.
This is even more probable to happen to freelancers who don’t work via freelance websites since they lack any feedback about clients and their payment-related habits.
When you come across a lazy payer, the smartest thing to do is stay calm and polite until you get paid. Here are some practical tips on how to craft gentle reminder emails.
Clarify the project terms
While it sounds logical, avoiding misunderstandings with new clients can be pretty demanding for new entrepreneurs. This is even more complex if both the client and the contractor are new in the freelance world.
Because of that, it’s crucial to be as clear as possible from day one when you start communicating with a new client.
First and foremost, you need to craft a detailed project estimate, so as to define what you’re going to do at the agreed rates. Also, this document should contain the exact number of changes the client is allowed to demand at the agreed price. Likewise, highlight the prices for any additional tasks the client may have.
Further, stick to simple and clearly organized invoice templates, so you will avoid any ambiguities.
All these steps will come in handy as evidence of your work if the client is late with the payment.
What’s more, they’re all great pieces of evidence for your reminder email.
Stay formal throughout the body
Now that you’ve ensured proper arguments for a potential payment clash, it’s time to learn more about the opening lines of a reminder email.
For starters, you need to enter the email subject. It should either contain the name of your business or your personal name and a short summary of the email in question, such as “Paul Smith – invoice reminder”.
After that, it’s important to say hello to the recipient. A new client should be addressed as “Dear XY”. That way you’ll add a touch of impersonal communication to your email, which is a practical tactic when there’s a payment issue.
The first full sentence of the email should communicate a personal reference to the client. You can take a look at their website and refer to their recent business success. It could be something like “I’m happy to see that your new product has become so popular” or any other affirmative comment.
It will help you break the ice and prepare the recipient for the pinnacle of the reminder.
Say directly why you’re writing
Now that we’ve prepared the ground for the main part of your reminder email, you can state directly why you’re writing.
Still, you can start with a slight hedge that would serve as a great sequel to the affirmative comment from the previous paragraph. So you could go with something like “I realized you were completely immersed in that project, so I didn’t want to bother you”. As you can see, we’re trying to get closer and closer to the client without being pushy or impolite.
The following sentence should be the peak of your email and contain its purpose. The sentence “Anyway, I wonder if you had time to take a look at the invoice I sent you on MM/DD”.
Here you should state the invoice date, as well, in case the client unintentionally forgot to make the payment.
Again, you’re not performing a frontal attack, but you’re communicating your case in the most cordial way.
You can continue the email with something like “If you’ve been too busy lately, I’d just like to remind you to have a look at the invoice. I’m sending the same invoice attached to this email, but with a new date. Also, could you please tell me when I can expect the payment?”
Sending the invoice again in that email will speed things up if the client accidentally deleted or overlooked the old invoice.
Finally, the last sentence is here to nudge the client to start thinking about your late payment and eventually cover the debt.
The closing sentences and final greetings
The rest of the email will depend on the type of collaboration you’ve had with that client. If you’re writing to an old client, you can write about some things you have in common. For example, if you both like the same NBA club, make a comment on their recent games.
However, if you’re writing to a client with whom you’ve never had any casual chit-chat, this isn’t the right moment to start it. When writing a reminder email to such clients, stay strictly formal and serious, because that’s the most efficient way to get paid as soon as possible.
Therefore, the penultimate sentence of that email should be a call to action, such as “I’m looking forward to your reply”. If you want, you also add something like “I wish you a successful work day/week etc.” That way, you’ll round off the personal reference with which you opened the email.
As for the final greeting, finish the email with “Best regards”, “Yours truly” or something similar. Again, keep the formal tone and it will look more professional.
Finally, write your name after that greeting and add a personal signature to it.
Read what you’ve written one more time, to make sure you haven’t made any typos in that email. Also, make sure that you’ve attached the invoice to the email. Or, if you are using an online invoicing system like Invoicebus, you can include a link to the online invoice directly in the context (especially if you are receiving online payments). This usually triggers immediate call-to-action and results in quicker payments.
Conclusion
Writing a friendly email reminder is an important soft skill for every business owner. No matter how mad you are with your client’s negligence, you mustn’t show that in communication. After all, a gentle word opens an iron gate, so if you want to get paid fast, approach the client in a respectful way. The tips provided in this text should improve the way you write reminder emails and make your work more efficient.
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