What should you do first when an invoice goes overdue?

Check the invoice is correct and was delivered to the right contact before you chase. Then send a polite first past-due notice within three to five days of the due date. Most invoices that slip past the due date get paid at this stage, so move fast and keep the tone light.

What is a good timeline for collecting an overdue invoice?

A standard cadence is a first notice at 3 to 5 days past due, an escalation at 15 to 30 days, a call around 30 days, a final notice at 45 to 60 days, and handoff to a person or collections after 60 days. Tighten the spacing for shorter terms or higher-risk customers.

When should you escalate an overdue invoice?

Escalate when the standard email cadence stops working: after a final notice goes unanswered, when a customer breaks a promise to pay, or when the balance is large enough to warrant a credit hold. Escalation means a call, a hold on new orders, a payment plan, or third-party collections.

When should you write off an overdue invoice instead of pursuing it?

Write off when the cost and time to collect exceed what you would recover, or when the customer is insolvent or unreachable after repeated contact. For most B2B invoices that point comes well past 90 days. Pursue actively before then, because recovery rates fall sharply as invoices age.

March 24, 2026 · Rex

How to collect overdue invoices: templates, timing, and escalation

The full overdue-invoice workflow, with a day-by-day timeline, copy-ready templates for each touch, escalation rules, and when to write off versus keep pursuing.

To collect overdue invoices, work a fixed timeline: a first notice at 3 to 5 days past due, an escalation around 15 to 30 days, a call near 30 days, a final notice at 45 to 60 days, then handoff to a person or collections. Name the exact invoice and amount in every message, escalate tone as the balance ages, and pause the moment a customer disputes the charge or promises to pay.

An overdue invoice is an outstanding invoice that has passed its due date. Speed matters more here than anywhere else in collections, because recovery rates fall as invoices age. A fresh overdue balance usually just needs a reminder. A balance over 90 days old often needs a person, a plan, or a write-off decision. This guide covers the full overdue workflow: what to do first, the timeline, a template for each touch, when to escalate, and when to stop.

This is the overdue-specific companion to our general process for how to collect outstanding invoices, which covers every open invoice including ones still within terms. Here we focus only on what happens after the due date passes.

First steps when an invoice goes overdue

The day an invoice crosses its due date, do two things before you send anything.

First, confirm the invoice is correct and was delivered. Check it reached the right contact with a valid PO and the right amounts. Chasing a customer for an invoice they never received, or one with a real error, costs you credibility and slows the eventual payment.

Second, send a first past-due notice fast. Within three to five days of the due date, not three weeks. The tone is still light: assume it simply slipped through. Most invoices that go a few days past due get paid right here, and the early nudge does the work without any of the friction that comes later.

What not to do: wait. The single most expensive habit in AR is letting an overdue invoice sit untouched until it is 30 or 45 days old. By then the easy recovery window has closed and you are negotiating instead of reminding.

The overdue collection timeline

Use a fixed schedule so every overdue invoice gets the same treatment at the same age. This is a standard net-30 cadence. Tighten the spacing for shorter terms or higher-risk customers.

Days past due	Action	Tone
3 to 5	First past-due notice (email)	Friendly, assumes oversight
15	Second notice (email)	Firm, states days overdue
30	Phone call	Direct, diagnose the holdup
45 to 60	Final notice (email)	Serious, states consequences
60+	Escalate to a person or collections	Decision, not a reminder

The principle behind the schedule: tone should progress with the age of the invoice. The first message assumes the customer forgot. The middle messages get specific about the amount and the days overdue. The final message states what happens next. Never jump straight to a stern notice on a three-day-overdue balance, and never still be sending gentle reminders at day 60.

Two rules override the calendar. Pause the sequence the moment a customer disputes the charge or promises a date, and route those to a person. And shorten the whole timeline for customers with a history of late payment or weak credit.

Templates for each overdue touch

Keep every message short, name the exact invoice and amount, state the days overdue, and put a payment link in front of the customer.

First past-due notice (3 to 5 days)

Subject: Invoice [Invoice number] is now past due

Hi [Customer name],

Invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount] was due on [Due date] and is now past due. It may have slipped through, which happens.

You can settle it here: [Payment link]

If there is a reason payment is held up, or you need a copy of the invoice, just reply and we will help.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Company name]

When to send: within the first week past due.

Second notice (15 days)

Subject: Action needed: invoice [Invoice number] is [Days overdue] days overdue

Hi [Customer name],

We still have not received payment for invoice [Invoice number], totaling [Amount], which was due on [Due date] and is now [Days overdue] days overdue.

Please pay the balance here: [Payment link]

If you cannot pay the full amount right now, reply and let us know. We would rather agree a payment date with you than let this keep aging.

Regards,
[Your name]
[Company name]

When to send: once the invoice crosses two weeks past due with no response.

Collection call (30 days)

Hi [Customer name], this is [Your name] from [Company name]. I am calling about invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], now [Days overdue] days overdue.

I wanted to check whether there is anything holding up payment on your side.

[Pause and listen.]

If it is a scheduling matter, I can send a payment link while we are on the call. If there is an issue with the invoice, tell me and I will get it fixed today. If cash is tight this month, let's talk about a payment date that works.

When to use: around 30 days past due, or when email has gone unanswered for two cycles.

Final notice (45 to 60 days)

Subject: Final notice: invoice [Invoice number], [Amount] outstanding

Hi [Customer name],

This is a final notice regarding invoice [Invoice number] for [Amount], originally due on [Due date]. The balance remains unpaid despite previous reminders.

Please pay in full by [Final due date]: [Payment link]

If we do not receive payment or hear from you by that date, the account will be escalated for further collection steps and a hold may be placed on new orders. We would much rather resolve this directly, so please reply today if there is an issue we should know about.

Regards,
[Your name]
[Company name]

When to send: as the last automated touch before a person takes over or the account moves to collections. For a wider set of stage-by-stage options, see our collection email templates and dunning email templates.

When and how to escalate

Escalation starts when the standard email cadence stops working. The trigger is behavior, not just a date.

Escalate when:

A final notice goes unanswered. No payment, no contact. Place a hold on new orders and move the account to a person. A credit hold touches the customer's own operations and often unblocks payment faster than another email.
A promise to pay is broken. Once a customer misses a date they set, the friendly assumption is gone. Call, get a firm commitment in writing, and tie it to a consequence.
The balance is large. A high-value overdue invoice warrants a personal call earlier than the calendar suggests. Do not let your biggest exposures follow the same passive cadence as a small one.

How to escalate, in order: a direct call, then a credit hold, then a formal demand, then a payment plan if cash is the real issue, and third-party collections or legal action as the last resort. A scheduled partial recovery almost always beats a write-off, so offer a plan before you give up. When a dispute is the blocker, route it out of collections entirely and into the disputes and deductions workflow before resuming.

Knowing when to write off versus pursue

At some point the cost of chasing an invoice exceeds what you will recover. Deciding where that point sits keeps your team focused on collectible balances instead of dead ones.

Keep pursuing when:

The customer is responsive, even if slow. Engagement means recovery is likely.
The balance is large enough to justify a call, a plan, or legal action.
The invoice is under 90 days old. Recovery rates are still high in this window.

Write off, or send to third-party collections, when:

The customer is insolvent, unreachable, or has stopped responding after repeated contact.
The cost and time to collect exceed the balance.
The invoice is well past 90 days with no movement. Beyond this point, recovery odds drop sharply and your effort is better spent on fresher balances.

Track this with an aging report so the decision is driven by data, not gut feel. Watching how balances move through these buckets is also how you keep DSO down, since aged overdue invoices are what drag the metric up.

How Rex handles overdue invoices end to end

Working this timeline by hand is where AR teams lose hours, and where overdue invoices quietly age past the point of easy recovery. The schedule is simple. Running it on every overdue balance, at the right age, around the clock, without missing a touch, is the hard part.

Rex is an AI accounts receivable agent that chases overdue invoices end to end without manual follow-up. It watches every overdue balance, sends the right message at the right age, escalates tone as the invoice ages, and makes a call's worth of progress over email and chat before a human is ever needed. When a customer disputes a charge or promises a date, Rex pauses that invoice and routes it to a person, and it flags the aged, hard-to-collect balances that need a write-off or escalation decision. Your team sees only the cases that need judgment, while everything else gets chased the moment it falls overdue.

See how Rex runs overdue collections across your whole ledger, day and night.

Frequently asked questions

What should you do first when an invoice goes overdue?: Check the invoice is correct and was delivered to the right contact before you chase. Then send a polite first past-due notice within three to five days of the due date. Most invoices that slip past the due date get paid at this stage, so move fast and keep the tone light.
What is a good timeline for collecting an overdue invoice?: A standard cadence is a first notice at 3 to 5 days past due, an escalation at 15 to 30 days, a call around 30 days, a final notice at 45 to 60 days, and handoff to a person or collections after 60 days. Tighten the spacing for shorter terms or higher-risk customers.
When should you escalate an overdue invoice?: Escalate when the standard email cadence stops working: after a final notice goes unanswered, when a customer breaks a promise to pay, or when the balance is large enough to warrant a credit hold. Escalation means a call, a hold on new orders, a payment plan, or third-party collections.
When should you write off an overdue invoice instead of pursuing it?: Write off when the cost and time to collect exceed what you would recover, or when the customer is insolvent or unreachable after repeated contact. For most B2B invoices that point comes well past 90 days. Pursue actively before then, because recovery rates fall sharply as invoices age.