Consultants · problem and fix
Chasing late client payments as a consultant on Mac: reminder email drafts for 2026
Chasing late client payments as a consultant works best on a schedule. Send a friendly reminder just before the due date, a firm one once the invoice is past due, and a final notice only when you mean to act on it. Write each reminder once, save it, and track every invoice in one sheet. This guide covers the steps you can use for free, then shows where Lazur fits in.
The short answer
- Send a friendly reminder before the due date, then a firm one after it.
- Save each reminder as a template in Outlook for Mac so you write it once.
- Track every invoice in one sheet with a days-late column that you sort each week.
- In the UK, statutory interest may apply to late business debts. Check the current rules first.
- Follow your client contract and your firm's rules before you paste client details into any AI tool.
What payment reminder emails for late invoices costs you
Hours you cannot bill
Chasing takes time that could go to billable work or to finding new clients. The Commissioner's research puts the average at 86 hours a year for each affected business. For a sole trader, that time is a large share of the week. Work out your own day rate and multiply it by the hours you spend on reminders.
Cash that arrives late
Late money delays your bills, your tax and your own pay. The FSB and GoCardless report found that 28% of respondents had used loans or credit lines to cover cash flow gaps caused by late payments. Track when money is due, not only when it is invoiced.
Money you give up
The FSB and GoCardless report found that 52% of respondents give up on late payments, up to 10 times a year, rather than chase them. This loss is easy to miss, because nothing in your inbox marks it as lost. Keep a simple list of written-off amounts.
Client relationships under strain
A reminder that lands badly can strain a client relationship. A reminder that never arrives can also cost you the client, because silence reads as a lack of concern. The goal is a clear, calm message at the right time.
Why it happens
Vague terms from the start
If the contract says payment on completion, or says nothing about timing, the client has no clear date to miss. Vendor reports point to unclear terms as a common issue. Write the due date and the number of days to pay on every invoice and in the contract.
Invoices that go to the wrong person
An invoice that lands in a shared inbox, or that lacks a purchase order number, can stall for weeks. Ask at the start who approves payments and what they need from you. Then put that detail on the invoice.
No follow-up plan
Many consultants send one invoice and wait. Silence then looks like an acceptable answer to the client. Vendor reports link weak follow-up with late payment, but the size of that effect has not been verified for this page.
A dispute about the work
A client who disputes the work may hold back payment, and a reminder will not change that. The sources checked for this page do not split late payments into admin errors and disputes. Treat a dispute as its own problem, with its own conversation.
Client cash trouble
The GoCardless and FSB report found that 45% of respondents saw more late payments than 12 months earlier. That suggests a wider squeeze on cash. It does not tell you why your particular client is late, so ask them directly.
How to fix it
These work with or without any app.
Put the due date on every invoice
Write the invoice date, the due date and the payment terms in plain words. Repeat the invoice reference in the subject line of every reminder. This costs nothing, and it removes a common excuse. It also makes each reminder easier to write.
Write three reminders once, then reuse them
Draft a friendly version, a firm version and a final version. Keep each one short and factual. Save each one as a template so you only change the details. Reuse keeps your tone steady when you are tired or annoyed.
Save templates in Outlook for Mac
Use File > Save As Template on a sent reminder, then File > New > Mail From Template to reuse it. Microsoft says the built-in template controls need Microsoft 365 or Outlook for Mac 15.35 (170610) or later. Shared mailboxes need a different plan, as noted above.
Keep one aging sheet
A simple Excel sheet with a days-late column shows what to chase today. Sort it every Monday. Mark each invoice with the date of the last reminder and the date of the next one. You can set this up in one sitting.
Use Text Replacements for repeat lines
If you type the same payment reference or bank line into every reminder, set up a Text Replacements shortcut in macOS. Search System Settings for it, because menu names change between macOS versions. Check the details before each send.
Set the follow-up before you send
Before you send a reminder, add the follow-up date to Reminders or Calendar. Most chasing fails after the send, when the next step slips. A dated follow-up turns silence into a task you can finish.
Call before you escalate
A short call often shows the real problem, such as a missing approval, a dispute or a cash issue. Ask for a payment date and confirm it in writing that same day. Then repeat the date in one short email.
Check the statutory rules before the final notice
If you work with UK businesses, read the Commissioner's interest guidance before you write the final notice. Confirm the current base rate and the reference date. Use any figure only after you have checked it.
What late payments cost you as a consultant
The cost is bigger than the unpaid invoice. Chasing takes your time, your cash and some of your patience. The UK Small Business Commissioner estimates that 28% of UK businesses are hit by late payments each year. That is more than 1.5 million businesses.
The same research puts the cost to the UK economy at almost £11 billion a year. That figure covers the whole economy, so it will not match your own books. It does show how common the problem is.
28%
Of all UK businesses are affected by late payments each year
Late Payments Research: Small Business Commissioner86 hours
Average staff time spent chasing late payments, per affected business each year
Late Payments Research: Small Business Commissioner62%
Of small firms are owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging £21.4K
2025 UK Small Business Late Payments Report52%
Say they give up on late payments up to 10 times a year to avoid chasing costs
GoCardless and FSB late payments report 2025Time is the cost most people feel first. The Commissioner's research finds that 22% of surveyed businesses have staff time spent chasing late payments. Each affected business averages 86 hours a year on it. Across the economy, that adds up to about 133 million hours.
If you work alone, that time is yours. It is hours you cannot bill and cannot spend on new work. Put your own day rate next to the number, and the cost becomes easy to see.
Cash flow is the next cost. In a 2025 survey by GoCardless and the Federation of Small Businesses, 28% of respondents had used short-term finance, such as loans or credit lines, to manage cash flow because of late payments. Borrowing to bridge a late invoice adds a cost of its own.
The quietest cost is money you give up. In the same report, 52% of respondents said they give up on late payments, up to 10 times a year, to avoid the time and cost of chasing. Nothing in your inbox marks that money as lost.
Why one polite email is not enough
Most consultants send one invoice and then wait. A reminder schedule works better because the client sees a clear next step. The strongest research checked for this page is not about invoices. It is about tax letters.
In two natural field experiments, Hallsworth and colleagues used administrative data on more than 200,000 UK individuals. They added social-norm messages to tax payment reminder letters, and the messages improved compliance. The paper's abstract gives no percentage figure, so the size of the effect is unknown.
Social-norm wording means describing what most people do, such as most people paying on time. Use that kind of line only when it is true for your clients. Do not invent a norm to push someone into paying.
Why clients pay late
Most published causes come from software vendors. The sources checked for this page point to two patterns: weak follow-up and unclear terms. How much each cause adds to late payment has not been verified. Use the checks below as a list to test against your own invoices.
- Does the invoice show a due date and the payment terms in plain words?
- Does the client know who approves invoices on their side?
- Did you send the invoice to the right person, with a purchase order number if they need one?
- Did the client agree that the work is finished and accepted?
- Did you send any reminder at all before you escalated?
A reminder schedule that works
Use three tones, and move through them in order. Invoice Chase, a Mac app, drafts reminders in Friendly, Firm and Final tones, so the pattern is common. You can copy it with no app at all.
A friendly reminder goes out just before the due date or the day after. It asks the client to confirm a payment date. A firm reminder goes out once the invoice is past due. It states the amount, the due date and what you need. A final notice comes after a firm reminder gets no answer.
| Stage | When to send | Tone | What it must include |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly | Just before the due date, or the day after | Warm and short | Invoice reference, amount, due date and a request to confirm |
| Firm | Once the invoice is past due | Direct, with the facts | Same details, the days overdue and a payment date to agree |
| Final | After a firm reminder gets no answer | Plain about next steps | What happens next, and interest only if the UK rules apply |
Keep the gap between messages short enough that the client still remembers the work. Do not wait for a perfect moment. Finance teams are busy, and a short email is easy to answer.
Write the final notice last, and keep it calm. Name the next step you will take, and only send the notice if you will take that step.
Write each reminder once in Outlook for Mac
Outlook for Mac has built-in templates, so you can stop retyping the same email. Microsoft says these template controls need Microsoft 365 or Outlook for Mac 15.35 (170610) or later. Check your version before you start. You can read more in Outlook for consultants on Mac.
To save a template, open an email you have already sent and choose File > Save As Template. To use it later, choose File > New > Mail From Template. Microsoft saves the template as an .emltpl file, so keep it somewhere safe.
Make one template for each tone. Name them clearly, such as Reminder friendly and Reminder firm, so you pick the right one in a hurry. Edit the reference and the date each time before you send.
Shared mailboxes need a different plan. Microsoft says the My Templates add-in needs an Exchange account and is not available in shared mailboxes opened in Outlook for Mac. If you send from a shared mailbox, keep a plain text copy of each template in your notes.
Apple Mail and Text Replacements on Mac
If you use Apple Mail, do not count on a template feature. The part of Apple's Mail User Guide checked for this page does not describe templates. Keep one reminder in your Drafts folder and duplicate it when you need it.
macOS also has Text Replacements. It expands a short code into a longer phrase, which helps with lines you type every time, such as a payment reference. The menu path could not be confirmed from Apple's help. Search System Settings for Text Replacements instead of trusting a path written here.
Be careful what you store. A shortcut for your bank details saves time, but check those details before every send. If a client emails new bank details, confirm them by phone using a number you already have.
Track what is owed in Excel for Mac
A reminder only works when you send the next one on time. An aging sheet tells you when. Use one row per invoice. Keep columns for client, invoice reference, amount, due date, last reminder sent and next step. You can build the sheet in Excel for consultants on Mac.
Add a days-late column. If the due date is in column D and your first invoice sits on row 2, type =TODAY()-D2 in column E and fill it down. A positive number means the invoice is overdue. Sort by that column every Monday.
Filter or colour the overdue rows so they stand out. Keep the file somewhere only your team can open. If it holds client names and amounts, check your firm's rules on where client data can live.
UK statutory interest and recovery costs
If your client is a UK business and the invoice is late, the statutory late payment rules may let you claim interest. The rate is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. The base rate is fixed on a reference date of 30 June or 31 December.
You can claim interest for a maximum of 6 years. The rules also let businesses charge a fixed sum for recovery costs on top of interest. The Commissioner's guidance page does not list those amounts. The GOV.UK page that lists them returned an error when checked for this page, so confirm the figures yourself before you quote them.
Do not open with interest. Leave it out of friendly and firm reminders. Mention it in the final notice only if the client has not paid and you have decided to escalate.
Mistakes that make chasing harder
- Waiting months before the first reminder. Each week of silence makes the next message harder to send.
- Writing the first reminder in anger. A sharp tone gets forwarded, and it rarely gets paid faster.
- Chasing the wrong person. Find out who approves payments, and copy them on the firm reminder.
- Leaving the details out. Put the reference, amount and due date in the body, not only in an attachment.
- Adding interest or fees to a friendly reminder. Save that wording for the final notice, if the rules allow it.
- Keeping reminders in your head. If a follow-up is not in a sheet or in Reminders, it slips.
- Pasting client details into an AI tool without checking your contract or your firm's rules first.
Edge cases: disputes, big clients and clients abroad
A dispute is not a late payment. If the client says the work is wrong, another reminder will not fix that. Reply in writing, list what was agreed, and offer a call. Pause the reminder schedule until you have an answer.
Some large clients pay in fixed payment runs. A reminder sent before the run can look like noise. Ask for the run date, note it on the sheet, and chase only after it passes.
Clients abroad add two checks. Confirm the currency and the payment method in writing. Then check local rules on late payment before you mention interest, because the UK rules in this guide do not apply everywhere.
Worked example: one late invoice, step by step
Say an invoice was due at the end of last month, and nothing has arrived. On Monday, you sort the sheet by days late. The invoice sits at the top. You open your firm reminder template in Outlook for Mac and change the greeting, the reference and the date.
On Tuesday, you send it, then add a follow-up for Thursday in Reminders. On Thursday, the client has not replied, so you call. You ask for a payment date, write it down, and send a short email that repeats the date.
If the date passes without payment, send the final notice the following week. It names the next step and any interest, if the UK rules apply. Every step has a date and a reason. That is the whole system.
Paid tools, and what they cost
You do not need a paid tool to run this. Some consultants still prefer one. Invoice Chase is a Mac app that drafts reminders in Friendly, Firm and Final tones. It sends nothing on its own. You copy each draft into Mail, Messages or WhatsApp.
Its App Store listing says it needs macOS 15.0 or later and an Apple M1 chip or later. Check the listing before you buy, because requirements can change between versions.
Dunningly is a web tool that sends reminders automatically on a schedule. Its site lists a free plan, a Starter plan at €9 a month and a Pro plan at €19 a month, labelled as early launch pricing. The site does not mention a Mac app. Check their pricing page before you sign up.
Where Lazur helps, and where it does not
Lazur helps with the writing and the remembering. Hold fn to dictate a reminder into Outlook, and Lazur types clean text at your cursor. Ask it to draft a firm reminder for a late invoice, then read the draft before you use it.
Lazur does not send the email. It does not click File > Save As Template for you either. It can point at that menu item, draw a circle around it, and guide you one click at a time, waiting for each click.
Lazur can also add a Reminders item or a Calendar event for the follow-up date. That helps most when the follow-up is the step you forget. You still choose the wording, the client and the time to send. See pricing for plans and the free trial.
Keep client details private while you draft
A reminder holds client names, amounts and dates. Before you paste or dictate that into any AI tool, check your client contract and your employer's or firm's rules. Accountants, lawyers and other regulated professionals should follow their firm's policy on client data, even when it is strict.
Lazur listens and looks at the screen only while you hold the shortcut. Audio and the screenshot go to AI providers to get an answer, and they are not stored. Content is never used to train AI models. Your client's rules still come first.
Start with the oldest overdue invoice
Open the sheet today and find the oldest overdue invoice. Draft one firm reminder, read it, and send it yourself. The rest of the system can wait until that one email is sent.
Faster with Lazur
Where Lazur helps with payment reminder emails for late invoices
Hold ⌥ ⌘ and say what you want. Lazur sees your Outlook window. Lazur reads what's on screen and writes the draft at your cursor for you to check.
- 1
Hold ⌥⌘ and talk
- 2
Lazur reads what's on screen and writes the draft at your cursor for you to check.
- 3
You stay in Outlook. Nothing to copy into a chat window.
More things to say in Outlook
- “Draft a firm reminder for a late invoice”
- “Hold fn and dictate the reminder body into Outlook”
- “Where is File > Save As Template?”
- “Walk me through saving this as a template”
- “Remind me on Thursday to call about the late invoice”
- “What does this payment term mean?”
Free for 3 days, then $18/month. Download for Mac
You say“Draft a firm reminder for the June invoice, a few weeks late.”
Lazur · drafts itLazur drafts the reminder text. You read it, change anything you like, and press Send yourself.
Draft at your cursor
Subject: June invoice, now overdue Hi there, I am following up on the June invoice for strategy work. It was due last month, and I have not seen payment yet. Could you confirm when it will be paid, or tell me if anything is blocking it? Thanks, Your name
What consultants say to Lazur for this
Each one is a single hold of ⌥ ⌘.
“Draft a firm reminder for a late invoice”
Lazur writes the email text for you to read, edit and send yourself.
Drafts it
“Hold fn and dictate the reminder body into Outlook”
Clean, formatted text appears at the cursor in any app, with snippets and your own dictionary.
Types what you say
“Where is File > Save As Template?”
Lazur draws a circle and a label around the menu item on your screen.
Points at it
“Walk me through saving this as a template”
Lazur guides you one click at a time, and waits for each click before it goes on.
Walks you through it
“Remind me on Thursday to call about the late invoice”
Lazur adds the follow-up to Apple Reminders or Calendar, by voice.
Handles the small stuff
“What does this payment term mean?”
Lazur answers out loud about anything on screen. It does not give legal advice, so check the rules yourself.
Explains what's on screen
A plan you can start this week
- Monday
Sort the sheet by days late
Open your aging sheet and sort by the days-late column. Mark each invoice with its next step: friendly, firm, final or call. Keep the review to one sitting so it actually happens every week.
- Tuesday
Send the friendly reminders
Send friendly reminders for invoices due this week. Use the saved template, change the reference and the date, and read it once before you send. Add a follow-up date in Reminders for each one.
- Wednesday
Send the firm reminders
Send firm reminders to anything past due. State the amount, the due date and the date you need payment. Copy the person who approves payments if you know who that is.
- Thursday
Call the slow payers
Call any client who has not answered a firm reminder. Ask for a payment date and write it on the sheet. Then send a short email that repeats the date. Lazur can dictate that email while you read it back.
- Friday
Check the follow-ups
Check that every follow-up in Reminders has a date. Clear anything you have already dealt with. Note what the client said, so the next message fits the last conversation.
- Month end
Review and decide on escalation
Review every invoice that is still open. Decide which ones need a final notice, a conversation about a dispute or a write-off. If the client is in the UK, check the statutory interest rules before you add any figure.
Questions people ask
Is it rude to chase a late client payment?
No. A clear reminder is normal business. The UK Small Business Commissioner's research shows how common late payment is. Keep the tone calm and the facts exact. A short, clear note is easier for a client to act on.
When should I send the first reminder?
Send a friendly one just before the due date, or the day after. That timing gives the client a chance to pay without feeling accused. If a client has been slow before, send the friendly note on the due date itself.
Can I charge interest on a late invoice?
In the UK, the statutory rules may allow interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, for a maximum of 6 years. Check the current base rate and the rules before you claim it. Do not raise interest in a friendly reminder. Outside the UK, check local law.
Does Lazur send the reminder emails for me?
No. Lazur drafts text, dictates it at your cursor, points at menu items and guides you through steps one click at a time. You read the draft, change anything you want, and send it yourself.
Can I use reminder templates in Apple Mail?
The part of Apple's Mail User Guide checked for this page does not describe templates. Use the template features in Outlook for Mac if you have them. In Apple Mail, keep a reminder in Drafts and duplicate it.
Is there evidence that payment reminders work?
The strongest study checked for this page is about UK tax letters, not invoices. It found that social-norm wording in reminder letters improved compliance. It gives no percentage figure, so the size of the effect is unknown. Test your own wording.
Can I put client data into an AI tool?
Check your client contract and your employer's or firm's rules first. Regulated professionals such as accountants and lawyers should follow their firm's policy on client data. Lazur sends audio and screenshots to AI providers only while you hold the shortcut, and they are not stored.
Sources
- Late Payments Research: Small Business Commissioner · UK Small Business Commissioner · checked 2026-11-09
- Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2025: SME employers (businesses with 1 to 249 employees) · GOV.UK, Department for Business and Trade · checked 2026-11-09
- GoCardless and FSB late payments report 2025 · GoCardless · checked 2026-11-09
- 2025 UK Small Business Late Payments Report · Intuit QuickBooks UK · checked 2026-11-09
- Interest Calculator Guidance · UK Small Business Commissioner · checked 2026-11-09
- Can I create email templates in Outlook for Mac? · Microsoft Support · checked 2026-11-09
- Mail User Guide for Mac · Apple Support · checked 2026-11-09
- The Behavioralist As Tax Collector (NBER Working Paper 20007) · National Bureau of Economic Research · checked 2026-11-09
- Invoice Chase on the App Store · Apple App Store · checked 2026-11-09
- Dunningly: Overdue Invoice Reminder Software · Dunningly · checked 2026-11-09
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