{"id":6854,"date":"2020-02-12T17:29:57","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T22:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:44:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:44:18","slug":"tips-to-collecting-an-overdue-invoice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/tips-to-collecting-an-overdue-invoice\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to collecting an overdue invoice"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTips to collecting an overdue invoice\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-02-12T17:29:57-05:00\">February 12, 2020<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Tips to collecting an overdue invoice\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/tips-to-collecting-an-overdue-invoice\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/owen\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/fr-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/04\/Owen_sage-advice-002.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Owen Sweeney<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>When a customer fails to pay a large invoice, the potential damage to your business can be significant. Especially if other sales won\u2019t cover the shortfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You may need to borrow money to keep the business going.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You may end up losing the customer if things turn sour.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You may get stressed about it all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there\u2019s no sure-fire method to collect debts, consider these strategies to improve your chances of getting your money and keeping the customer relationship intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-communicate-with-your-customer\">Communicate with your customer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t jump to conclusions. Contact your customer personally to find out what\u2019s going on with the large overdue invoice\u2014it may be a simple matter of miscommunication or an accounts payable error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the customer may be unhappy with the order or didn\u2019t receive everything promised and naturally doesn\u2019t want to pay. Or, perhaps they never received your invoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hopefully, you can resolve the issue and collect payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ask-for-immediate-payment\">Ask for immediate payment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If there is no dispute with the account, move to collect your money. Try to make it really easy for customers to make a payment by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accepting credit and debit cards. For example, you can set up payment options using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/payments-and-banking\/\">Sage Business Cloud<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accepting direct deposit to your bank account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accepting e-transfer payments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offering to send a courier to collect a certified cheque or bank draft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the customer can\u2019t pay the entire amount today, ask for a partial (or \u201cgood faith\u201d) payment using one of the above payment options. Set a date to collect the balance outstanding or negotiate a payment plan, if necessary. Send them a written note to confirm the arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stay-on-top-of-it\">Stay on top of it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No one likes calling overdue accounts because it\u2019s unpleasant\u2014so it\u2019s natural to put it off until tomorrow, the day after, or even next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However unpleasant a task it may be, staying on top of accounts coming due and making collections is important because your business cash flow likely depends on that money. Set up alerts using your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/size\/small-business\/\">accounting software<\/a> to notify you when a customer invoice is due for payment or overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you must, call every day and ask for payment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Email to follow up your call.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Send a formal account statement (and charge interest on overdue amounts, providing you\u2019ve made this your credit policy during the customer onboarding process).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Squeaky wheels usually get the grease. However, be sure to read up on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/financial-consumer-agency\/services\/debt\/collection-agency.html\">what a debt collector can and can\u2019t do<\/a> in Canada when contacting a debtor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-last-resort-use-a-collection-agency\">Last resort\u2014use a collection agency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the customer won\u2019t return your calls or emails, and the account is seriously overdue, it may be time to bring in a professional collection agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A collection agency knows the legal process to get your money. They will possess more experience at collecting receivables than you do. And, if you are concerned about maintaining a relationship with the customer after the debt is settled, hiring an agency will help you to keep the collection process at arms-length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agencies collect their fees in different ways. You can expect to either pay a percentage of the money collected, or a flat rate for their services. In some cases, the collection agency will offer to buy the debt from you for cents on the dollar and pursue the debtor on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In more complicated business cases, or in situations where the debtor is bankrupt, it might be best to contact your lawyer for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-check-your-policies\">Check your policies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have resolved the issue and successfully collected your money, it\u2019s time to circle back and check your customer credit policy and procedures to see what can be done to prevent a similar situation in the future. For example, you might insist all new customers pay upfront for the first few orders before you are willing to grant them credit.<\/p>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/tag\/dealing-with-contractors\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdealing with contractors\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/tag\/electronic-payments\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button 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srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1280373749-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1280373749-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1280373749-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-05-01T11:04:00-04:00\">May 1, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">10 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tWhat is petty cash?\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-12909 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-strategy-legal-operations category-trends-insights tag-bookkeeping tag-business-finances tag-business-intelligence tag-cash-flow tag-data-analysis tag-electronic-payments tag-financial-insights tag-midsized-business tag-small-business tag-staying-competitive business_type-small-business business_type-medium-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/scenario-planning\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/10\/BrandShoot-LND_June2024_Financial-Services_0678-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/10\/BrandShoot-LND_June2024_Financial-Services_0678-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/10\/BrandShoot-LND_June2024_Financial-Services_0678-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/10\/BrandShoot-LND_June2024_Financial-Services_0678-1214x810.jpg 1214w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-05-01T09:00:00-04:00\">May 1, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">12 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tScenario planning: What it is, how it\u2019s used, and its benefits\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-12515 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accounting-101 tag-bookkeeping tag-business-finances tag-business-intelligence tag-cash-flow tag-financial-insights tag-how-to-grow-your-business tag-midsized-business tag-small-business business_type-small-business business_type-medium-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/invoice-vs-receipt\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-814559004-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-814559004-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-814559004-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-814559004-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-02-17T08:41:36-05:00\">February 17, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tInvoice vs. receipt: What\u2019s the difference and why does it matter?\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a customer fails to pay a large invoice, the potential damage to your business can be significant. Especially if other sales won\u2019t cover the shortfall. &nbsp; While there\u2019s no sure-fire method to collect debts, consider these strategies to improve your chances of getting your money and keeping the customer relationship intact. Communicate with your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":737,"featured_media":5522,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[180,184,187,189,190,191],"business_type":[3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[83],"imagine_tag":[34,67],"coauthors":[310],"class_list":["post-6854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-dealing-with-contractors","tag-electronic-payments","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-expenses","tag-financial-insights","tag-funding","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Owen Sweeney","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/Parfumarija_SageOne_GL_121114-223.jpg","imagine_tags":{"34":"Accountants","67":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/737"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/5522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}