{"id":30899,"date":"2025-06-03T08:57:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=30899"},"modified":"2025-06-03T08:57:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:57:46","slug":"handle-missing-invoices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/handle-missing-invoices\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do when a customer says they never received the invoice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat to do when a customer says they never received the invoice\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\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

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"yassir-malik-profile-picture\"\t\t\t\tYassir Malik<\/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

Late payments are frustrating\u2014especially when they come with the same excuse every month: \u201cWe never received your invoice.\u201d While it\u2019s possible an email went to spam or the recipient changed, hearing this repeatedly can make the situation feel more like a delay tactic than a genuine error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to avoid this issue and ensure customers receive your invoices<\/a> the first time. Here\u2019s how to improve invoice delivery and reduce payment delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect your email subject lines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Subject lines can make or break invoice visibility. If your subject includes words like \u201cPay now\u201d or other spam triggers, your email might be flagged and never seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To increase delivery success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Include the invoice number and company name, e.g., \u201cInvoice #1234 for Company XYZ\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Keep the subject line clear and professional<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Avoid words that sound overly promotional or urgent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being specific helps the customer recognize the invoice and reduces the chances of it being filtered out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confirm the right recipients<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the issue isn\u2019t technical\u2014it\u2019s just being sent to the wrong person. Common scenarios include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 A contact who\u2019s left the company<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Invoices sent to a sales contact instead of accounts payable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Changes in staff or departmental responsibilities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always verify that you\u2019re sending invoices to the correct, current email address. If necessary, request updated billing contact information from the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask to be whitelisted<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A straightforward fix: ask customers to add your email address to their contacts or whitelist it. This can help ensure future invoices bypass spam filters entirely and land directly in the right inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use invoicing software to stay ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Modern accounts receivable automation software<\/a>, such as Sage AR Automation<\/a>, allows you to track invoice delivery, send follow-up reminders, and offer a secure payment portal\u2014all in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Verifiable delivery logs so you can confirm when an invoice was sent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The ability to resend an invoice with one click during a phone call<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 A secure portal where customers can view and pay invoices by card or ACH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of chasing down paper trails or resending the same invoice multiple times, automation gives you real-time visibility and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Say goodbye to unpaid invoices<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Download our\u00a0 guide for 7 tips to get your invoices paid faster.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Be proactive, not frustrated<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If a customer says they never received an invoice, stay calm\u2014and be prepared. While you\u2019re on the phone with them, resend the invoice and ask them to confirm receipt in real time. This keeps the conversation productive and helps prevent future delays.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Working\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you tired of hearing, \u201cWe never received the invoice\u201d? Learn how to effectively improve invoice delivery, reduce delays, and follow up with Sage AR Automation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1774,"featured_media":20290,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"business_type":[312],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[57],"persona":[150],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[509],"class_list":["post-30899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","business_type-accountants","industry-financial-services"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Yassir Malik","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1403897241.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/20290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=30899"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=30899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}