How to write an invoice email

In a hurry? Jump to the invoice email template

Difficult to get invoices paid on time? Jump to the 'How to end late payments' section.

How to write an invoice email

Once you’ve provided a product or service to a client, it’s time to get paid. But before you do that, you’ll need to produce an invoice and email it across. Or do you?

If you are looking for tips on 'how to write an invoice email', then you could be about to make a big mistake in your business with your approach to payment collection!

In this article, you will definitely pick up some tips for writing invoice emails.

More importantly, we'll show you how to eliminate late payments entirely by automating invoicing and payment collection to ensure that, in the future, your invoices will always be paid on the due dates that you set.

Many small businesses and freelancers have trouble with late payments, and while it isn’t effective in every case, a clear and easy-to-understand invoice email could help you get paid more quickly.

Tips for how to write an invoice via email

Want to know how to write an email with an invoice attached? We’ve put together a couple of key tips to ensure you make it as easy as possible for your clients to process your invoice, as well as a sample invoice email you can use for your customers.

Include the invoice as an attachment

Don’t paste your invoice into the body of the email. Instead, attach it as a downloadable PDF file. This enables your clients to save, print, or upload your invoice to their accounting software. Download an invoice template here if needed.

Include all the important information in the subject line

Many businesses are inundated with emails, so the easier you can make it to help them find your invoice, the faster you’ll get paid. By putting all the important information in the subject line, including the invoice number and the due date, your clients will find it much easier to identify your invoice.

Consider using an email template

If you need to invoice a lot, using invoice email templates can save you a significant amount of time. All you need to do is change the key information, which shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and you can send off your invoice quickly and easily.

Make sure your invoice includes everything the client needs to know

If you don’t include all the necessary information, your client may need to request a second invoice, or they might just neglect to pay at all. Check out our guide to how to write an invoice for a comprehensive list of everything you need to include on the invoice itself.

Invoice Email Template

Writing emails from scratch can be time-consuming, particularly if you need to invoice large numbers of clients. After you’ve learnt how to write an invoice email, using templates can be a great way to cut down on the amount of admin you need to deal with. Here’s a simple and effective sample you can use to send a friendly reminder about an invoice that’s due to be paid soon:

You can adjust the formality of the message, for example, by using "Dear [client name], and adding additional details such as your preferred payment method. Be sure to double-check that you have attached the invoice itself before sending it.

When you're done, the email could look very simple, like the one below, or you could add your company logo or colours to give more of a branded impression.

If you’ve already sent an invoice, but it’s overdue, you may need to chase late payment.

Here’s a sample invoice collection email you can use to do just that:

As you can see, the best invoice emails are simple, friendly, and provide all the information the client needs to process your invoice.

Following up on your invoice email

Of course, sending an invoice email isn’t always the end of the story. Sometimes, your clients may delay payment. In these cases, it’s always a good idea to get in touch with your contact by phone, as it’s possible that your emails are simply going to the wrong person.

If this doesn’t work, you may need to escalate the process by sending a formal letter. Subsequent steps, such as sending debt collectors, charging late payment interest, or starting legal proceedings, should only be considered as a last resort.

End late invoice payments

GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, eliminating late payments, which means no more chasing payments and reduces the amount of manual admin your finance team needs to deal with. 

GoCardless uses 'pull' payments, which are direct account-to-account bank payments controlled by the business receiving payment. Your customer authorises the payment and funds are automatically transferred to you on the dates you set.

Case Study: Ending late invoice payments

Biz Wisdom is a digital marketing agency that uses invoicing as its primary payment method. Like all invoicing businesses, late payments were an issue that was only getting worse. 

Automating invoice payment collection using GoCardless and Direct Debit, Biz Wisdom has eliminated late payments, saving their finance teams days of work chasing unpaid invoices. GoCardless has also brought a welcome end to difficult client conversations about late invoice payments.

Automation extends to integration with over 200 accounting software packages which can further reduce the amount of manual admin work required.

Watch Sam McEwim of Biz Wisdom talk about how GoCardless has had a transformative impact on the company’s payment collection process.

Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.

FAQs - How to write an invoice email  

Why Use an Invoice Email Template?

Having a template for any repetitive task is a huge time-saver. 

Although templates are generic by their very nature, this is not an issue when it comes to invoicing emails. You will likely already be communicating with your client as part of the service provided, so they will not expect anything more than a short, to-the-point email with the invoice attached and details of how to settle.

How Do I Create an Invoice Email Template?

You can create an invoice email template using any word processing software, such as Microsoft Office or Google Docs.

Even easier might be to save it as a draft in your email; then, you can simply edit and send it directly from your email account.

What Do You Write in Invoice Emails?

The content of the email should contain brief details of the amount and how to pay it. You'll need to change the recipient's name at the start of the email, but other than that, you could keep it very generic.

How to Write a Cover Letter for an Invoice

You may want to expand on the invoice email template for certain clients for who you have worked on substantial projects. This cover letter could include details of the scope of work completed, any know outcomes, or anything else relevant to this client and their project.

How to Write a Past Due Invoice Email

Late payments are almost guaranteed when sending invoices via email. To eliminate late payments and never need to write a past due invoice email again, use GoCardless for invoicing and automate payment collection to get paid on time every time.

For those invoices already past due, read about how to write a past-due invoice email 

How Do I Send an Invoice Through Email?

Typically invoices are sent as an email attachment. This works well for documents, although it can fall foul of overzealous spam traps, which can cause further payment delays.

Increasingly popular is adding a paylink to your email, which the client can click and be taken to an online invoice that can be paid there and then.

The best way is to have GoCardless automate your payment collection so that your invoice email is actually a notification that payment will be taken on the due date as authorised by the client