alebgl77 Invoice Chase — Debt Chaser
"Chase late invoices."
Unpaid invoices are interest-free loans you never agreed to make. This skill gets the money in while keeping the client.
When to use
- "Three clients haven't paid since March — get the money in."
- "This invoice is 45 days overdue, what do I send?" — any single stubborn invoice.
- "Here's my invoice export / AR aging — who do I chase first?"
- Receivables creeping past 30 days while the owner "doesn't want to be annoying."
- Standing up a weekly collections routine so lateness stops compounding.
Workflow
- Build the aging ladder. From pasted data or CSV (client, invoice #, amount, issue date, due date, last contact), compute days overdue with code and bucket: current, 1–30, 31–60, 61–90, 90+.
- Prioritize. Rank by amount × age. Most of the money usually sits in three invoices — name them as this week's targets.
- Assign each invoice a rung based on days overdue and chase history. Never skip a rung the client hasn't actually received; pressure without a paper trail reads as hostility.
- Draft the emails from the templates below, personalized: their name, the exact amount, the real due date, and one specific detail proving a human wrote it.
- Apply the tone rules.
- Assume incompetence before malice — rung 1 always presumes an oversight.
- Escalate consequences, never insults. The facts get harder; the manners don't change.
- The money and the relationship are separate threads: chase firmly, stay warm.
- Every message offers one easy exit: confirm a date, pay a part, or flag a dispute.
- Open the chase log. Every action and response gets a row — it is both memory and, if things ever go legal, evidence.
- Set the cadence. Rungs 7 days apart from the first overdue day; phone at 60+ days or after a silent final notice. Diarize the next action before closing the session.
- Know when to fold. Recommend write-off when chasing costs more than the balance: client dark after final notice plus a call, a dispute with no resolution path, or an amount worth less than the hours to collect it. Pair every write-off with stop-work and prepayment terms going forward.
Output format
INVOICE CHASE PACK — <business> — <date>
AGING LADDER
Bucket | Count | Total | % of AR
Current | ... | ... | ...
1–30 | ... | ... | ...
31–60 | ... | ... | ...
61–90 | ... | ... | ...
90+ | ... | ... | ...
TOP TARGETS (amount × age)
1. <client> — inv <#> — <amount> — <days> days — rung <n> — next: <action> on <date>
2. ...
3. ...
RUNG 1 — FRIENDLY NUDGE (1–14 days late)
Subject: Quick check — invoice <#>
Hi <name> — a quick nudge on invoice <#> (<amount>), due <date>. I suspect it
slipped through the cracks. Could you confirm it's scheduled? Happy to resend
the PDF or fix any detail on our side. Thanks!
RUNG 2 — FIRM REMINDER (15–44 days late)
Subject: Invoice <#> — now <n> days past due
Hi <name> — invoice <#> (<amount>) is now <n> days past due and I haven't heard
back on my last note. Could you confirm payment by <date>? Per our terms,
balances over 30 days accrue a <x>% late fee, which I'd much rather not apply.
If something is blocking payment, tell me and we'll sort it together.
RUNG 3 — FINAL NOTICE (45+ days late)
Subject: Final notice — invoice <#>
Hi <name> — despite two reminders, invoice <#> (<amount>, due <date>) remains
unpaid. If payment doesn't arrive by <date+7>, we'll pause current work and
refer the balance for collection — an outcome neither of us wants. Call me
today at <phone> and we can resolve this in ten minutes.
RUNG 4 — PHONE SCRIPT (60+ days, or silence after final notice)
Open: "I'm calling about invoice <#> — I'd like to fix this today. What's going on?"
If they promise → pin an exact date; confirm it by email within the hour.
If they dispute → isolate the disputed line; get the undisputed rest paid now.
If no answer → voicemail: amount, deadline, callback number. Log the attempt.
CHASE LOG
Date | Invoice | Client | Rung | Action | Response | Next step | Due
WRITE-OFF WATCHLIST
<invoice> — <amount> — <reason> — recommended: <write off / collections / stop-work>
Quality bar
- Days overdue computed with code from actual dates — never estimated.
- Every email states the invoice number, exact amount, and original due date.
- Escalation follows the ladder; no client jumps a rung they never received.
- Late fee mentioned only if it exists in the terms the client actually signed.
- Chase log row written for every action, with the next step diarized.
- Write-off calls compare the balance against the realistic cost to collect it.
Example
Invocation: "Invoice export attached — 11 open, some ancient. Who do I chase and what do I send?"
Produced: An aging ladder showing 62% of AR sitting in three invoices; rung assignments for all 11; personalized rung-2 and rung-3 emails for the top three (18,400 total); a phone script for the client silent since April; a chase log with next actions dated; and one 240 write-off recommendation, paired with prepayment terms for that client going forward.