What to do first when a brand hasn't paid
Send one short, friendly reminder that names the invoice number and the amount, and asks when the payment is scheduled. Assume it slipped through the cracks, not that they are refusing. Most first reminders get paid with no conflict at all.
Late payment is rarely personal. Invoices sit in an approvals queue, a finance person is on holiday, or your contact simply forgot to forward it. Your first message should give them an easy, blame-free way to fix it.
When to send the first reminder
The right day depends on what you agreed:
- You agreed on terms (e.g. net-30): wait until the due date passes, then send the first reminder within a day or two. Not weeks later — a stale invoice is easy to keep ignoring.
- You never set terms: a payment is generally reasonable to chase about two weeks after you delivered. Send it the day it tips into overdue.
Whatever the case, send the reminder on time. Waiting a month to chase a late invoice teaches the brand that your deadlines are soft.
The chase, message by message
Message 1 — the friendly reminder (day it's overdue)
Short, warm, blame-free. This is the one that works most of the time.
Message 2 — the direct follow-up (about a week later)
Still polite, but now you name the due date and ask for a specific commitment.
Message 3 — the firm final notice (about a week after that)
Calm, but no longer soft. State the facts, set a hard date, and say what happens next. Keep it in writing.
Do not do these things
- Don't apologise for asking. They owe you money for work you delivered. "Sorry to bother you" hands them the frame that you are the imposition.
- Don't offer a discount to speed it up. That rewards the brand for making you wait and trains them to do it again.
- Don't chase by DM only. Keep the paper trail in email. If it ever escalates, you want a clean written record of every reminder and every promise.
- Don't go silent for a month then explode. Steady, on-time reminders get paid faster than one angry message after eight weeks.
When the agency blames the brand
A common stall: the agency tells you the brand hasn't paid them yet, so they can't pay you. Whether that's true or not, it usually isn't your problem. Your agreement is with whoever you signed with. Their cash-flow with the brand is their side of a deal you're not part of.
Keep chasing the party you contracted with, on your own schedule, and hold them to the terms you agreed. If your contract doesn't make payment independent of the brand paying the agency, that's the clause to fix on your next deal.
Protect yourself before the next deal
- Get it in writing. A short email that both sides agree to — deliverable, fee, and payment terms — is a contract. "As discussed on the call" is not.
- Send a real invoice. A numbered invoice with your details, the amount, and a due date makes you look like a business and makes the payment harder to lose. If you don't have one, PitchRadar generates one for an agreed deal in a click.
- Set the due date up front. "Payment within 14 days of delivery" on the invoice gives you a clean day to start chasing from.
- For bigger deals, split it. Half on signing, half on delivery. You never end up chasing the whole amount.
This page is practical guidance for chasing a late payment, not legal advice. For large unpaid invoices or a brand that refuses outright, talk to a lawyer or a small-claims service in your country.
Track it so nothing slips
The reason payments go unpaid is the same reason pitches go unanswered: nobody is keeping the dates. PitchRadar was built for exactly this — mark a deal agreed, it generates the invoice, and the radar starts chasing the payment instead of the reply, telling you the day each invoice tips overdue and drafting the reminder for you. Free for your first 10 deals.