To ask for payment professionally from clients with unpaid bills, small businesses should follow these steps:

1. Check the Client Received the Invoice.
2. Send a Brief Email Requesting Payment.
3. Speak to the Client By Phone.
4. Consider Cutting off Future Work.
5. Research Collection Agencies.
6. Review Your Legal Options.

How do you do a follow up payment?

How to follow up on past-due payments

1. Agree to a preferred invoice payment method up-front. For faster payments, hold the invoice conversation right at the start, before you do the work.
2. Make it clear on the invoice what your customer is paying for.
3. Establish a process for following up on past due invoices.

Which is the best way to ask for payment?

The email is the most commonly used medium for professional communication. It is also the best way to request payment for your services. Be polite but direct. The more concise, the better – make your emails wells of relevant information.

When to send a payment request to a client?

You should send your clients two emails about your payment before the due date. Hopefully, there won’t be any need for more than that, but, should there be, we’ve got you covered. Once you are done with whatever you were contracted for, you should send them a payment request email with the invoice.

How to politely ask for payment on an invoice?

The polite way to ask for payment is to find out first if your customer has received the goods or service he ordered, and is totally satisfied. Once you have been through the steps to find out that the order is complete, and the invoice is correct, it is easy to follow on and politely ask for payment.

Is it awkward to ask for payment by email?

Still, clients who cannot or will not pay you on time will always come your way sooner or later. For this reason, you should be ready to deal with outstanding payments in the best possible way. Asking for payment in an email can be awkward and hard to communicate effectively.