By Jeanne Lee writing for Anytime Collect

When it comes to managing accounts receivable, communication with your customers is of critical importance and a collection letter is a major part of this communication strategy. A collection letter is sent to your customers soon after the invoice in question goes beyond terms to notify them that the deadline was missed and the account is overdue. As time goes on and invoices continue to go unpaid, your collection letters will change – you don’t want to send the same message to a customer who is 10 days past due as you would to someone who is 90 days past due, so it’s important to set the tone and timing of your collect letter carefully. In this blog series we’ll walk through the various stages of the collection process and provide a sample collection letter for each step.

First Collection Letter- Past Due Notification

Remember- this is not your first attempt to contact the customer about the invoice (s) in question. Earlier attempts would have been via phone and email, reminding the customer about an upcoming due date and notifying them the day the invoice became past due. This collection letter should be sent roughly 10-15 days after you still have not received payment. As this is the first letter, keep things light and friendly with a moderate tone. A few important points to include:

• Days past due
• Amount due
• Note previous attempts to collect
• Summary of account
• Instructions- what would you like them to do next?
• Due date for payment- it is important to use an actually date, not “in the next 7 business days” as this can be vage
• Your contact information

CLICK TO SEE SAMPLE LETTERS
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