--- title: "Holiday Closure Notice to Customers: Email Template (UK)" description: "A holiday or office closure notice tells customers when you close, when you reopen, who to contact in between, and how to pay while you are away. Copy the email template, the short version and the payment line for Christmas 2026." url: https://www.paidnice.com/blog/holiday-closure-notice-to-customers --- # Holiday or office closure notice to customers (template) Written by Ashley Schroder Personally tested Co-founder of Paidnice Ashley tested sending a Christmas closure notice as a Paidnice announcement, and set the 2026 UK bank holidays and Bacs non-processing days against when customers' payments will actually arrive. Reviewed by Jack Daffron Co-founder of Paidnice Published Nov 9, 2026 · 5 min ## Summary A holiday closure notice should give the date you close, the date you reopen, who to contact for anything urgent, and how customers can keep paying while you are away. Send it two to three weeks ahead, before customers' last payment run of the year, and from the address they already get invoices from. - **What to include:** Closing and reopening dates, an urgent contact, how replies are handled, and how to pay online while you are closed. - **When to send:** Two to three weeks before you close, so it lands before customers schedule their last payment run. - **Christmas 2026:** UK bank holidays fall on Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December and Friday 1 January 2027. Bacs does not process on bank holidays. You send reminders in the last weeks of December and get back a stack of out-of-office replies: closed until the new year, back on the 5th. We see the same thing in Paidnice's own support inbox, where out-of-office replies to our weekly summary email give bank holidays, the Christmas break and, once, a funeral. Each reply explains why a message sat unanswered, and none of them arrived before the message went. Here is a holiday closure notice you can copy, a short version for SMS or your email signature, the UK dates for Christmas 2026, and how to keep payments coming in while the office is shut. ## What should a holiday closure notice include? A holiday closure notice should answer the questions a customer would otherwise email you about. Keep it to these parts: | Part of the notice | Why it is there | | --- | --- | | Closing date and time | Customers know the last day they can reach you | | Reopening date | Sets when replies and orders will be dealt with | | Urgent contact | A name and number for genuine emergencies | | How payments work while closed | Online payment links and bank transfers still work, so invoices due over the break can be paid | | When replies will be answered | Stops customers chasing you for a reply on 27 December | Leave your bank details out of the notice unless they are changing. A seasonal email with account numbers in it gives a fraudster a template to copy. ## Holiday closure notice template This template works as an email from your usual accounts address. Replace every part in square brackets. Subject: [Business name] Christmas closure: [closing date] to [reopening date] Dear [customer name], Our office will close at [time] on [closing date] and reopen on [reopening date]. While we are closed: - You can still pay any invoice online using the link on the invoice or your statement. - Emails will be answered from [reopening date], in the order they arrive. - For anything urgent, contact [name] on [phone number]. If you have invoices due over the holiday, your accounts team may want to include them in your last payment run before [date]. Thank you for your business this year, and best wishes for the holiday. [Your name] [Job title], [Business name] Send it two to three weeks before you close. If a customer's accounts team makes its last payment run before Christmas, a notice that arrives after that run changes nothing. ## Short version for SMS or an email signature A short version works as an SMS nudge or a line under your signature from early December. [Business name] closes on [closing date] and reopens on [reopening date]. You can still pay online any time using the link on your invoice. Urgent queries: [phone number]. ## UK bank holidays and Bacs dates for Christmas 2026 The UK bank holidays over Christmas 2026 are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December (the substitute day for Boxing Day) and Friday 1 January 2027, according to [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays). Scotland also has Monday 4 January 2027, the substitute day for 2 January. Bank holidays are non-processing days for Bacs, so a Bacs payment submitted just before Christmas can arrive days later than the same payment in November. The [Bacs processing calendar](https://www.bacs.co.uk/processingcalendar) lists the latest submission date for each arrival date. Point customers who pay by bank transfer at it, or simply ask them to pay before your closing date. **December is not a bad month for on-time payment.** Inside the same business, invoices due in December are paid on time as often as invoices due in other months. Days late rise over the holiday shutdown, with a median of 8 to 11 days. Original dataSource: our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers. See credit control myths. ## Should reminders keep running while you are closed? Reminders can keep running while you are closed, as long as someone will see the replies when you reopen and the reminder does not promise a reply sooner. - Check your reminder templates do not say "call us today" if nobody will answer. - Avoid charging late fees on days nobody can reconcile payments. Count grace periods in working days. - Expect out-of-office replies to your reminders, and read them for the date each customer is back. - Schedule a statement for your first working day back, so customers start January with an up-to-date balance. If your bank details are changing at the same time as you close, send that as its own notice. Our [change of bank details letter](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/change-of-bank-details-letter-to-customers) has a template customers can verify by phone. ## How to send a closure notice with Paidnice Paidnice sends one-off announcements to the customers you choose, on every plan. Holiday opening hours are one of the uses the help centre names, alongside bank detail changes and new terms. 1. Write the notice as an Announcement Email template. 2. On the Contacts page, tick the customers, open **Quick Actions** and click **Send N announcements**. 3. Pick the template and sender profile, then click **Apply Now**. Each customer's primary contact, and anyone set to be included in emails, gets their own copy. The announcement carries no invoice or statement, and it goes whether or not the customer owes you anything. Customers can still pay over the break through the [customer payment portal](https://www.paidnice.com/customer-payment-portal) link on their invoices, and your [automated reminders](https://www.paidnice.com/email-sms-reminders) keep the same send time you set, in your organisation's time zone. For more wording ideas, see our [payment reminder email templates](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/email-templates-for-invoice-payment-reminders). 💡 Paidnice insight Time the closure notice for customers' last payment run of the year. It is most useful while they can still pay you in December. ## Frequently asked questions ### How far in advance should I send a holiday closure notice? Two to three weeks before you close. That gives customers time to fit your invoices into their last payment run of the year. ### Should I send a closure notice to every customer? Send it to every customer with an open account or regular orders. Customers who have not bought for a year rarely need it. ### Can customers pay while my office is closed? Yes, by card or bank payment through an online payment link, or by bank transfer. Payments made by bank transfer over bank holidays may take longer to arrive. ### Should I stop payment reminders over Christmas? You do not have to. Invoices due in December are paid on time as often as in other months, though they tend to be paid a few days later over the shutdown. Make sure the reminder wording suits a closed office. ### What should an out-of-office reply say over the holidays? The date you are back, who to contact for anything urgent, and a reminder that invoices can be paid online in the meantime. ## Paidnice features in this article - [**Email and SMS reminders** Sends reminders by email and SMS on your schedule, each with a link to pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/email-sms-reminders) - [**Customer payment portal** Shows customers every open invoice in one place, where they can pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/customer-payment-portal) ## About the editorial team Written by Ashley Schroder Co-founder of Paidnice Ashley is a co-founder and lead developer of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the ledger connections that put reminders, late fees and payments into Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. Before Paidnice he co-founded A2X, ecommerce accounting software for Xero and QuickBooks. Reviewed by Jack Daffron Co-founder of Paidnice Jack is a co-founder of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the product that sends reminders, adds late fees and takes payments for businesses on Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. ### Try Our Free Accounts Receivable Calculators Optimize your cash flow with our suite of financial tools designed for AR professionals. Calculate DSO, aging analysis, late fees, and more. Explore Calculators ## Start getting paid on time with Paidnice Connect Xero or QuickBooks and Paidnice prepares draft policies for you. Nothing runs until you approve them. Try it FreeBook a Demo [Rated 5 stars, 160+ reviews](https://www.paidnice.com/reviews) · [App of the Year](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/winner-xero-global-app-awards-2026)