Voicemail script for an unpaid invoice (4 scripts by stage)

The invoice is 12 days overdue, you call the person who pays it, and the call rings through to voicemail. In one vendor's sample of sales voicemails, the messages that got a callback ran about 58 words, roughly 25 seconds, and anything past 70 words was likely to be deleted. Here is the voicemail script for each stage of an unpaid invoice, and what to do once you hang up.

What should a voicemail about an unpaid invoice say?

A voicemail script for an unpaid invoice gives your name, your company, the invoice number, and one plain ask for a callback or a reply to your email, in 20 to 30 seconds and about 50 to 70 words.

Four things go in, in this order:

• Who you are. First name, company, and the team you sit in ("accounts at Northline").
• Why you are calling. The invoice number and the fact that it is past its due date. The reference is enough for the customer to find it.
• How to reach you. One direct number and the email address you will write from today.
• The ask. A callback, or a reply to the email, by a named time ("by end of day tomorrow").

The 20 to 30 second figure is a working target. Speak slower than feels natural, and say the invoice number and your phone number twice. The person listening is often writing them down while the message plays.

Which voicemail script fits each stage of an unpaid invoice?

Use a friendly reminder at 1 to 7 days overdue, a follow-up at 8 to 14 days, a firm reminder at 15 to 29 days, and a final notice at 30 days and beyond, with the same four facts in each.

Each script is about 60 words, under 30 seconds at a normal speaking pace. Swap the placeholders, and keep the invoice number as the only detail about the debt.

What should you leave out of an unpaid invoice voicemail?

Leave out the exact amount on an unpaid invoice voicemail, along with late fees, legal words, threats, and anything a colleague or a shared mailbox could repeat.

Two regulators wrote this habit down for consumer debts. Australia's debt collection guideline says voicemail messages should be phrased so a third party cannot infer why you are calling, and adds that many of its principles also apply to business debts. The CFPB's limited-content message for US consumer debt collectors is a business name, a request to reply, a person to ask for, and a phone number.

Neither rule is mandatory for a business collecting its own invoices. Both are a sensible pattern: a voicemail that follows it is safe to play to the wrong person.

The Australian guideline also recommends a pace: no more than three contacts a week, or 10 a month, counting only the contacts that get through, and repeated calls in one day may count as harassment. Call on weekdays, in the customer's working hours.

Leave these off every script:

• The amount, and any late fee or interest figure. Put them in the email.
• Threats, and words like "legal action" or "collections". A final notice names a date and a next step; the step itself goes in writing.
• Anything about why you think they have not paid, because you do not know yet.
• A second ask. One callback request, one number, said twice.

What should you do after you leave a voicemail about an unpaid invoice?

Within the hour, send an email with the same invoice number and the same ask, log the voicemail on the customer's record with the date and the script stage, and set the next call for 2 to 3 business days out.

1. Email within the hour. Use the same invoice number, deadline, and next step you named on the phone, and this time include the amount and a pay link. The email is the record the customer can forward to whoever approves payment. Automated reminders can carry the written side.
2. Log it. Write down the date, the number you called, the stage of the script, and the deadline you gave. A call log template keeps those fields in the same order every time, so the next person sees what was promised before they dial.
3. Set the next attempt. Two to three business days later, at a different time of day. If the customer answers, how to ask for payment over the phone covers that call, and these payment reminder and collection call scripts cover what to say.

If the customer calls back and names a date, write it on the invoice and confirm it by email. If that date passes unpaid, see what to do when a promised payment date passes.

How do you call a customer about an unpaid invoice from Paidnice?

On the Pro plan and above, you press Call on the customer's page in Paidnice, and when the customer answers, Paidnice records the call, writes a transcript and a short summary, and saves them to the customer's timeline.

• If the customer does not answer, you can leave the voicemail on the same call. Calling is outbound only: customers cannot call Paidnice back or leave a voicemail there.
• The summary goes to Xero or QuickBooks as a note, so the ledger shows what was agreed.
• The Calls page lists every call placed from Paidnice: date, contact, person and number, who called, duration, and the summary, with the transcript one click away.

Paidnice customers see half as many late invoices in the first 30 days. See calling customers from Paidnice for how it works, and pricing for what each plan includes.

Questions about voicemail scripts for unpaid invoices

Keep it under 30 seconds, say the invoice number and leave out the amount, follow it with an email within the hour, and leave no more than one voicemail in any 2 to 3 business days.

About the editorial team

Written byDenym BirdCo-founder & CEO of Paidnice

Denym started Paidnice in 2022 after customers paying late left his own business short on payroll. He has led it to $1 billion collected on time across more than 1 million invoices, and writes about credit control, late fees and getting paid on Xero and QuickBooks.

Reviewed byAshley SchroderCo-founder of Paidnice

Ashley is a co-founder and lead developer of Paidnice, and builds the Xero and QuickBooks connections that put reminders, late fees and payments on the ledger. Before Paidnice he co-founded A2X, ecommerce accounting software for Xero and QuickBooks.