What is a payment advice letter?
It is a kind of business letter that one party writes to another to request to clear the payment mentioned in the overdue invoice. People are compelled to write these letters because sometimes, those who have to clear the overdue invoice don’t seem to pay any heed to it.
A payment advice letter is written when the seller has sold his products to the buyer and has issued the invoice but the seller is not clearing that invoice. In simple words, the seller simply and formally asks the buyer to make the payment without being rude.
What information should be covered by the payment advice letter?
Just like any other business letter, the person writing this letter needs to be careful and add relevant details to the letter. Although the information to be covered varies depending on the situation, the following are some details that are part of every letter of payment request:
Name, contact details, and address of sender and receiver:
It is essential to never skip these details whenever you write a business letter. Therefore, you should never miss out on adding the name, contact details, and address of yourself and the recipient. With these details, the recipient confirms that this letter has been written to him.
Amount of money:
The overdue invoice indicates the amount the buyer is required to pay. Still, you should mention that amount in the letter also so that the reader can be sure as to how much to pay. Note that, when you have to formally ask for the clearing of the payment by writing a professional business letter, you can never skip mentioning the amount to be paid.
Signatures and date of letter:
In the end, the sender should put his signature that confirms that the letter has come from an authentic source along with the date on which it is being written.
How to write a payment advice letter?
When you want to ask for the payment in a professional way, follow the step-by-step guide given below:
Give details of the overdue invoice:
If you have issued the invoice to the buyer which is yet to be cleared, it is better to refer to that invoice instead of the purchase order. When you refer to the invoice, provide the details of that invoice including the invoice number, the date of issuance of the invoice, payment mentioned on the invoice, etc.
Discuss the payment to be made:
If you think that the buyer has forgotten that invoice, you should refer to the purchase order that was complete and resulted in the issuance of the invoice mentioned above. You can discuss some other details related to the invoice.
Outline the deadline:
When you want to prompt the buyer to make the payment, specify the deadline.
Explain the consequences of not meeting the deadline:
Let him know that if he does not meet the deadline, he will have to pay the fee. If there are some other consequences he might have to face, mention them in the letter.
Things to consider:
There are a few aspects that must be taken into consideration before you write this letter:
- Confirm if the client has received the payment:
This is a very crucial step that you must take. In case the invoice could not be sent to the client, you cannot ask for the payment at all.
- Make a phone call to the client:
Before you formally write a letter, it is recommended to speak to him on the phone. Talking to the customer on phone and asking for the payment in person can help you get the payment more quickly.
- Consider not dealing with this client in the future:
When you have realized that this client is not good in terms of fulfilling his commitments and does not pay on time, it is better to not work with that client again in the future. Decide on that carefully.
- Express you are unhappy:
Your client should know that he has made you suffer. Learn to determine how you will express that you are unhappy without sounding rude or angry.
Sample Letter
Dear (Client Name),
This letter is as a reminder to inform you that you still have an unpaid invoice (tell its number) that has a total amount of (state amount). This was due on (date).
We hope that you will make the payment as soon as possible and not later than the (deadline date) so that we can keep on providing you with our services and to avoid any late payment charges.
Ignore this message if the payment has already been done.
If you have any issues, feel free to contact us on (tell contact number). Thank you for doing business with us.
Best Regards.
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