Check the bill first
A customer who thinks the bill is wrong will wait for a corrected one, not pay this one. Before you send a reminder, check that:
- the rate and quantity match the order or purchase order (PO);
- the goods arrived in full, and you have a signed challan or other delivery proof;
- the PO number, GST details and your bank details on the bill are correct;
- any discount or credit note you agreed is already applied.
If something is wrong, send the corrected bill first. Then remind.
Send a clear reminder
A good reminder lets the customer act without asking you anything: bill number, amount, due date and how to pay, in one short message. Keep the first one friendly. The bill may simply be sitting on someone’s desk.
Ready messages for every stage are on our payment reminder messages page, and the WhatsApp reminder generator fills in your customer’s details. How to write a payment reminder covers what each one needs.
Call at the right time
If two or three reminders get no reply, call. Ring on a working day, during working hours: not early in the morning, late at night, or on a holiday or festival day.
On the call:
- ask whether the bill reached them and whether anything is wrong with it;
- ask for a date rather than “soon”: “Can you pay by Friday the 14th?”;
- after the call, send a short message that confirms what you agreed.
Stay calm even if they don’t. You want the money and, usually, the customer too.
Agree the balance in writing
Arguments about the amount take the longest to settle. Send the customer their statement of account (ledger) with every open bill, payment and credit note, and ask them to confirm the closing balance in writing: on letterhead, by email or by a reply on WhatsApp. A confirmed balance ends the “our figure is different” conversation, and it is useful evidence if you ever need to file a case.
Pause further credit
If a customer keeps ordering while old bills stay unpaid, the amount at risk keeps growing. Tell them politely that new orders will be on advance payment or cash on delivery until the old bills are cleared, or set a limit on how much they can owe at one time. Say it as a business rule, not as a punishment.
If you are a micro or small enterprise on Udyam
Chapter V of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (the MSMED Act) protects suppliers that are micro or small enterprises registered on Udyam:
- Time limit (section 15). The buyer must pay by the date agreed in writing, and that date can be at most 45 days after the buyer accepted the goods or service. With no written agreement, the buyer must pay within 15 days.
- Interest (sections 16 and 17). A buyer who pays late owes compound interest with monthly rests at three times the bank rate notified by the RBI, from the day after the time limit ran out. No agreement can take this away.
Find the last day for a bill with the 45-day rule checker, and see the interest so far with the MSME interest calculator.
Late payment also affects the buyer’s tax: they can claim the expense only in the year they actually pay you. Our 43B(h) guide explains it and shows how to mention it politely.
File on the MSME ODR portal
If reminders, calls and a written balance don’t work, a micro or small supplier registered on Udyam can file a delayed payment case online on the Ministry of MSME’s MSME ODR portal. It starts with an online negotiation with the buyer. If that fails, the case goes to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council for your area, which first tries conciliation and, if that fails, decides the case by arbitration.
Our ODR portal guide covers who can file, what to keep ready, and how a case moves.
A lawyer’s notice, as a last step
Some suppliers send a legal notice through a lawyer when other routes have failed, before they go to court. A notice states what is owed and asks for payment by a date. It is a formal step with costs, and it changes the relationship, so ask a lawyer whether it fits your case and what it should say. Don’t write a message of your own that looks like a legal notice.