BadCop › Templates › Invoice 30 days overdue: the escalation email

30 days overdue: stop emailing the client and escalate

When to send it

Thirty days past due, after the final notice went unanswered.

The email

Subject: Invoice {invoice_id} needs a human: {days_overdue} days overdueInvoice {invoice_id} for {client_name} ({currency} {amount}, due {due_date}) is {days_overdue} days overdue. Reminders already sent: courtesy, friendly, firm, final. Suggested next steps: a phone call, a payment plan offer, or a demand letter / small-claims filing if the amount justifies it. Late fee accrued so far: {currency} {late_fee} (balance {currency} {total_due}).

Placeholders in braces are filled in per invoice. Replace them by hand, or run badcop preview INV-1 --step escalate to render this template for a real invoice.

Why it works

At this point another reminder is noise. The right move is a phone call, a payment plan, or a demand letter. This template is the note you (or your tool) send to yourself so that call actually happens.

Tips

Call before writing. A two-minute call resolves more 30-day invoices than any email.
If you file in small claims, the timestamped reminder sequence is your exhibit A.
Decide the threshold below which you write it off, in advance, so you are not deciding while angry.

Automate it

This is the escalate step in BadCop's default ladder, sent at T+30 days from the due date. Put your invoices in a CSV, run one command a day, and every open invoice gets the right email at the right time, once.

pip install badcop
badcop init && badcop run --dry-run