How to Chase Overdue Invoices in NZ (And Actually Get Paid)
A no-nonsense guide for Kiwi tradies and freelancers. Clear timelines, copy-ready reminder templates, escalation steps, and the tools that quietly do the chasing for you.
Free plan available - Auto-Reminders free on your first 3 invoices, unlimited on Pro at $19/month
The schedule
Invio's automatic reminders, 21 days drawn to scaleDefault cadence, adjustable per stageDay -7
First reminder
Early heads-up before due
Day -3
Second reminder
Final nudge before due
Due date
On due date
Reminder that payment is due today
Day +3
First overdue reminder
Gentle nudge
Day +7
Second overdue reminder
Firm follow-up
Day +14
Final notice
Last reminder before action
Not drawn
Invio stops sending. No late fee, no escalation - what's next is yours.
Day -7
First reminder
Early heads-up before due
Day -3
Second reminder
Final nudge before due
Due date
On due date
Reminder that payment is due today
Day +3
First overdue reminder
Gentle nudge
Day +7
Second overdue reminder
Firm follow-up
Day +14
Final notice
Last reminder before action
Not drawn
Invio stops sending. No late fee, no escalation - what's next is yours.
Six stages, counted from the invoice's due date - not the day it was sent. Every stage but the due-date reminder can be moved within a small preset range for a given invoice; none of them can be scheduled freely. The whole sequence stops the moment you mark the invoice paid, whether you do that yourself or it happens automatically on a card payment through Invio.
After the final notice, Invio does not add a late fee or chase any further - escalating is always your decision, covered below. If you and your customer agreed to late-payment terms, write them in the invoice's notes; Invio stores what you type but never calculates or applies a fee for you.
Why Kiwi tradies struggle to get paid on time
If you're a sparkie, plumber, builder, painter, or any kind of sole trader in Aotearoa, you already know the story. The job's finished, the invoice is sent, and then - silence. Days turn into weeks. Meanwhile fuel, materials, and that next Bunnings run still need paying.
A few things make NZ tradie cashflow especially tight:
Main contractor delays. Subbies often wait on a head contractor who is waiting on a developer who is waiting on a bank. Your $4k invoice can sit at the bottom of someone else's pile.
Retentions on construction work. A percentage of progress payments is often held back until practical completion or defects liability. That money is yours, but you do not see it for months.
EOFY squeeze. Around 31 March, customers tighten up, GST and provisional tax fall due, and one slow payer can wreck a whole month.
Rising costs. Diesel, timber, copper, and consumables do not wait. Every week an invoice sits unpaid is a week you're effectively financing your customer's business.
The "awkward Kiwi" tax. Most tradies hate chasing payments. It feels rude. So invoices drift, and the longer they drift, the harder they get to collect.
Chasing overdue invoices isn't about being aggressive. It's about having a calm, repeatable system so you do not have to think about it - or feel awkward - every time.
Chase it yourself: a manual timeline
Before any chasing makes sense, the original invoice has to be valid - see the NZ tax invoice requirements. After that, the goal is to chase early, lightly, and consistently. This is the sequence for chasing BY HAND, counted from the day you sent the invoice - a different clock to Invio's own automatic schedule, which counts from the due date instead.
Day 1
Send the invoice
Send it the same day you finish the job, with clear payment terms (7 or 14 days, bank account, reference). Make it easy to pay on a phone.
Day +7
Gentle nudge
Short, friendly reminder. Assume it slipped down the inbox. No pressure, no implied accusation - just a quick "in case it got missed".
Day +14
Firm reminder
Clear that the invoice is overdue. Restate the amount, due date, and how to pay. Ask for a date by which payment will be made.
Day +21
Pick up the phone
A two-minute call beats five emails. Stay calm and ask straight: "When can I expect this to be paid?" Confirm the answer in writing the same day.
Day +30
Final notice / escalation
Send a final notice referencing the steps already taken, the consequences (Disputes Tribunal, debt collector, payment claim if applicable), and a hard deadline.
Day +35+
Act on the warning
If nothing has happened, follow through. Empty threats train customers to ignore you. Move into Disputes Tribunal, a payment claim under the CCA, or hand it to a collector.
If you're working under the Construction Contracts Act 2002, your invoice can be issued as a formal payment claim. That triggers strict timeframes for the payer to respond with a payment schedule - and if they don't, the claimed amount typically becomes payable. Check with a contracts adviser before relying on it, but it's a powerful tool many subbies don't use.
How to write a polite but firm payment reminder
The single biggest mistake tradies make is rewriting the reminder from scratch every time - usually while annoyed. Use templates. They keep the tone steady and stop you blowing up a customer relationship on a bad day.
Before you send any reminder, double-check the invoice is correct and uses your real trading name, GST number (if registered), and the right bank details. If you don't have one yet, start from the free NZ tax invoice template. These three are for chasing by hand - if you'd rather Invio send the nudge on its own, turn on Auto-Reminders.
Template 1
Friendly nudge - Day +7
Tone: warm, no blame. You are assuming it slipped through.
Template 2
Firm reminder - Day +14
Tone: still respectful, but clear this is now overdue and you need a date.
Template 3
Final notice - Day +30
Tone: businesslike. You are documenting the trail in case it goes further.
Send the first two by email. The final notice is worth sending by both email and a physical letter or courier-tracked envelope if the amount is significant.
When to escalate: calls, debt collectors, and small claims
The phone call (do not skip this)
A short, direct phone call solves more overdue invoices than any email. Keep it calm and factual: confirm they received the invoice, confirm the amount, and ask when it will be paid. Do not apologise for asking - you did the work. Always follow up the call with a quick email summarising what was agreed, so there is a written trail if things escalate later.
Disputes Tribunal (NZ small claims)
The Disputes Tribunal is the Kiwi version of small claims court. It is cheap, you do not need a lawyer, and it is designed for everyday people and small businesses. As at writing, claims up to $30,000 can be heard - please verify the current limit on disputestribunal.govt.nz before filing, as it can change.
You will need your invoice, evidence of the work (quotes, photos, signed job sheets, text messages), and your trail of reminders. That is why keeping the written chase organised matters from day one.
Debt collectors
Agencies such as Baycorp or Centrix (mentioned as common NZ examples, not endorsements) will chase debts on your behalf, usually for a percentage of what they recover or a flat fee. They are most useful when the customer is clearly avoiding you, the amount is large enough to justify the cost, and you are willing to burn the relationship. For most tradie-sized invoices, the Disputes Tribunal is the better first stop.
Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA)
If you are a subbie on a construction job, you can issue your invoice as a formal payment claim under the CCA. The payer then has a set period to respond with a payment schedule. If they do not respond properly within the timeframe, the claimed amount typically becomes due and you have stronger recovery options. The rules are strict - check with a contracts adviser or your trade association before relying on it, but for many tradies this is the most powerful tool in the box.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. For sizeable debts or contested invoices, check with a lawyer, the Citizens Advice Bureau, or your trade association.
Why automated invoice reminders save hours every month
Think about what manual chasing actually costs you. Even ten unpaid invoices a month - pretty modest for a busy tradie - means ten times you're writing a reminder, second-guessing the tone, checking the bank, and probably putting it off because you're tired after a long day on the tools.
A few hours of evening admin a month, every month, year after year. That's real money, and it's often the work tradies push to the weekend or skip entirely. Skipped chasing means slower payment, which means worse cashflow, which means more stress.
Invio's Auto-Reminders are free to start - your first 3 invoices, ever, can auto-chase at no cost. Pro ($19/month) runs the chase on every invoice you send, unlimited, quietly in the background, on the schedule drawn above.
A fixed default schedule, not a blank page
The six stages drawn above - three before the due date and the due date itself, three after - fire on their own once Auto-Reminders is switched on for an invoice. Each stage but the due-date one can be nudged within a small preset range; nothing here needs to be built from scratch.
Branded reminder emails
Reminders go out under your trading name with the original invoice attached, so they look professional and the customer has zero excuse to claim they never got it.
Stops once you mark it paid
The moment an invoice is marked paid - by you, or automatically on a card payment through Invio - it drops out of the reminder run. No awkward "please pay" email arriving after the customer has already paid.
See every chase from the dashboard
Open the dashboard and see which invoices are overdue, which reminders have gone out, and which customers need a phone call rather than another email.
Chase Overdue Invoices FAQs
Common questions from NZ tradies and freelancers about getting paid on time.
How long can a customer take to pay an invoice in NZ?
When should I start chasing an overdue invoice?
Can I charge interest or late fees on overdue invoices in NZ?
What is the small claims limit in New Zealand?
Should I use a debt collector for an unpaid invoice?
How do automated invoice reminders work in Invio?
Stop chasing, start getting paid
Invio sends polite, branded reminders on its default schedule, stops as soon as you mark the invoice paid, and gives you a clear view of who still owes you. Free on your first 3 invoices, unlimited on Pro at $19/month.
Free plan included - Auto-Reminders free to start, unlimited on Pro at $19/month