A payment reminder text is a short, friendly message that tells a customer an invoice or bill is coming due, or has passed its due date, and gives them a link to pay. A service reminder text tells a customer that a regular service, such as a furnace tune-up, an oil change or a quarterly pest control visit, is due again. Both work best when they are polite, brief and sent at predictable times.
This post gives ready-to-copy templates for each, with guidance on timing, consent and measuring results. Each template is under 160 characters before you fill in the brackets. Reminders are one part of a business texting plan, which our text message marketing strategy guide covers step by step.
Consent, and the line between reminders and marketing
Payment reminders are transactional texts, because they are about an account the customer already has with you. They need the customer's agreement to receive texts, such as a checkbox on your service agreement, intake form or online account that says the customer agrees to receive billing texts from your business. Record when and where they agreed. Keep payment reminders about the payment, with no promotion or offer added.
Service reminders are different. A text that says "It's time for your next tune-up, book here" encourages a purchase, so treat it as marketing. Send service reminders only to customers who gave prior express written consent to receive marketing texts from your business, and keep that consent on record with the date and source.
What a good payment reminder includes
- Your business name at the start, so the customer knows who is writing.
- What the reminder is about, such as an invoice number or the date of service, so the customer recognizes it.
- The due date.
- A link to pay from your invoicing or billing software.
- A way to ask a question, by replying or calling.
- "Reply STOP to opt out" in the first text a customer receives from you.
Think before you put the amount in the text. The text may appear on a lock screen where other people can see it. If your customers would prefer privacy, leave the amount out and let the payment page show it. Never put a full account number, card number or password in a text.
For dental, medical and other healthcare offices, keep health details out of billing texts. Say that a statement is ready, and leave out the reason for the visit, the procedure and any diagnosis.
Keep the tone friendly
Keep every payment reminder polite and factual. A late payment is often an oversight, and a friendly reminder with a link to pay respects that. Leave out threats, warnings about collections or credit, legal language and words in all capitals. Offer a way to talk, so a customer who cannot pay in full has an easy way to tell you.
If you use a collection agency, or your business collects debts for others, debt collection has its own rules. Check with your attorney before you text customers about overdue accounts in that setting.
When to send payment reminders
The schedule below is an example for a business that invoices after each job. Adjust the days to fit your billing terms.
| Text | When to send it |
|---|---|
| Invoice ready | When the invoice is issued |
| Upcoming due date | 3 days before the due date |
| Due today | The morning of the due date |
| First past-due reminder | 3 to 5 days after the due date |
| Second past-due reminder | 10 to 14 days after the due date |
| Payment received | When the payment arrives |
After the second past-due reminder, stop sending texts about that invoice and have a person call or write to the customer instead. CampaignCNX+ sends texts only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, so plan reminders for ordinary business hours.
Payment reminder templates
Replace everything in brackets with your own details, and check that each finished text is still under 160 characters. A longer text is sent in parts, called segments, and each part is billed as one text.
Invoice ready
[Business]: your invoice [Number] for [service] on [Date] is ready. View and pay at [Link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Upcoming due date
[Business]: a friendly reminder that invoice [Number] is due on [Date]. You can pay at [Link]. Questions? Reply here.
Due today
[Business]: invoice [Number] is due today. If you've already paid, thank you. If not, you can pay at [Link].
First past-due reminder
[Business]: our records show invoice [Number] was due on [Date]. If you've already paid, thank you. You can pay at [Link].
Second past-due reminder
[Business]: invoice [Number] is still open. If something about it looks wrong, reply here or call [Phone] and we'll help.
Offer to talk
[Business]: if paying invoice [Number] in full is hard right now, reply here or call [Phone] and we can talk about options.
Payment received
[Business]: thank you, [Name]. We received your payment for invoice [Number]. Your receipt is at [Link].
Automatic payment did not go through
[Business]: your automatic payment for [Month] didn't go through. Please update your payment details at [Link] or call [Phone].
Membership or subscription renewal
[Business]: your [membership] renews on [Date]. To make changes before then, visit [Link] or reply here.
Healthcare and dental statements
[Practice]: your statement is ready. You can view and pay it at [Link]. Questions? Call [Phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Service reminder templates
What a good first text includes
- Who it is from. Your name or your business name, in the first words.
- One clear message. A single update or request, with a date or time when there is one.
- How to stop. The opt-out line, so a STOP reply is easy and is handled automatically.
Time a service reminder to the service's normal interval. Send the first reminder about two weeks before the service is due, and one follow-up about a week later. For example, a heating and cooling company might remind customers before the heating season and again before the cooling season, and a pest control company might remind customers each quarter.
[Business]: hi [Name], it's time to schedule your [season] [service]. Book at [Link] or reply with a day that works. Reply STOP to opt out.
[Business]: your [vehicle] is due for service around [Date]. Book a time at [Link] or reply here.
[Business]: [Pet]'s next grooming is due. Book at [Link] or reply with a day that suits you.
[Business]: your [quarter] pest control visit is coming up. Reply with a day that works, or book at [Link].
[Business]: your [item] filter is due for a change. Order a new one or book an installation at [Link].
For dental and medical offices, a recall reminder should say only that it is time to schedule the next visit.
[Practice]: it's time to schedule your next visit with us. Book at [Link] or call [Phone].
A last follow-up, sent about a week after the first reminder, closes the sequence.
[Business]: a last reminder about your [service]. Book at [Link] or reply here. If you've already booked, thank you.
Sending reminders with CampaignCNX+
Payment reminders
Payment reminders in CampaignCNX+ are scheduled texts to a group. Put the customers whose payment is coming due in a "payment due" group and schedule a reminder text to the group. For monthly memberships that all come due on the 1st, one scheduled text a month covers it. Take each customer out of the group as their payment arrives, so the next reminder goes only to customers who still owe.
Service reminders
Service reminders fit two tools in CampaignCNX+.
- A drip sequence, which is a series of texts sent on a schedule. Add each customer after their service visit, with a thank-you as the first text and a reminder timed to the service interval as the next.
- A scheduled text to a group, such as all air conditioning customers in early spring. Write the text once and set the date and time it sends.
Replies and opt-outs
- The shared reply inbox ($12.49 a month, included on Enterprise) collects replies in one place, so you and your staff can answer billing questions and booking requests from the business number. Staff members see the inbox once you, the account owner, turn that on.
- The keywords add-on ($20 a month) answers common requests automatically. For example, a customer who texts PAY can receive a reply with the link to your payment page.
- STOP replies are handled automatically. A customer who opts out receives no further texts from your number.
Our page on text message automation shows how scheduled texts, drips and outside triggers work together.
How to measure your reminder texts
Use your own billing and booking records.
- Days to payment. Compare the average number of days between invoice and payment for a few months before and after you start sending reminders.
- Open invoices at month end. Track the number of past-due invoices on the last day of each month.
- Billing questions. Note questions that come up more than once in replies. They often point to something unclear on the invoice itself.
- Service bookings. Count bookings made within two weeks of each service reminder.
- Opt-outs. Count STOP replies after each reminder, and rewrite any text that draws them.
If you also send appointment texts, our appointment confirmation and missed-appointment templates cover the texts sent around each booking, and our overview of business text messaging explains how a business texting account works.
Set up your reminders
Start with the "invoice ready" text and the friendly past-due reminder, then add service reminders for customers who agreed to marketing texts. Start a CampaignCNX+ business trial. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
