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Payment reminders: automated, multilingual and legally sound
A payment reminder is a message telling a customer about an outstanding invoice. A final notice (often called a formal demand or 'letter before action') is the formal, legally weighted version that gives the customer one last deadline and warns of collection costs. Automating reminders wins you two things: they always go out on time, and they're always correctly worded — including in German, French or Spanish.
At a glance
- First final reminder
- Free
- Each reminder after that
- EUR 4
- Languages
- EN, NL, DE, FR, ES, IT, DA
- Tones
- Friendly, business-like, formal
Getting the sequence of reminders right
Going formal too early costs you the relationship; staying friendly too long costs you money. In practice this cadence works best.
- 3 days before the due date: a short, service-minded reminder with a payment link.
- Day 1 after the due date: a neutral reminder — most late payments are simply forgotten.
- Day 7: a second reminder with a concrete payment date and an offer of a payment plan.
- Day 14: a final notice with a statutory deadline and a warning of collection costs.
- Day 21: handover to recovery or debt collection.
What a final notice needs to include
A final notice that holds up legally always contains the same elements. Miss one, and it becomes harder to recover costs later.
- Invoice number, invoice date, due date and the exact outstanding amount.
- A clear, reasonable final payment deadline (typically fourteen days for consumer debtors, per local rules).
- A statement of statutory collection costs and their amount.
- Full payment details, including IBAN and payment reference.
- Correct legal names for both the debtor and your own business.
Why the debtor's language matters
A German debtor who receives an English reminder has a free excuse to do nothing. Credimigo determines the language automatically: first from the language of the invoice document itself, then from the debtor's country, then from the debtor profile. You can always override the choice before sending.
Frequently asked questions
How many reminders should I send before debt collection?
Legally, one correct final notice with a reasonable deadline is enough. In practice, a sequence of two friendly reminders plus one formal notice works best.
Can I charge collection costs?
Yes, provided you've announced them in advance in a correct final notice. For consumer debtors, statutory scales and minimum amounts apply.
Can I send payment reminders automatically?
Yes. Credimigo sends them on a schedule, in the debtor's language, and stops automatically as soon as payment comes in.
What does a payment reminder cost with Credimigo?
Your first final reminder is free, then each reminder costs EUR 4. A full Recover track costs EUR 27.
What is a letter before action?
The formal notice you send before starting legal or collection proceedings, giving the debtor one last deadline and stating the collection costs you intend to charge.
Analyse your first invoice for free
Upload an outstanding invoice (PDF, PNG or JPG). Credimigo reads it, gives you a Recovery Score and prepares a correct final reminder in your customer's language, ready to send. Your first reminder is free.
Analyse an invoice free