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Letter

Final demand letter template

A final demand letter is the end of the runway: the document that says, in effect, the next communication will not be from us. Courts and collections professionals read these, so the letter must be scrupulously accurate about the amount (itemize principal and any accrued charges separately), agreed terms, and history. If you quote accrued late fees, compute them from your agreed terms and check them against your state's rules first; an inflated demand undermines the whole letter.

Send as the last step before a collections referral or legal action
{{business_name}}
[Your address]

[Date]

SENT BY [EMAIL AND POST / CERTIFIED MAIL]

{{customer_name}}
[Customer's billing address]

FINAL DEMAND FOR PAYMENT
Re: Invoice {{invoice_number}}

Dear {{customer_name}},

Despite repeated requests, the following balance remains unpaid:

  Principal (invoice {{invoice_number}}, due {{due_date}}):  [amount]
  Late charges accrued under our agreement:                  [amount or "none"]
  Total due:                                                 {{amount_due}}

This is our final demand. If full payment is not received by [date, 10 to 14 days out], we will, without further notice, [state the actual next step: refer the account to a collections agency / file a claim in small claims court / instruct our attorney].

This letter and our records of the invoice, our agreement dated [date], and our previous reminders on [dates] will form part of any subsequent proceedings.

To resolve this matter, pay by [payment methods], or contact [name] at [phone / email] before the deadline above.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Title], {{business_name}}

When to use it

  • Only when you have decided what the next step is and will actually take it
  • Typically 60+ days past due, after emails and a collection letter have failed
  • Send by a method you can prove: certified mail, or email with delivery records

Getting the tone right

  • State the next step as a decision made, not a possibility being considered
  • Itemize the debt; a single unexplained total invites a dispute over the whole letter
  • No anger anywhere; the power of the letter is that it is past persuasion
The merge fields, explained

Placeholders in double braces fill from the invoice when Duebay sends this template; replace them by hand if you are pasting it into your own email client.

{{customer_name}}
The billing contact's name
{{business_name}}
Your business name (the sender)
{{invoice_number}}
The invoice reference
{{amount_due}}
Outstanding balance, formatted (e.g. $1,250.00)
{{due_date}}
The invoice due date
{{days_overdue}}
Whole days past the due date
{{payment_url}}
Online payment link, if you have one
{{portal_url}}
The customer's statement page

In Duebay the payment line is conditional: it renders only when the invoice has a payment link, so an invoice without one never says "pay online here:" followed by nothing. The copies below have that line included and the conditional markers removed, so they paste straight into an email client.

Adjacent rungs of the ladder

Collection letter templateLetterFinal notice emailEmailPast due invoice email (firm second notice)Email

Put this template on autopilot

This is the manual end of a process Duebay automates the start of: sequences send the ladder on schedule, log every send, and stop when the invoice is paid.

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