Hot take: sending a reminder email at 8am got me paid faster than any late fee ever did.

Spent 3 months chasing a $850 invoice from a guy in Austin until I finally emailed him at 8am on a Tuesday and he paid within 2 hours, has anyone else found weird timing tricks that work better than the standard approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith1644d ago

Did you try sending it right when they're grabbing their first coffee? I had a client in construction who always paid within an hour if I hit his inbox at 6:45am before his crew showed up.

torres.riley4d ago

Actually I gotta push back on this. If you send anything at 6:45am you're just training them to ignore your emails before they've even had a chance to breathe. @abby_fisher that 8am window might work for some people but I've seen clients get annoyed when they feel rushed first thing. They want to ease into their day not get hit with a payment reminder before the caffeine kicks in. Sending it later after they've settled into work mode gives them time to actually look at the invoice and decide to pay without feeling pressured. Not everyone runs on the same morning schedule either you know.

abby_fisher4d ago

Right, the "first coffee" timing is huge. I've had the same thing happen with a few clients, they pay before they've even finished their caffeine. It's like their brain hasn't woken up enough to deflect paying me. The 8am window is basically the sweet spot for getting into their inbox before the real work chaos starts.