Getting paid
How to send an invoice by email
You have made the invoice. Now you have to send it, and how you send it affects how fast you get paid. Email is the right channel for almost every small business, but a bare email with a file attached leaves money on the table. This guide covers exactly what to send, what to write, and who to send it to, with a template you can copy.
Always attach the invoice as a PDF
Send the invoice as a PDF, not a Word file, a spreadsheet, or text in the body of the email. A PDF looks the same on every device, cannot be altered by accident, and is what finance teams expect to file. An editable file invites disputes about what was really agreed, and a screenshot looks unprofessional. If you built your invoice with our invoice generator, it already downloads as a clean PDF ready to attach.
Put the key details in the email body too
This is the step most people skip. Some clients forward your email to an accounts inbox that never opens attachments, so the email itself needs to stand on its own. In the body, repeat the invoice number, the amount due, the due date, and how to pay. If the attachment goes missing somewhere in their system, the payment can still happen from the email alone.
Write a subject line that gets opened and found
A vague subject like "Invoice" gets lost. Include your business name, the invoice number, and the due date, so the email is easy to spot now and easy to search for later. For example: Invoice INV-0012 from [Your Business], due 3 August. When the client goes looking for it a week later, that subject line is what they will search.
Send it to the right person
The person who hired you is often not the person who pays you. On anything larger than a one-person client, ask early who handles invoices and send it straight to them, or CC them. An invoice sitting in your day-to-day contact's inbox is an invoice that is not being processed. If the client uses purchase orders, get the PO number before you send and put it on the invoice, or their finance team may reject it automatically.
A copy-paste email template
Keep it short. A long email buries the details that matter. This works for almost any invoice:
Subject: Invoice INV-0012 from [Your Business], due 3 August
Hi [Name],
Please find attached invoice INV-0012 for [brief description of the work], totaling [amount], due on [date].
Payment details are on the invoice. If it is easier, you can also pay by [payment link or method]. Any questions, just reply to this email.
Thanks very much,
[Your name]
Timing: send it the day the work is done
The payment clock starts when the invoice arrives, not when the work finished. Every day you wait to send is a day added to when you get paid, and an invoice sent while the client is still pleased with the result gets less scrutiny. If you invoice on a schedule, send early enough to land before the client's monthly payment run rather than just after it.
How to follow up without friction
If the due date passes, assume the invoice was forgotten, because it usually was. Reply to your original email so the whole thread and the attachment are right there, and keep it friendly: a one-line reminder that the invoice is now due, with the PDF reattached. Asking someone to dig through their inbox adds friction you do not want. If a second reminder goes unanswered, switch channels and phone or email a different contact, since email silence is very often a filtering problem rather than a refusal.
A quick checklist before you hit send
- The PDF is attached, and it is the right invoice.
- The subject line has your business name, the invoice number, and the due date.
- The amount, due date, and payment method are written in the body, not only in the attachment.
- It is going to the person who actually pays, with any PO number included.
- The invoice number and client details on the document are correct.
New to this? See how to invoice a client for the full process, what to include on an invoice for the document itself, and how to bill a client for billing by hours, fixed price, or retainer. Once the client pays, send them a receipt with the free receipt generator.