Invoices Awaiting Payment: How to Track Them (and Follow Up on Time)

Key Takeaway: an invoice is "awaiting payment" as soon as it has been sent and not yet paid. The day after the due date, it becomes unpaid. Keep a single list (number, client, amount, due date, days overdue), follow up from day +1, then send a written second reminder around day +8 / +10. The legal procedure (penalties, formal notice) is a separate topic.

An invoice awaiting payment is not yet an unpaid invoice. It is an issued invoice, not settled, whose due date may not have passed. The trap is dumping them all in the same pile: this week's and the one that is 40 days old.

This piece covers tracking. The reminder letter and penalties are in the second reminder template, and the formal legal procedure in the formal notice guide.

1. What is an invoice awaiting payment?

Three states, three actions.

Plenty of freelancers only call something "awaiting" once it is 30 days late. Too late. The status is read from the due date written on the invoice, not from how it feels.

In France, between businesses, the payment period is 30 days after receipt of the goods or performance of the service, unless agreed otherwise. The parties may agree a longer period, capped at 60 days after the invoice date, or 45 days end of month if expressly stipulated. In Belgium, the statutory period is also 30 calendar days, with a contractual cap of 60 days.

If the invoice carries no due date, you inherit the default period, and follow-up gets harder. Write it. Every time.

2. How to keep the list (without a rotting spreadsheet)

Tip: Set up an automated courteous reminder 3 days before the invoice due date. This simple habit defuses 80% of accidental late payments (misplaced invoices, internal approval backlog).

A "paid / not paid" column is not enough. The useful minimum:

• Invoice number
• Client
• Amount incl. VAT still due
• Issue date
• Due date
• Days overdue (negative = still within the deadline)
• Last follow-up (date + channel)

Sort by days overdue, descending, not by amount. A €280 invoice at +35 days poisons more than a €4,000 one due in 8 days: the small forgotten file becomes the one the client "lost track of".

What I no longer do: hunt for status in the inbox. If proof of payment is a transfer "received on Monday, I think", the list is already wrong.

Do not mix signed quotes and invoices. A signed quote is not an immediately enforceable debt in the same way. The distinction is in Quote vs invoice.

3. When should you chase an invoice that is still "awaiting"?

Before the due date. A short email two days prior ("invoice No. X falls due on [date]") often unblocks clients who pay on an internal schedule. That is not a chase, it is a service.

The day after the due date (day +1). First follow-up, neutral, factual. No apology, no novel. The template is in the follow-up article.

Around day +8 to +10. Second follow-up, firmer, with days overdue and penalties. That is the second reminder letter template to copy. Waiting until day +45 "so as not to upset anyone" is the most reliable way never to get paid.

After 10 to 15 days of silence on the second reminder. Formal notice by registered post. That is where tracking ends and procedure starts.

Penalties and the €40 indemnity (B2B) run from the first day of delay, with no prior reminder, if the deadline was on the invoice. Chasing them is not optional in order to "be nice": it is the signal that you are watching the file.

For a private individual, there is no automatic €40 recovery fee. Adapt the tone and the mentions; the tracking calendar stays the same.

4. How to prioritise when there are too many

If you have more than five open invoices, do not chase them alphabetically.

1. The oldest in days overdue
2. At equal age, the largest amounts
3. Business clients before private individuals (the legal regime is clearer, and the €40 applies)
4. Those who already ignored a follow-up, before those you have never chased

A client who always pays at 50 days is not "loyal". They are financing their cash flow with yours. Shorten the deadline on the next quote, or ask for a deposit at signature.

3 things to remember

How HeyDevis shows invoices awaiting payment

In HeyDevis, the invoice table separates paid invoices from those still due, with the due date visible. From the record, a follow-up goes out in one click for a private client (invoicing documents are not emailed to a business client: you download and transmit the file yourself).

The software does not replace the decision to move to formal notice. It stops you forgetting which one is at day +12.