How to Follow Up on an Unpaid Musician Invoice

Almost every working musician has chased a payment. It's uncomfortable, especially with clients you'd like to rebook — but unpaid invoices are a real business problem, and letting them slide sets a precedent. The good news is that a clear, professional follow-up process makes the conversation much less awkward.

Start With a Friendly Reminder

Most late payments aren't malicious — they're administrative oversights. The first follow-up should assume this. Something like: "Hi [Name], just following up on invoice #INV-042 for the show at [Venue] on [Date] — total $1,100, due [Date]. Happy to resend if it's useful. Let me know if you have any questions."

Send this 3–5 days after the due date. Keep it short, professional, and non-accusatory. Include the invoice number, the amount, and the original due date so the client has all the information they need to act without having to go looking for it.

Second Follow-Up (One Week Later)

If you haven't heard back after the first reminder, follow up again a week later. The tone can be slightly more direct: "I wanted to follow up again on invoice #INV-042, now [X] days overdue. Could you let me know when I can expect payment, or if there's a problem with the invoice I can help resolve?"

Attaching or resending the invoice at this point is useful — sometimes it genuinely hasn't been seen, or has been forwarded to accounts and lost in the chain.

Third Follow-Up (By Phone)

If two written follow-ups haven't produced a result, call. Email is easy to ignore. A phone call is harder to avoid and usually resolves the ambiguity quickly — either you get a commitment, an explanation, or a clear signal that something more serious is going on.

Keep the conversation professional and focused on logistics: "I'm following up on an invoice that's been outstanding for a few weeks — can you tell me when it's scheduled to be paid?" Don't apologise for following up. You're owed money.

When the Polite Approach Isn't Working

If multiple follow-ups over 30 days or more have produced nothing, you have a few options: a formal letter of demand (which can be sent yourself or via a solicitor), reporting to a relevant small business ombudsman, or lodging a claim in the small claims tribunal (VCAT in Victoria, NCAT in NSW, etc.).

For amounts under about $1,000, the time cost of legal action often exceeds the debt. But a formal letter of demand — sent via email or post, clearly stating that legal action will follow if payment is not received by a specific date — resolves the majority of situations before it gets that far.

The most important thing: don't keep working for a client who hasn't paid you. Rebook them only after the outstanding invoice is settled.

Tracking Outstanding Invoices in Dashplan

Dashplan's Gig Manager flags outstanding invoices clearly in your gig list so you can see at a glance which clients still owe you money. Every gig has a payment status — pending, invoiced, partially paid, or paid — and you can filter your view to show only unpaid invoices. The sooner you can see that a payment is overdue, the sooner you can act.