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Discussion Groups / English Usage / September 2007Invoice - a business polite reminder
Hi there, Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in the invoices I send out to the clients. The bigger picture is I am a translator and would like to make sure that the invoice is paid within, say, 14 or 21 days. I'd like to sound business and professional but and polite at the same time. It might also be worth mentioning I am working in England and am interested in a British English expression. Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. Take care Janko Muzykant >Hi there, >Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Janko Muzykant The invoices I have looked at have a sentence such as "Payment is due within 21 days". This will typically be at the bottom of the page, frequently at the left. This is not really a polite reminder. It is informative, and simply states one of your "terms of business".  SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) Peter Duncanson filted: >The invoices I have looked at have a sentence such as "Payment is >due within 21 days". [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >This is not really a polite reminder. It is informative, and simply >states one of your "terms of business". It's politer than the ones that go on to declare "those who do not pay will be stripped naked and publicly flogged with live cats"....r Signature"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!" "You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!" > Peter Duncanson filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > It's politer than the ones that go on to declare "those who do not > pay will be stripped naked and publicly flogged with live cats"....r A fairly common form in the U.S. is "Terms: 30 days, ½% per month" or the like. An American in India, I have read, was amused to receive a tax bill the ended "If you do not comply, we will take measures that will cause you the very damnedest inconvenience". Signature--- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net ||: An error cannot be believed sincerely enough to make it a :|| ||: truth. :|| (Snip) > An American in India, I have read, was amused to receive a tax bill > the ended "If you do not comply, we will take measures that will cause > you the very damnedest inconvenience". Which is along the lines of a letter from an Indian student in Cambridge, UK, asking his landlord to fix up the grotty digs and which ended: "Unless you comply with my request, I shall take such steps as will cause you the utmost damned astonishment." Cheers, Sage > Peter Duncanson filted: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > It's politer than the ones that go on to declare "those who do not pay will be > stripped naked and publicly flogged with live cats"....r True, that's impolite indeed. Something very polite and businesslike: "Thank you for your prompt payment. In case your payment won't be prompt, please disregard the above sentence and any possible typos". > > Peter Duncanson filted: > > >The invoices I have looked at have a sentence such as "Payment is > > >due within 21 days". [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > In case your payment won't be prompt, please disregard the above > sentence and any possible typos". New Yorker cartoon of a few years back: A crowd of bedraggled people walking across barren terrain toward the mouth of a large, dark cave. Over the cave, in large letters is a sign reading "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Below, in smaller type, is the rest of the sign: "If you have already abandoned all hope, disregard this notice." [polite reminder: I can has airbagz?] You can haz kitty issuez? >[polite reminder: I can has airbagz?] > >You can haz kitty issuez? My cats have never been ungrammatical. SignatureAl in St. Lou >>> [a usefulness of cats] >> [polite reminder: I can has airbagz?] >> You can haz kitty issuez? > My cats have never been ungrammatical. Umz desurvez cheezeburgerz for dat alone LOL >Hi there, >Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. You should not be looking for a polite expression. You want a clear indication of what is expected. It is not impolite to say "Due in full 30 days from date of invoice". It is entirely proper to state when the clock starts on the 14, or 21, or 30 days. "Due in 14 days" can be construed to mean "Due in 14 days from receipt of shipment". Since the invoice may arrive on a different day from the shipment, state when the terms start. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >>Hi there, >>Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >from receipt of shipment". Since the invoice may arrive on a >different day from the shipment, state when the terms start. Mine says: Please remit Total Payable amount shown. Terms: Net 30 days from invoice date. >>>Hi there, >>>Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Please remit Total Payable amount shown. > Terms: Net 30 days from invoice date. Is "Net 30" used in the UK? It's used quite a bit in the US. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >>>>Hi there, >>>>Could anybody tell me how to phrase a polite reminder to include in [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > >Is "Net 30" used in the UK? It's used quite a bit in the US. No idea. It's used in Canada quite a bit. >> Mine says: >> >> Please remit Total Payable amount shown. >> Terms: Net 30 days from invoice date. > > Is "Net 30" used in the UK? It's used quite a bit in the US. Not on the invoices I pay. I see: Payment terms are strictly within 30 days from the date of this invoice. Payable within 1 month. Payment terms: 30 day terms. Payment terms 30 days. Invoices I raise say: Payment due within 30 days from date of invoice. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary tony_cooper213@earthlink.net had it ... > >Mine says: > > > > Please remit Total Payable amount shown. > > Terms: Net 30 days from invoice date. > > Is "Net 30" used in the UK? It's used quite a bit in the US. No. I have to guess that it means "working days", which is the phrase we would use for such a requirement, but I've never seen it on an invoice. Working days are commonly quoted for delivery times, for example. Or is it counting as the Roman? SignatureDavid ===== >tony_cooper213@earthlink.net had it ... > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Or is it counting as the Roman? Some companies offer a discount if the invoice is paid earlier than the due date. For example, "2/10/net 30" means that the payer can deduct 2% if the invoice is paid within 10 days of the date of invoice, but the full amount is due if the payment is made after ten days but within 30 days. Since that combination has been around for so long, the company that does not offer an early payment discount tends to retain the "net 30". We use "business days" when referring to a delivery within a time period. "Ten business days" normally means "two weeks". Invoice terms are usually given in calendar days. There are some exceptions where the payment is made in person rather than mailed. When an invoice is considered due in 30 days, at one time the postmark determined if the invoice was paid in time. If I mailed a check, and got the envelope postmarked on the 30th day, most businesses would consider that on time. This is changing as businesses become computerized. Now it's usually the date the payment amount is posted to the account. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL On a slightly different note, can I just ask what the usual business receipt payment date is. Is it usually 14, 21 or 30 days in the UK? --- Regards Mr Magyster soorek@googlemail.com had it ... > On a slightly different note, can I just ask what the usual business > receipt payment date is. > > Is it usually 14, 21 or 30 days in the UK? I doubt whether there is a simple answer to this. SignatureDavid ===== > soo...@googlemail.com had it ... > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I doubt whether there is a simple answer to this. Yes, it is: let's be practical. What if the debtor pays on the 15th, 23 or 45th day respectively? Or what if you get no payment after sending the 3rd polite invoice? Are you prepared to take the debtor to the Small Claims Court? (we're talking here translation fees, not dental or plumbing bills, so it'won't go above and beyond small claims; or if it does, your business judgment is deffective if you were still working while the bill was escalating). Probably not, you're not going to sue the debtor. Think about that when you're asking for a specific due date. If 30 days have elapsed, you got no payment, then another 30 days or so have elapsed and the debtor sees no action on your part (except , perhaps,a few gentle reminders) he knows that he is home free and chances to get your payment are diminishing by the minute. OTOH, if you asked just "prompt payment" and you receive your check after several months, are you going to reject the payment, or charge interest? My point is that giving deadlines for small amounts is futile, if not altogether harmful. > > soo...@googlemail.com had it ... > > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > My point is that giving deadlines for small amounts is futile, if not > altogether harmful. But you have not taken into account the extremely high likelihood that the debtor (1) is a regular customer, (2) doesn't mind paying on time, but (3) wants to hang on to his money as long as he can. Your rule of thumb may be fine for eBay transactions, if paper invoices were issued for eBay purchaes, but for something like -- oh, let's just randomly pick medical supplies, all the customer want to know is how long he can hang on to the money. Also, never underestimate the power of a lawsuit. My wife's brother is a small contrator who frequently subcontracts to large building contractors on major projects. He's been stiffed by more than one and has taken them to court, where he invariably wins. Sometimes he gets his legal fees as well. Contractors don't screw with him anymore. Why do I think, AR, that you neither own nor manage a business? > > > soo...@googlemail.com had it ... > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > has taken them to court, where he invariably wins. Sometimes he gets > his legal fees as well. Contractors don't screw with him anymore. I was refering specifically to a translator ['s bills], a professional who mostly deals with other profseeionals, not to a hard-balled contractor who anyway, knows how to collect his money even without bothering with paperwork". > Why do I think, AR, that you neither own nor manage a business?- Because you have nothing better to do than follow my tuhas? Anyway, you're right, I don't have a business, I have a career. > I was refering specifically to a translator ['s bills], a professional > who mostly deals with other profseeionals, not to a hard-balled > contractor who anyway, knows how to collect his money even without > bothering with paperwork". "Hard-balled"? Is that one of those (I forget the term, it's late) for "hard-boiled". If not, I think it fits very well with some of the independent building contractors I've known over the years. Cheers, Sage > > I was refering specifically to a translator ['s bills], a professional > > who mostly deals with other profseeionals, not to a hard-balled [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > "Hard-balled"? Is that one of those (I forget the term, it's late) for > "hard-boiled". General term: Malaprop(ism) More specific term: Eggcorn For more about eggcorns, see The Eggcorn Database at <http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/>. >>> I was refering specifically to a translator ['s bills], a professional >>> who mostly deals with other profseeionals, not to a hard-balled [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > For more about eggcorns, see The Eggcorn Database at > <http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/>. "Thanks", he wrote brightly having had a good night's sleep. Cheers, Sage >> I was refering specifically to a translator ['s bills], a >> professional who mostly deals with other profseeionals, not to a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > for "hard-boiled". If not, I think it fits very well with some of the > independent building contractors I've known over the years. Some of those contractors play hardball. I've never dared to grip them by the testicles, so I don't know whether their eggs are also hard-boiled. SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. >> soo...@googlemail.com had it ... >> [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >My point is that giving deadlines for small amounts is futile, if not >altogether harmful. Most businesses want to be - and should be - professional appearing. Clearly stating the terms of an invoice is the professional thing to do. In many cases, the invoice is received by a payables clerk and that person schedules the payment. If the person doesn't know when to schedule it, it doesn't get scheduled. It gets put in the "I'll deal with it later" pile. Most of the collection problems that I had with my customers were because of an error in my paperwork: missing purchase order number, incomplete description of what being billed, etc. Lack of a clearly stated due date would be one of the reasons an invoice would be set aside in the exceptions pile. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL |
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