Invoice to Paid Checklist
=========================
A step-by-step checklist that carries a freelancer from agreeing terms with a new client to a paid invoice, with every reminder and escalation step in the order it should happen.

[ ] Before quoting, decide your standard terms: the due date, the deposit, milestone points for longer work, accepted payment methods, and whether a late fee applies, and put them in the agreement the client signs.
[ ] Ask who approves invoices and who processes payment at the client, and record both names and email addresses in the client file before the first invoice goes out.
[ ] Confirm whether the client requires a purchase order number, vendor registration, or a specific invoice format, and complete any setup before starting the work.
[ ] Collect the deposit before the first hour of work, and treat a missing deposit as a signal to pause rather than an inconvenience to absorb.
[ ] Invoice the day the work is delivered or the milestone is accepted, not at the end of the month, since every day of delay on your side becomes a day of delay on theirs.
[ ] Check that the invoice shows the client's legal name, the purchase order number if any, an itemized description that matches the agreement, the total, the due date as an actual date, and every way to pay.
[ ] Send the invoice to the approver and copy the payment contact, then confirm within a day or two that it was received and is in their system.
[ ] Set the full reminder schedule for the invoice at the moment you send it, so nothing depends on remembering later.
[ ] Send a short courtesy nudge a few days before the due date that restates the amount, the date, and the payment link, and asks whether anything is needed from your side.
[ ] On the due date, send a brief friendly note if payment has not arrived, assuming an oversight rather than a decision.
[ ] A few days past due, send a plain reminder with the invoice attached, the amount, the original due date, and one clear ask.
[ ] Around a week past due, send a second reminder that asks a direct question, such as whether the invoice is stuck in approval or whether there is an issue with the work.
[ ] Around two weeks past due, pick up the phone or message the approver directly, and write down what they tell you and the date they say to expect payment.
[ ] Around three weeks past due, send a formal written notice that states the balance, the days past due, the next step, and any late fee your agreement allows, applied exactly as written.
[ ] At roughly a month past due, pause any further work for the client until the balance is settled, and say so plainly and without apology.
[ ] Before escalating beyond reminders, run the figures through the Invoice Late Fee Calculator at /tools/invoice-late-fee-calculator/ so the amount on your final demand is exact.
[ ] Decide your escalation path in advance: a written payment plan, small claims court in the client's state, or a collection agency, and weigh the likely recovery against the time and the relationship.
[ ] The moment payment arrives, stop the sequence, thank the client, and record which message they responded to.
[ ] Log every invoice's send date, due date, each reminder, and the paid date in one place, so you can see which clients are consistently slow.
[ ] Once a quarter, review the log, adjust the cadence or the terms for the slow payers, and update your standard agreement for new clients.