Question 1

What does DBT mean?

Accepted Answer

Days beyond terms, sometimes called days past due. A DBT of 30 means the invoice is 30 days past its due date. Negative values are before the due date, which is where the pre due reminder sits.

Question 2

Why does the tool ask about escalation points?

Accepted Answer

Because tone alone does not move an invoice. What makes a later message more serious is a real consequence the customer can verify, like a credit hold. The generator only references escalations you have described, so it will never imply a consequence you do not intend to follow through on. Each point also drives the timing of the copy around it: it is first mentioned as a warning 15 days out, never earlier, and for the 14 days after it takes effect the messages restate what happened and ask for the total past due balance, since paying that is what clears it. Move a point from 30 days to 45 and every message on both sides of it is rewritten accordingly.

Question 3

What happens when a touch lands on a weekend?

Accepted Answer

It is skipped. Outreach only goes out on business days, but days beyond terms counts every calendar day, so a schedule of 43 touches will always deliver somewhat fewer than 43. Exactly how many depends on the invoice, since a due date on the 1st and a due date on the 2nd put the whole sequence on different weekdays, and the tool has no way to know which. Plan for the count you see to be a ceiling rather than a promise. The one case worth avoiding deliberately is an interval of 7 or 14 days: because that is a whole number of weeks, every touch in the stage falls on the same weekday, so for any account where that weekday is a Saturday or Sunday the entire stage goes silent instead of losing an occasional message. An interval that is not a multiple of 7 spreads that risk out.

Question 4

What are the double brace placeholders in the output?

Accepted Answer

Merge fields such as customer name, account number, and past due balance. In Thor they fill in automatically for each account. If you are using the output somewhere else, replace them or map them to your own system before sending anything.

Question 5

Should I send these as written?

Accepted Answer

Treat them as drafts. Read every message before it goes out, and have your own counsel review the escalation language against the rules in the states you collect in. Commercial collections have fewer constraints than consumer collections, but they are not unregulated.

Question 6

How many messages will it produce?

Accepted Answer

The default configuration produces 43 touches from the pre due reminder through 89 days beyond terms. Changing your cadence changes the count, and you will see the exact number before generating.

Question 7

How do I collect overdue invoices?

Accepted Answer

Decide the schedule before you write anything. Group accounts by risk, set how often you will contact each aging stage, and name the real consequences at 30, 60, and 90 days beyond terms, such as a credit hold. Then send the same sequence every time: a reminder before the due date, regular email and phone follow-up after it, a warning about 15 days before each escalation, and a clear ask for the past due balance once that step takes effect. Inconsistent one-off emails are how invoices reach 90 days with no one having called.

Question 8

What is a collection strategy?

Accepted Answer

Two decisions made in advance: which intensity an account gets, and what happens if they still do not pay. Intensity is the contact cadence and tone, usually a relaxed, standard, or aggressive bucket tied to the customer's risk grade. Escalation is the policy on top of that, typically a credit hold at 30 days beyond terms, bureau reporting at 60, and agency placement at 90. This tool builds the standard sequence. The copy only references the escalation points you list, so the strategy you publish is the one you are actually willing to run.

Question 9

What should a collection email template include?

Accepted Answer

The invoice or account it is about, the past due and outstanding balances, how many days beyond terms the account sits, what is already in effect, what happens next and when, and a single ask: pay the past due balance, or, later in aging, a payment arrangement. Attach the aging statement. Leave off a canned signature line so the sender can add their own name. Merge fields such as customer name and account number belong in the template so one sequence works across the book, which is what this generator writes.

Question 10

How often should I follow up on unpaid invoices?

Accepted Answer

Often enough that silence is never the default, not so often that every message is noise. A workable standard cadence is every three days in the first two weeks past due, then every two days once a hold is in play, with more of those touches becoming phone calls as the balance ages. Relaxed accounts can sit lighter than that. High-risk accounts should be contacted more often, and should get a reminder before the invoice is even due. Set the interval per stage in the tool and you will see the exact schedule before anything is generated.

Question 11

When should I send a past due invoice reminder?

Accepted Answer

The first reminder should go out before the due date, not after. A short notice a few days ahead catches the accounts that intended to pay and forgot, which is cheaper than collecting. Once the invoice is past due, stay on a fixed cadence rather than waiting until someone notices the aging. The default sequence here starts at five days before due and continues through 89 days beyond terms.

Question 12

Should I use a collection letter or a collection email?

Accepted Answer

Email is the working format for B2B collections because it can go out on a schedule, carry the aging statement, and leave a written record. A formal collection letter still has a place at the far end of aging, or when counsel wants a dated demand on letterhead, but it is a poor substitute for the 30 or 40 touches that should have already happened. This tool writes emails and call scripts. If you need a letter, take a late-stage email and put it on letterhead; do not start the process there.

Question 13

When should I call instead of emailing about a past due invoice?

Accepted Answer

Email carries the facts and the attachment. A call is for when you need a date, a reason, or a person who can actually approve payment. Early past due can stay mostly email. Once a credit hold is in play, half or more of the touches should be phone, and by the time bureau reporting is approaching the mix should lean toward calls. Each stage in the tool has an email and call mix you can change, and you can flip any single touch before you generate.

Question 14

Are these collection templates for B2B or consumer collections?

Accepted Answer

B2B. They are written for trade accounts, aging statements, credit holds, and commercial bureau reporting. Consumer collections sit under a different set of rules, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and these templates are not written to that standard. If you collect from individuals rather than companies, do not use this output.

Free Collection Email Templates and Call Scripts

Collection email templates written to your strategy

Common questions

Running the sequence is the hard part.