# The Collection-Call Ladder

Five calls, one invoice, from polite to firm. The mistake most owners make is skipping straight from silence to anger, so the customer hears a friendly nothing for 40 days and then a threat. This ladder keeps the tone even and the pressure rising one rung at a time, so you get paid without burning a customer you want to keep.

Every rung is filled with the same worked example: Copperline Mechanical is chasing **Meridian Dental, invoice #2074, $8,800**, a rooftop AC unit replacement billed net-15. Change the names, the number, and the job; keep the shape. The caller is Marta, who runs Copperline's office; on the last two rungs the owner is named because that is when the owner steps in.

One rule under all five: never hang up without a specific dollar amount and a specific date. "Soon" is not a commitment. "The check goes out Thursday for the full $8,800" is a commitment. Write down what they said, then send a one-line email that repeats it back, so the next call starts from a fact and not a memory.

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## Rung 1 · Day 0, the due date: confirm receipt

Call the day the invoice is due, before it is late. This is not a collection call, it is a courtesy that removes the single most common stall ("we never got it") before it can start. Ninety seconds now saves the 30-day call later.

> "Hi, this is Marta at Copperline Mechanical. I am not chasing anything, I am just confirming you have invoice 2074 for the rooftop unit, it is $8,800 and the terms are net-15, so it is due today. Is that in your system and is there anything you need from me to get it processed, a purchase-order number or a W-9? Great, then I will look for it by the 15th. Thank you."

Why it works: you are on record, the invoice is confirmed received, and you set a specific date in a friendly voice. If they need a document to pay, you find that out on day 0 instead of day 30.

## Rung 2 · Day 15, first reminder: assume an oversight

At 15 days past due, assume it slipped, because most of the time it did. Stay warm and give them the easy out. The goal of this call is a date, nothing more.

> "Hi, it is Marta at Copperline Mechanical following up on invoice 2074, the rooftop unit, $8,800. It was due on the 15th and I do not see it yet, so I wanted to check it did not get stuck somewhere. Can you tell me when it is scheduled to go out? The 30th, perfect, I will note that. If anything changes on your end, call me before then so we can sort it. Thank you."

Why it works: no accusation, a clear number, and a date you can hold them to. You also leave the door open for a real problem (a dispute, a cash gap on their side) to surface now rather than at day 60.

**Voicemail version:** "Hi, this is Marta at Copperline Mechanical, my number is 555-0148. I am following up on invoice 2074 for $8,800, it is about two weeks past due. Please call me back with a date it will be paid, or if there is any question on the invoice. Thanks very much."

## Rung 3 · Day 30, firm reminder: get a commitment

At 30 days the tone shifts from "checking in" to "I need a commitment today." You are still polite, but you do not get off the phone without a date and an amount, and you name the terms. One month is long enough.

> "Hi, this is Marta at Copperline Mechanical about invoice 2074, $8,800 for the rooftop unit. It is now 30 days past the net-15 due date, and I need to get this resolved. Can you commit to a date today? If the full amount is hard this week, I would rather set up two payments than let it keep aging, so tell me what is realistic. What date should I write down for the $8,800, or for the first payment?"

Why it works: you ask for the full amount first, then offer a fallback before they invent an excuse, which keeps you in control of the outcome. Naming "30 days past the net-15 due date" signals you are tracking it precisely, which changes how seriously they treat the next call.

## Rung 4 · Day 45, firm with consequences: name what happens next

At 45 days you name a consequence, calmly and specifically. The two that work for a service business are a hold on new or scheduled work and the late-fee your terms allow. Say them as facts, not threats, and still offer the plan.

> "This is Marta at Copperline Mechanical, and I need to be direct about invoice 2074. It is 45 days past due, the balance is $8,800, and under the terms on the invoice a 1.5 percent monthly late charge now applies, which is $132 so far. I also have to let you know we are holding the maintenance visit that was on the schedule until this is cleared. I do not want to do either of those, so let us set a plan right now: can you pay half, $4,400, by Friday, and the balance in two weeks?"

Why it works: the consequence is tied to your written terms and to something the customer actually feels (their next service), so it is credible without being personal. Leading with the number, the late charge, and a concrete two-part plan gives them a way to say yes in the same call.

## Rung 5 · Pre-collections, day 60-plus: the final professional call

Past 60 days, this is the last call you make before the invoice leaves your hands. The owner makes this one. It is quiet, it is final, and it offers one last path to keep it out of collections or off a lien filing. Everything you say here should already be documented.

> "This is the owner at Copperline Mechanical. I am calling myself because invoice 2074 is now 63 days past due at $8,800, and it is at the point where I have to turn it over to a collection agency or my attorney by the end of next week. I would rather not, because we have done good work for you. Here is the one option I can offer: the full $8,800 by this Friday, or a signed payment plan by Wednesday that pays it in 60 days. If I do not have one of those, it goes out, and that is a decision I would like you to help me avoid."

Why it works: the owner's voice signals this is the end of the friendly line, the deadline is specific, and there is exactly one clean way out. Naming the agency or attorney as the next step is a fact you can carry out, so it lands, and you have documented every rung that led here.

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## The three rules that make the ladder work

- **A date and an amount, every call.** If you did not leave the call with "$X by [date]," the call did not count. Book the next call before you hang up.
- **Write it down, then email it.** After every call, send one line: "Confirming our call: $8,800 to be paid by the 30th." Now the record is theirs to argue with, not yours to remember.
- **Do not skip rungs, and do not stall on the top rung.** Silence for 40 days then a threat is the worst pattern. So is calling politely at day 90 for the fifth time: past 60 days, the invoice moves up to Rung 5 or it moves out.

The hard step is Rung 5, and the honest note is that filing a lien, suing, or placing an account with a collection agency has legal rules that vary by state and by what your contract says. That step routes to a licensed attorney who knows your contract and your state, not to a script. This kit gets you paid on the first four rungs most of the time; the fifth is where you bring in counsel.
