How to chase overdue storage payments

Why tenants fall behind

It's worth knowing what you're dealing with, because the fix is different for each.

• They forgot. Storage is out of sight. The invoice landed, got buried, and nobody thought about it again. A reminder is usually all it takes.
• The payment failed. An expired card or a bounced direct debit, and the tenant has no idea. They need to know, and they need an easy way to pay.
• The email went nowhere. An old work address, or a partner who signed up and moved out. Check the contact details before you assume anything.
• They're short this month. This is the one that needs a conversation. People who are struggling tend to go quiet, so a reply-to address that reaches a real person matters.

A routine that works

The exact days are up to you, but most owner-operators end up with something close to this. What matters most is that it happens every time, for every tenant.

A few things make it work better:

• One email per tenant, not per invoice. If someone owes for two months, send one email with both invoices and the total. Two separate chasers on the same morning feels like a pile-on.
• Stop as soon as they've paid. A reminder the day after someone paid is the quickest way to get an annoyed phone call. Check before you send.
• Don't chase money that's already on its way. If a card payment or direct debit is about to be taken, wait for it.
• Send during the day. The same email lands very differently at 11pm than at 9am, so keep reminders to working hours.

What to say

Keep it short and assume they forgot. The first email shouldn't sound like a debt collector, because most of the time it doesn't need to.

The second one can be firmer, but leave the door open:

Under the wording, list each overdue invoice with its due date and amount, then a Pay now button, so the tenant can pay straight from the email.

Before you overlock or charge a late fee

Late fees, overlocking and, eventually, selling goods are the parts that can come back to bite you. A few habits keep you on solid ground.

• Put it in the storage agreement. If the agreement doesn't say you can charge a late fee or stop access, don't. Check the wording, and the rules where you operate, before you rely on it.
• Treat everyone the same. A routine you follow for every tenant is much easier to defend than one you apply when you're annoyed.
• Keep a record. What you sent, when, and how much was owing at the time. If it ever gets as far as a dispute, that history is what you'll need.
• Talk to the long-overdue ones. By day 30 an email isn't going to fix it. A phone call often turns up a payment plan that gets you paid, which beats an empty unit full of someone else's things.

Doing it in UnitsHQ

You can run the routine above by hand with a calendar and your sent folder. Or you can set it up once in UnitsHQ and let it run.

• Set the days and the wording. The arrears sequence starts with a friendly reminder on day 3 and a firmer one on day 10. Change the days, rewrite the emails, or add more steps, and preview each email as a real tenant would get it.
• One email covers everything. Each reminder lists every overdue invoice and the total, with a Pay now button that takes the tenant to their portal.
• It stops when they've paid. Pay online, by auto-debit or in Xero, and the sequence stops for that tenant. If they fall behind again later, it starts from the first step.
• It waits for auto-debit. If a card or direct debit payment is scheduled, nothing is sent until it has had its chance.
• You see who's next. Before you turn it on or save a change, you get the list of tenants who'll be emailed and how much each one owes.

The best way to cut late payments is still to take them automatically. Our payments page covers card and direct debit, and the Xero invoicing guide covers how payments line up with your accounts.