One template fits none of them
Chasing a retention with invoice wording, or an unagreed variation like a late invoice, creates disputes instead of payments.
Reminders by document type
UK construction payment reminders for every stage of the cycle
A construction payment reminder is not one email. An application, an invoice, a retention and a final account each need different wording and timing. Nemexio picks the right one for each.
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The problem
What slows you down
Timing depends on the document
An application runs on notice deadlines, an invoice on its due date and a retention on its release date. Calendar reminders cannot follow all three.
Chasing too early
Variations that nobody has instructed or valued, or retentions still inside the defects period, should not be chased yet.
The legal hooks behind each reminder
Reminders quote the deadline and the basis (your contract or the Scheme) and never invent amounts.
- Payment notice missing: the payer should give one no later than 5 days after the payment due date [1], and you can serve your own notice in default [2].
- Pay less notice missing: under the Scheme it is due at least 7 days before the final date for payment [4].
- Overdue after the final date: if no valid pay less notice was given, the notified sum is payable in full [3].
- Retention: held until release and still payable. The planned ban is not yet law, so existing clauses still need chasing [5].
How it works
Which reminder is sent, and when
Application with no payment notice
After the notice deadline passes with no payment notice recorded, the reminder names the missing notice, the deadline and the basis for it.
Application with no pay less notice
The same logic applies to the pay less deadline, so you know where you stand before the final payment date.
Invoice or final account overdue
Once the due date has passed, an escalating sequence starts, with the statutory interest stated as information between businesses.
Retention due for release
A reminder goes on the release date you set, noting that the defects period has ended and the retention has not been released.
Unagreed variation
Chasing is held back until the variation is instructed or valued, so you never chase a sum nobody has agreed.
Example wording
What the reminder looks like
Subject: Northgate Builders: application 9, £42,300.00
Application 9 (£42,300.00) was submitted on 1 September. No payment notice was received by 8 October, the deadline set by the contract. Please confirm when payment will be made, or send a copy of the notice if one was issued. Kind regards, [Your company]
Subject: Release of retention: Mill Lane, £6,150.00
The defects liability period ended on 14 September and the retention of £6,150.00 held under the contract has not yet been released. Please arrange its release, or tell us what remains outstanding. Kind regards, [Your company]
How Nemexio helps
The features you'll use most.
Guides behind this page
Credit control
Payment reminder email templates for UK businesses: four stages with wording
Copy-ready wording for the first, second, third and final payment reminder, with the statutory interest and compensation you can state between businesses and what to leave out for private customers.
· 7 min read
Construction Act
Payment Notices and Pay Less Notices: the Construction Act deadlines that decide who gets paid
How the Construction Act Payment Notice (5 days) and Pay Less Notice (7 days) deadlines work, what happens when a payer misses them, and how the notified sum becomes payable in full.
· 6 min read
Retentions
The construction retention ban: what the Commercial Payments Bill means for your retentions
The UK government plans to ban cash retentions in construction contracts. What the Commercial Payments Bill proposes, the transition period, the likely timeline and what to do with retentions held today.
· 6 min read
Works with your accounting software
Related
Sources
- [1]legislation.gov.uk — Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 110A: Payment notices
- [2]legislation.gov.uk — Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 110B: Payee's notice in default
- [3]legislation.gov.uk — Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 111: Requirement to pay notified sum
- [4]legislation.gov.uk — The Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998
- [5]GOV.UK — Late payment consultation: time to pay up, government response
Sources checked 20 October 2026. General information about commercial invoices: check the current text of each provision and your own contract or terms before relying on a deadline or a rate.
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