The Get Paid Pack

15 copy-paste templates for the part of freelancing nobody teaches you: asking for money you're already owed, without wrecking the relationship or freezing up at the keyboard.

What's inside

01	Payment terms clause The clause you put in every contract and at the bottom of every invoice so late fees are enforceable later.
02	Deposit policy How to ask for 50% up front without sounding like you distrust the client.
03	Invoice cover email The email you attach the invoice to. Sets the due date expectation in one line.
04	Reminder 1 — friendly Day 3 past due. Assumes it slipped through the cracks, because it usually did.
05	Reminder 2 — firm Day 14. Names the amount, the date, and what happens next.
06	Reminder 3 — final notice Day 30. The last email before it stops being an email problem.
07	Late fee notice Applying the fee, citing the clause, without torching the relationship.
08	Payment plan offer For the client who genuinely can't pay at once. Gets you paid instead of ghosted.
09	Demand letter Formal, dated, and structured the way a small-claims court expects to see it.
10	Small-claims prep checklist Exactly what to gather before you file, in order.
11	Scope-creep response The 'happy to — here's what that adds' reply that turns free work into billed work.
12	Price increase notice Raising rates on existing clients with a reason and a date.
13	No-show / cancellation policy Bill for the slot you held. Language clients accept.
14	Work pause notice Downing tools on an unpaid account, professionally. Usually the one that gets you paid.
15	Thank-you + referral ask Sent the day the money lands, when goodwill is highest.

Plain .txt files in a zip — paste into Gmail, Outlook, Word, anything. Swap the [bracketed] bits and send. No software, no signup.

Why templates instead of writing it yourself

The reason invoices go unpaid for months is rarely that the client refuses. It's that the freelancer opens a blank email, can't find a tone between doormat and lawyer, closes the tab, and tries again next week. A written-in-advance sequence removes the decision entirely: day 3 you send #4, day 14 you send #5, day 30 you send #6. The escalation does the work, and because each step is calm and dated, you keep the client and the money.

The sequence is also what makes a late fee stick. A fee you invent after the fact reads as a penalty; a fee named in the terms clause (#1), referenced in the cover email (#3), and applied on schedule (#7) reads as policy — and it's the version that holds up if you ever need #9 and #10.

Who it's for

Freelancers, contractors, designers, developers, consultants, agencies and small service businesses that invoice clients directly — whether you bill in dollars, pounds, euros or USDC.

Questions

What format?

A .zip of 15 plain-text files plus a README on when to send each one.

Can I edit them?

Yes — they're yours, edit and reuse them for every client, forever.

Can I pay in crypto?

Yes. Send 9 USDC on Base, Polygon or Arbitrum to 0xCEc27aCF9A143e7f7231E6192C809a8b2250eeac and open the download page.

Refunds?

It's a $9 download — if it's not useful, reply to your Stripe receipt and I'll refund it.