Apology letter for late payment to supplier [with examples]

It is a bad business practice to make delayed payments to your suppliers. Writing an apology letter for late payment to supplier afterwards does not suffice.

If you wish to succeed in business, you will have to learn how to put your best efforts in place always to pay your clients on time. Payment should only be delayed when there are disputes with the invoice and when there is a genuine reason for the delay.

If you know that you are going to delay payment, you should write an apology letter to your supplier, which should be done in advance. In the letter, you should seek to explain in detail the cause for the delay and politely ask them to forgive you.

You should also commit when you expect to make the payment so they can know you are serious about paying.

There are three main scenarios where an apology letter should be written.

These include:

• Before the due date when you know, you are going to delay the payment.
• After the due date of the payment has been crossed and before the actual payment is made.
• When payment has been made after the due date has already been crossed.

The format for all of these three scenarios is almost the same, and you can use the following example to guide you on this:

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Apology Letter for the delay in payment

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–

Dear Mr. ——————

To start with, let me first apologize for the delays from our side for payment of invoice number ——————— dated —————— We are very sorry for this delay, and we wish to apologize for any inconveniences caused as a result of this.

While we would not wish to make any ingenuine excuses, we would appreciate it if you would kindly understand our situation and excuse us for this delay in payment. We had a few large payments we were expecting from our clients, which we had planned to use to make the payment to you, but the monies were delayed.

We are yet to receive more payments, and we are in touch with these clients, hoping that they will make payment in the next couple of days.

In order to make payment to you, we are in touch with our bankers, and when they allow us to get an overdraft, we shall immediately send the payment to you.

I wish to reassure you that we are committed to making this payment as soon as the funds are available. If all goes well, we are hoping to do this by the end of the week. 

I kindly request you to bear with us and please receive more apologies for the delay. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation and understand during this time.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

Your Name

Designation.       

Writing a late payment letter to your supplier is very simple. All you have to do is start by expressing your regret over making the payment late and then promising them when you expect to pay them.

Business etiquette dictates that you should always endeavour to maintain good working relationships with your suppliers despite any challenges you may be experiencing.

Failing to pay occasionally is common, but if you are going to make a payment late, then you should always send them a letter of apology to explain why.

Using a simple letter is always the best way of doing it.

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Apology Letter for Late Payment

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–

Dear Mr., Mrs.

We are currently in receipt of your invoice and note dated —————–. I understand that my company owes your company (Exact amount of money), and I am writing this letter in order to apologize for the late payment.

The payment will be sent to you by (date). We have been having a slight problem with our accounts systems although we have now corrected the problem. We ask for your understanding in this matter and promise that we shall do everything in our power, so this never happens again.

However, we are greatly impressed by the patience you have shown us, and we value our business relationship. Give us until the above date to correct this mistake and put it behind us. We shall keep our businesses in the right direction.

Additionally, we wish to inform you that we shall require an additional order by (Date), which we hope will be processed and paid for on time.

If you happen to have any further questions concerning this issue, you can kindly reach me on (give your telephone number) or email me on (give your email address)

Yours Sincerely

NAME

(Signature)

(Your formal title)

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Payment Delay

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–      

Dear Sir/Madam

To start with, let me first apologize for the delays from our side for payment of invoice number ——————— dated —————— We are very sorry for this delay, and we wish to apologize for any inconveniences caused as a result of this.

While we would not wish to make any ingenuine excuses, we would appreciate it if you would kindly understand our situation and excuse us for this delay in payment. We had a few large payments we were expecting from our clients, which we had planned to use to make the payment to you, but the monies were delayed.

We are still to receive more payments, and we are in touch with these clients, hoping that they will make payment in the next couple of days.

In order to make payment to you, we are in touch with our bankers, and when they allow us to get an overdraft, we shall immediately send the payment to you.

I wish to reassure you that we are committed to making this payment as soon as the funds are available. If all goes well, we are hoping to have done this by the end of the week. 

I kindly request you to bear with us and please receive more apologies for the delay. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation and understand during this time.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

(NAME)

(Designation)

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Apology Letter for Late Payment 

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–      

Dear Sir/Madam

First, I wish to apologize profusely for the late tax payments. I understand that I was supposed to make the payment for this year by (Date). I have already been informed that I will be charged a penalty for the late filing.

However, I wish to let you know why I was late.

(Give the details of why you were late. Keep this brief and to the point)

Therefore, I believe that this is a valid enough reason for being late, and I hope that you shall understand my predicament. 

I promise to make the payment by (Date). I appreciate your patience thus far. I do promise further that this shall never happen again in the future.

If possible, I request that you waive the interest charges and penalties for me. I will really appreciate this.

Thank you so much for your cooperation and understand during this time.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

(NAME)

(Designation)

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Apology Letter for Late Payment

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–      

Dear Sir/Madam

I wish to sincerely apologize for the late payment of my credit facility in the amount of (Amount) that was due on (date) 

Due to an unforeseen circumstance (Explain the issue), I was unable to pay. I will, however, make payment of the whole amount on (date)

I understand that my late payment has already attracted some penalties and charges, and I would wish to request you to waive these charges on account of the above issues.

Kindly forgive me for this, and I promise that it shall never happen again. Already, I have put all the necessary actions in place in order to avoid any such occurrence.

Thank you so much for your understanding and patience.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

(NAME)

(Designation)

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Delayed Payment Explanation

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–

Dear Mr. ——————

To start with, let me first apologize for the delays from our side for payment of invoice number ——————— dated —————— We are very sorry for this delay, and we wish to apologize for any inconveniences caused as a result of this.

While we would not wish to make any ingenuine excuses, we would appreciate it if you would kindly understand our situation and excuse us for this delay in payment. We had a few large payments we were expecting from our clients, which we had planned to use to make the payment to you, but the monies were delayed.

We are still to receive more payments, and we are in touch with these clients, hoping that they will make payment in the next couple of days.

In order to make payment to you, we are in touch with our bankers, and when they allow us to get an overdraft, we shall immediately send the payment to you.

I wish to reassure you that we are committed to making this payment as soon as the funds are available. If all goes well, we are hoping to have done this by the end of the week. 

I kindly request you to bear with us and please receive more apologies for the delay. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation and understand during this time.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

(NAME)

(Designation.) 

Date ————

Ref—————

To

(Name of the person in charge)

(Their designation)

(The name of the business)

(Their address)

(Contact Number)

Subject: Request to Delay Payment

Ref: Invoice Number ———– Dated—————–

Dear Mr. ——————

We are in receipt of invoice number ————– and are aware that it should be paid by ———however, we wish to inform you that we are going to delay payment due to the following reasons.

(Clearly explain why you will delay payment. Be specific and to the point)

We kindly request that you understand this current predicament and give us until (Date) to clear the bill in full.

We have already put the necessary measures in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again in the future.

Thank you so much for your understanding, and we hope that this will not affect our business relationship. Remember that we have always paid on time since we started working together.

We look forward to your reply and acceptance of this request.

Yours Sincerely.

For ———–LTD.

(NAME)

(Designation)  

Late payment letters are extremely important as they effectively help you manage your relationship with suppliers. This relationship must remain solid as suitable suppliers help keep your business afloat, and they can come in handy when you need help during difficult seasons.

If you identify that you will be late with your invoice payment, notifying the client in advance is always good business practice. Since they are running a business the same as you, they will understand that you need some time to pay.

Additionally, having everything in writing will help you remind the client that they had agreed to give you some time in case they happen to forget.

It is understood that occasionally, you are bound to experience some challenges with paying your invoices, such as – low cash flow, bad sales season, a big loss, etc.

Any of these reasons are valid for paying invoices late, but for the supplier to understand your problems, it is wise if you let them know that you will be late.

Writing simply and to the point is key when it comes to late payment letters, and our samples and formats above will guide you on how you can do this.