How to Track Invoices as a Freelancer: A Simple Spreadsheet and Overdue Reminder Emails
Last updated: 9 October 2026
Doing the work is only half the job. The other half is knowing, at any moment, which invoices are paid, which are still open and which are late, and then asking for the money without making it awkward. You do not need accounting software for that. A single spreadsheet tab and a ten-minute weekly routine are enough for most freelancers. This guide shows what to track, the two formulas that do the heavy lifting, and reminder emails you can copy.
Why a simple invoice tracker is enough
Accounting software is great for bookkeeping, VAT returns and bank matching. But many freelancers who send a handful of invoices a month mostly need answers to three questions:
- Who owes me money right now, and how much?
- Which invoices are late, and by how many days?
- How much did I actually get paid this month?
A spreadsheet answers all three, works offline, costs nothing extra, and is easy to hand to an accountant. If you later move to accounting software, your tracker becomes a tidy history instead of a mess of PDFs.
What to track: the columns
One row per invoice. Keep it boring and consistent.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Invoice no. | A running number, such as 2026-014. Never reuse one. |
| Client | The company or person who pays. |
| Issue date | The date on the invoice. |
| Due date | Issue date + your payment term, for example 14 days. |
| Net amount | Price before VAT. |
| VAT | Net × VAT rate, if you charge VAT. |
| Total | Net + VAT: what the client actually pays. |
| Paid date | Empty until the money is in your account. |
| Status | Calculated: Paid, Open or Overdue. |
| Days overdue | Calculated: how late an unpaid invoice is. |
| Last reminder | The date you last sent a reminder. |
The due date can be a formula too. With the issue date in column C and a 14-day term:
=C2+14
The two formulas that do the work
Say the due date is in column D and the paid date in column H. The status column becomes:
=IF(H2<>"","Paid",IF(TODAY()>D2,"Overdue","Open"))
And days overdue, which stays empty for paid invoices and invoices that are not yet due:
=IF(AND(H2="",TODAY()>D2),TODAY()-D2,"")
Both work the same way in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. Add conditional formatting so “Overdue” turns red and “Paid” turns green, and the sheet tells you what needs attention the moment you open it. Sort or filter by status and you have your to-do list.
For a monthly income view, add a small summary that sums paid totals by month. If the paid date is in H and the total in G:
=SUMIFS(G:G,H:H,">="&DATE(2026,10,1),H:H,"<"&DATE(2026,11,1))
That gives you what actually arrived in October, which is the number that matters for your budget.
Worked example: a fictional freelancer’s October
These invoices are made up for the example. Imagine today is 9 October 2026 and the payment term is 14 days.
| No. | Client | Due | Total | Paid | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-011 | Harbour Café | 15 Sep | €627.50 | 12 Sep | Paid |
| 2026-012 | North Yoga | 22 Sep | €1,004.00 | – | Overdue (17 days) |
| 2026-013 | Pine Studio | 2 Oct | €376.50 | – | Overdue (7 days) |
| 2026-014 | Lumi Bakery | 14 Oct | €1,255.00 | – | Open |
| 2026-015 | Harbour Café | 20 Oct | €502.00 | – | Open |
At a glance: €1,380.50 is late across two invoices, and €1,757 is coming due in the next two weeks. North Yoga is 17 days late and already had a friendly reminder, so it gets the second one. Pine Studio gets a friendly first reminder. Nothing else needs action today.
A weekly 10-minute invoice routine
- Log new invoices. Every invoice you sent this week gets a row, the same day if possible.
- Mark payments. Open your bank account and fill in the paid date for anything that arrived.
- Filter by Overdue. For each late invoice, check the last reminder date and send the next step below if it is due.
- Look ahead. Note anything due in the next seven days, especially from new clients.
- Set money aside. If you set aside a share of every payment for tax, move it now while the number is in front of you.
Overdue reminders: a schedule and example wording
Most late payments are not bad intent. The invoice went to the wrong inbox, someone was on holiday, or it is waiting for an approval. A calm, predictable reminder schedule fixes most of them. Adjust the timing to your own terms.
| When | Tone | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 days after due date | Friendly | Make sure they received it |
| 7–10 days after | Clear | Ask for a payment date |
| 14–21 days after | Firm | State next steps |
| 30+ days after | Final | Last notice before you escalate |
1. Friendly first reminder
Subject: Invoice 2026-013 – friendly reminder
Hi Mia,
Just a quick note that invoice 2026-013 (€376.50) was due on 2 October. It may simply have slipped through, so I have attached it again. Could you let me know when it is scheduled for payment?
Thanks, and have a good week!
2. Second reminder
Subject: Invoice 2026-012 – now 17 days overdue
Hi Jonas,
I am following up on invoice 2026-012 for €1,004.00, which was due on 22 September. I have not seen the payment yet. Could you confirm the date it will be paid? If something on the invoice needs correcting, just tell me and I will send an updated version today.
Best regards
3. Firm reminder
Subject: Overdue invoice 2026-012 – payment needed by 16 October
Hi Jonas,
Invoice 2026-012 (€1,004.00) is now more than three weeks overdue, and I have not received a reply to my earlier message. Please pay it by 16 October. I will pause further work on the project until the invoice is settled.
Kind regards
4. Final notice
Subject: Final notice – invoice 2026-012
Hi Jonas,
This is a final reminder for invoice 2026-012 (€1,004.00), due on 22 September. If payment has not arrived by 30 October, I will add late payment interest and recovery costs as allowed by law and pass the invoice to a collection service.
Regards
Only mention interest or collection if you are prepared to follow through. In the EU, business-to-business invoices are covered by the Late Payment Directive: if no other payment period is agreed, interest can start 30 days after the invoice is received, statutory interest is at least 8 percentage points above the reference rate, and the creditor is entitled to a fixed minimum of €40 in recovery costs (EUR-Lex summary). National rules add detail, and invoices to private consumers follow different rules, so check your own country before you quote any numbers.
Small habits that get you paid faster
- Agree the payment term before the work starts, and write it on the quote and the invoice.
- Send the invoice the day the work is delivered, not at the end of the month.
- Ask who handles invoices. In bigger companies the person you work with is rarely the person who pays.
- Take a deposit for larger projects. 30–50% up front is common for fixed-price work.
- Make paying easy. Bank details, reference number and the due date should be impossible to miss.
Where invoice tracking fits
Your invoices only make sense next to your prices and your budget. If you have not worked out your rate yet, start with how to calculate your freelance hourly rate. Paid invoices then feed the income line of a simple monthly budget, and clients who move from “proposal sent” to “won” in your CRM spreadsheet become the next rows in this tracker.
If you would like this ready-made, the Bolde Freelance Invoice Tracker has the invoice log with automatic status and overdue days, a printable invoice that fills itself in, a monthly income summary, a tax set-aside reminder and polite reminder email templates. It works in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice, with no macros.
Questions
What should a freelancer track for each invoice?
At minimum: invoice number, client, issue date, due date, amount before VAT, VAT, total, paid date and status. Days overdue and the date of your last reminder make following up much easier.
When should I send a payment reminder?
A friendly reminder one to three days after the due date catches most simple mistakes. Follow up again after about a week, then more firmly after two to three weeks. Keep the tone calm and always include the invoice number, amount and due date.
Can I track invoices in Google Sheets for free?
Yes. One tab with the columns above, a status formula and conditional formatting is enough for most freelancers. The formulas in this guide work in Google Sheets, Excel and LibreOffice.
Bolde · hello@bolde.fi