Chase dues like you’d remind a friend
Every fall, dues come back around. The treasurer, often on their own, has to write to fifty or two hundred families, work out who paid by check last year and who paid online, then chase the ones who sent nothing, without upsetting anyone.
Most late payments are not refusals. It is an email read on the train and forgotten, a check left in a bag, a transfer set up with the wrong reference. A member who hasn’t paid is not a bad payer: they are someone who needs help remembering.
Here are seven emails that cover the whole season, from the first call to the final notice, plus the thank-you and the reply to families who are struggling to pay.
Before you use them, reread your bylaws. They normally say who sets the dues, how often they are owed and when. Some groups put the amounts in a separate policy or standing rules instead, which are easier to change. And nothing forces you to collect in September: dues can follow the calendar year, the school year or your own season.
The schedule: from the season’s first call to the final notice
A simple schedule you can shift to match your season:
| When | Tone | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 4 weeks before the due date | Dues call | Informative, warm |
| Due date + 15 days | Reminder 1 | Neutral, “unless we’ve missed it” |
| Due date + 30 days | Reminder 2 | Direct, with a date |
| Due date + about 45 days | Final notice | Firm on facts, calm in tone |
| As soon as payment arrives | Thank-you and receipt | Short |
Four notes on this schedule.
- Set a real due date. “By October 15” can be chased. “At the start of the season” cannot.
- Don’t send reminder 1 the day after the deadline. Transfers take a few days and checks wait to be deposited. Two weeks gives all of it time to land in your books.
- Start from a tidy address. If the contact mailbox wasn’t reset before the new season, do it before the dues call: every family’s reply will land there.
- Stop at the final notice. Past that point, email stops helping: either the person replies, or your bylaws take over with whatever formal procedure they set out (more on that below).
Who sends, and how you know who paid
Half of all botched reminders don’t come from bad wording. They come from a payment log that is out of date. A family pays cash at practice, the coach forgets to tell the treasurer, and the family gets a reminder. They are right to be annoyed.
A few rules that prevent this:
- One person sends the reminders. Usually the treasurer. Other volunteers pass on every payment they receive, the same day.
- One sheet is the source of truth. One row per member: amount owed, amount received, date, payment method, receipt sent or not. A shared spreadsheet is enough.
- Check the sheet right before each round. Five minutes of checking prevents half of the “but I already paid” replies.
- The group call goes out in BCC. Nobody needs to see every other family’s address.
- Reminders go out one by one. Never a list of “who still hasn’t paid” in a group email, or in the parents’ group chat.
The 7 templates
Replace everything in brackets. Sign with a first name, not “The board”: people reply to a person more readily than to an institution.
1. The season’s first dues call
Everything a family needs to pay, in one message: the amount, the period, the deadline, how to pay and what the money pays for. Mention the reduced rate in this first email, so nobody has to ask for it.
Subject: [2026/2027] dues: [amount] by [date]
Hi [first name],
The [2026/2027] season of [organization] is starting. Dues are [amount] for [the season, the calendar year], due by [date].
To pay:
- online: [payment link];
- by bank transfer: [details], with [member’s name] as the reference;
- by check made out to [organization], handed to [name] or mailed to [address].
In practice, your dues cover [insurance, equipment, the gym rental, summer camp].
A reduced rate and payment in installments are available. Just reply to this email: it stays between us.
Thanks, and welcome back. [first name], treasurer of [organization]
2. Reminder 1: unless we’ve missed it
About two weeks after the due date. No reproach: it is almost always an oversight. Give the person an easy way out if they already paid.
Subject: [2026/2027] dues: quick reminder
Hi [first name],
Unless we’ve missed it, we haven’t received the [amount] dues for [member’s name] yet. They were due on [date].
If you’ve already paid, please ignore this, and thank you. If you tried to pay online and it failed, check that your card hasn’t expired in the meantime.
The payment options are the same: [link, transfer, check].
Have a good day, [first name]
3. Reminder 2: a date, and a way out
A month after the due date. More direct, with a specific date. It is also the moment to offer installments again, because silence sometimes hides a difficulty that people don’t like to put in writing.
Subject: [2026/2027] dues: please pay by [date]
Hi [first name],
We still haven’t received the [amount] dues for [member’s name], despite our email of [date of reminder 1].
Could you pay by [date, two weeks out]? If the amount is hard right now, we can split it into [two or three] payments, or look at the reduced rate together. Just reply to this email.
Thanks in advance, [first name], treasurer
4. Final notice before membership lapses
Firm on the facts, calm in tone. It doesn’t say “you have been removed”: it says you will apply the bylaws. That nuance matters, because an email alone may not be enough to end a membership (see the FAQ at the end).
Subject: [2026/2027] dues: final reminder before [date]
Hi [first name],
Despite our emails of [date] and [date], the [amount] dues for [member’s name] are still unpaid.
If we don’t receive payment or hear from you by [date], we will apply what our bylaws provide for members who are not in good standing.
We would much rather keep you. A one-line reply is enough to work something out.
[first name], for the board of [organization]
5. Thank you, and your receipt
As soon as the money arrives. Short, with the exact amount and the right document. A payment receipt is not the same as a tax acknowledgment: only describe it as tax-related if your organization qualifies and the membership buys nothing substantial (see below).
Subject: [2026/2027] dues received, thank you
Hi [first name],
We received [amount] on [date], by [card, transfer, check], for [member’s name]‘s [2026/2027] dues. Thank you!
Your [membership confirmation, receipt] is attached. Keep it: [your employer’s benefits program, your tax preparer] may ask for it.
See you [at the next practice, at the season kickoff], [first name]
6. Reply to a family that is struggling
This is a reply, not a group email: the family wrote to you, or had a quiet word after practice. One contact person, one concrete solution, and a promise that it stays confidential. Check that your bylaws or policies allow a reduced rate before you offer one.
Subject: Re: dues for [child’s name]
Hi [first name],
Thank you for writing to me, I know it isn’t easy. Here is what we can do:
- split the dues into [three] payments: [amount] in [month], [amount] in [month] and [amount] in [month];
- [and/or] apply the reduced rate of [amount] set in our [membership policy].
Let me know what works best for you. I’m the only person on the board handling this, and it stays between us.
[first name], treasurer
7. Reply to “I already paid”
It will happen. Check your bank statement and your sheet first. If the person is right, apologize simply, without three paragraphs of explanation.
Subject: Re: [2026/2027] dues
Hi [first name],
You’re absolutely right: your [transfer, check] of [date] did arrive, it just hadn’t been entered in our records. Sorry for the unnecessary reminder.
It’s fixed, and your [receipt] is attached.
Have a good day, [first name]
If you can’t find the payment, say so without suspicion: “I can’t find it on my side. Could you tell me the date and how you paid? I’ll check with the bank.”
Payment links, transfers and checks
Offer at least two ways to pay. Some families pay online in two taps from their phone, others still prefer a check.
Some platforms add an optional tip or fee at checkout; if yours does, say in one sentence that it is optional and goes to the platform, not to your organization. Read its terms before you say anything about its fees.
Either way, ask for a reference: the member’s name in the transfer note or on the back of the check. A payment from “J. Smith” when three Smith kids are signed up is half an hour lost.
Tax receipts: only when membership buys nothing
The most common mistake in dues emails is promising a tax deduction to everyone.
In the US, IRS Publication 526 (for 2025 returns) says you “may be able to deduct membership fees or dues you pay to a qualified organization. However, you can deduct only the amount that is more than the value of the benefits you receive.” Some benefits can be disregarded: both the member and the organization can ignore certain membership benefits “if you get them in return for an annual payment of $75 or less”, such as free or discounted admission to the organization’s facilities or events.
French law draws a similar line, in its own way. Service-Public states that dues to a public-interest organization can give a 66% income tax reduction, but not when the payment gives the member “une contrepartie directe ou indirecte, sous forme d’un bien ou d’une prestation de services” (a direct or indirect benefit in the form of goods or services).
In practice:
- Sports club, music lessons, activity groups: the dues pay for an activity. Don’t describe them as tax-deductible in your emails.
- Qualified charity whose membership gives access to nothing substantial: a tax acknowledgment may be possible, and you can mention it in the call.
- Anywhere in between: ask your accountant or your umbrella organization before you promise anything.
When several volunteers chase from one address
In many organizations, reminders don’t go out from the treasurer’s personal inbox. They go out from the organization’s address, often a Gmail or Outlook account whose password gets passed around by text (for a Gmail account, see how to share it between volunteers). Two volunteers then reply to the same family a day apart, quoting two different amounts. Or everyone assumes someone else replied, and the family who asked for installments waits three weeks.
Trupeo connects to that address without changing it: each volunteer gets their own login, with no shared password. A reminder has one owner and a status (to assign, to handle, done), and an internal note like “paid Oct 12, receipt sent” stays visible to the whole board without ever reaching the family. It costs €10 per month per connected address for two people, €20 from three, excluding VAT. For a verified association or school it is €5 and €10. Details are on the pricing page and the page for nonprofits.
If access itself is the problem, start by sharing the mailbox without sharing the password. If the board just changed, handing over the mailbox between volunteers comes before any reminders. And for the rest of the season’s messages (donations, meetings, volunteers), see our nonprofit email templates.
Frequently asked questions
When should the first dues email go out?
Two to four weeks before the due date you set. For a season that follows the school year, that often means early September. Nothing requires dues to follow the school year: your bylaws set the period and the due date.
How many reminders before a membership lapses?
That depends on your bylaws, not on the number of emails. In practice, two reminders and a final notice cover the friendly stage. What happens next, and whether the member must be formally notified first, is for your bylaws and your local law to say.
Is a reminder email enough to remove a member?
Not always. Your bylaws may require a formal notice, a board decision or a chance for the member to respond before membership ends. In France, for example, when the bylaws say nothing, Service-Public describes a formal notice by registered letter, then a second registered letter announcing the exclusion and its reasons.
Are membership dues tax-deductible?
It depends on what the member gets back. In the US, IRS Publication 526 allows a deduction only for the part of the dues above the value of the benefits received, with some benefits disregarded for annual payments of $75 or less. Dues that mainly pay for an activity the member takes part in usually leave little or nothing to deduct.
What about members without email?
The same texts work as a printed letter, mailed or handed over at practice. Attach the membership form to the dues call, so the family only has to fill it in and return it with the payment. Keep registered mail for the formal step, if your bylaws call for one.
Can we offer a reduced rate or installments?
Yes, if your bylaws or membership policy allow it. If they don’t, have the body your bylaws name decide it, or add it to a policy that is easier to change than the bylaws themselves.
Sources:
- Publication 526, Charitable Contributions (IRS, for use in preparing 2025 returns): membership fees or dues are deductible only for the amount above the value of the benefits received, and certain benefits can be disregarded for an annual payment of $75 or less.
- Cotisations à une association (Service-Public.fr, in French, verified January 1, 2026): the bylaws or internal rules set the amount and schedule of dues, the formal notice by registered letter when the bylaws say nothing, and the 66% tax reduction ruled out when dues buy goods or services.