Simply Link guides

Payment guides for solo service businesses.

For the awkward bit between doing the work and getting paid.

Practical UK guidance for asking for payment, deposits, late follow-up and choosing how customers pay — organised around the problem in front of you.

Start with the problem

What are you trying to sort out?

Pick the situation that looks most like the one in front of you. You should not need to understand our guide structure before you can find an answer.

Choose a way to take paymentCompare payment-link tools and work out which approach fits your business.Create and send a payment linkSet up a secure payment link and get it in front of the customer.Ask for a depositSet the amount, explain it clearly and ask without making the conversation awkward.Follow up a payment that is still unpaidChoose sensible reminder timing, wording and when routine follow-up should stop.Take card payments without a card machineUnderstand the practical options when you do not want to buy or carry a card reader.Send a payment link in a messageShare a payment link through WhatsApp, text or Instagram without overcomplicating it.

Your kind of work

Payment guidance written around the work you actually do.

Different jobs create different payment moments. Go straight to the guidance for your profession rather than translating generic advice yourself.

General guidance

Useful when the problem is the same whatever work you do.

Comparisons, wording and practical payment guidance that applies across solo service businesses.

Browse all general guides

Comparison guide

Best payment link tools for UK small businesses

Compare the main ways to send customers a payment link, including fees, useful differences and which kind of business each option suits.

Compare payment link tools
Follow-up guideAutomatic payment reminders: when to send them and what to sayBuild a small reminder sequence without automating the judgement out of customer follow-up.How-to guideHow to request a deposit professionallySet expectations before the work and explain what the deposit is for.TemplatesPayment reminder message templates for UK businessesPractical wording for the point where you know what needs saying but do not want to rewrite it from scratch.Customer wordingHow to tell a customer to pay politelyBe clear about what is due without turning an ordinary payment follow-up into a confrontation.

UK context Written for UK solo and small service businesses, using UK payment language and sources where they matter.

Practical first The useful answer comes before the product pitch: steps, examples, wording and decisions you can actually use.

Built around real moments Late payments, awkward follow-ups, deposits, balances and the admin that otherwise ends up living in your head.

After the work. Before the money.

Keep the unfinished payment out of your head.

Create a Payment Request, share it with your customer, and keep the amount, due date, reminders and payment status together until it is paid.

Create your first Payment Request See how it works

Free to start · No card required · Payments powered by Stripe