Do I need consent to email an invoice or a payment reminder?

Consent rules are about marketing. An invoice, a reminder about money owed or a delivery update is part of a deal the customer asked for. Keep sales offers out of those emails.

Is a business card enough consent to send our newsletter?

It is weak proof in Australia and New Zealand, and it does not cover a newsletter unrelated to why they gave it to you. In Japan a business card allows advertising email, but not mail-order advertising. Ask the person to agree and record when and how they did.

What is the Do Not Call Register in Singapore?

A national register where people list Singapore phone numbers that do not want marketing calls, SMS or faxes. Check it before marketing to a number unless you hold clear consent in writing or another accessible form. A check result is valid for 21 days.

How fast must I act on an unsubscribe?

Within five working days in Australia and New Zealand, 10 business days in Singapore for unsolicited bulk email or SMS, and 10 working days in Hong Kong; in Japan, stop once you are told. Recording the opt-out in easySales the same day keeps you within all of them.

Does easySales block emails to people who opted out?

No. Consent is a record your team follows; easySales does not send marketing itself. Check it before each mailing. See Contact details.

Can I buy a mailing list?

Avoid it. The people on it have not agreed to hear from you, so you cannot show consent where the law requires it, and in Singapore and Hong Kong the do-not-call and unsubscribe rules still apply.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a general guide. Read the regulator's guidance linked on this page, or ask a lawyer, for your own case.

Marketing and consent

Copy for AI

A newsletter, a festive promotion or an SMS about a new service can bring customers back — or bring a complaint and a regulator’s letter. This page sets out the habits that keep marketing welcome and within the rules, and how to record a customer’s choice in easySales. It is a general guide, not legal advice: for your own case, read the regulator’s guidance linked below or ask a lawyer.

Good practice

Keep service messages and marketing apart. A quotation, an invoice, a payment reminder or a delivery update is part of a deal the customer asked for. A promotion, a newsletter or an offer of something new is marketing, and that is where consent and opt-out rules apply. Do not slip a sales offer into an invoice email and treat it as a service message.

Ask before you market, and keep proof. Ask when you collect the details — on an enquiry form, a sign-up sheet at a trade show, or in the first email — and say what you will send and how often. Write down when and how the person agreed. A ticked box, a signed form or an email reply is proof; “they gave me their card” is weaker.

Check the do-not-call registers before calls, SMS and faxes. Several countries keep a national register of numbers that do not want marketing calls or messages. Check the number before a marketing call or SMS unless the person has clearly agreed, in writing or another form you can show, to hear from you.

Make leaving easy, and act on it quickly. Every marketing email or SMS says who it is from and how to stop receiving it: a reply keyword, a link or an address. When someone opts out, stop sending them marketing on that channel and record it the same day, so a colleague does not send the next one.

Send less, and send to the right people. A short, relevant message to people who asked for it beats a large list. Buying a list or copying addresses from websites is risky in every country below.

Rules by country

These are the main laws to know. Each one has more detail, exceptions and penalties than this summary; read the regulator’s guidance before a campaign.

Country	Main rules	In practice
Singapore	Personal Data Protection Act 2012, including its Do Not Call provisions; Spam Control Act	Check the Do Not Call Register before a marketing call, SMS or fax to a Singapore number unless you have clear and unambiguous consent in writing or another accessible form. A check result is valid for 21 days. Unsolicited commercial email and SMS sent in bulk carry an unsubscribe facility and `<ADV>` before the subject, or at the start of a message with no subject; stop within 10 business days of an unsubscribe.
Malaysia	Personal Data Protection Act 2010	Tell people what their data is used for and get their consent; a person can ask you in writing to stop using their data for direct marketing.
Hong Kong	Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Part 6A; Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance	Tell the person and get their consent before using their personal data for direct marketing, and stop when they ask. Commercial electronic messages give the sender’s name, phone and address and an unsubscribe facility; stop within 10 working days of an unsubscribe. Do not send to numbers on the fax, SMS or pre-recorded message do-not-call registers.
Australia	Spam Act 2003; Do Not Call Register Act 2006	A commercial email or SMS needs consent, identifies the sender and has a working unsubscribe, honoured within five working days. Check the Do Not Call Register before a telemarketing call or marketing fax.
New Zealand	Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007	A commercial email or SMS needs consent, identifies the sender and has a working unsubscribe, honoured within five working days.
Japan	Act on Regulation of Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail; Act on the Protection of Personal Information	Advertising email and SMS need the recipient’s prior agreement (opt-in), with narrow exceptions; keep a record of when and how they agreed. Each message shows the sender and how to opt out.

Official guidance: PDPC Singapore — Do Not Call Registry · PDPC Singapore — PDPA overview · PDPC Singapore — guide to the Do Not Call provisions · Singapore Statutes Online — Spam Control Act · JPDP Malaysia — Personal Data Protection Act 2010 · PCPD Hong Kong — guidance on direct marketing · OFCA Hong Kong — Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance · ACMA Australia — spam rules for businesses · ACMA Australia — Do Not Call Register · Department of Internal Affairs NZ — anti-spam · Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Japan — specified electronic mail. Last checked 21 October 2026.

Do it in easySales

Each contact has a Consent card with four channels: Marketing email, Do-not-call (voice), Do-not-call (SMS) and Do-not-call (fax). Each reads Opted out, Not opted out or Not recorded, with the history of changes below. See Contact details.

When a person opts out or agrees again, open the contact and select Record consent change.
Choose the Channel and the State.
Enter the Source — how they told you, such as “Reply STOP to SMS” or “Signed form at home show” — and a Note if it helps.
Leave When blank to record it as now, or enter the day they told you. Select Save.
Before a mailing, check Consent for the people on your list and leave out anyone Opted out on that channel.

For a lead from a trade show or a web enquiry, choose how you met as the lead’s Source, such as Trade show or event or Web form, and record what they agreed to in a note, so the trail is there when the lead becomes a contact. See Leads.

Consent is a record for your team to follow. It does not block quotations, invoices or calls, and easySales does not send marketing for you: whoever sends the campaign checks the record first. A person’s choice to stop marketing never stops their quotations, invoices or payment reminders.

Templates you can use

Asking for consent on a form or sign-up sheet

Yes, I would like to receive news and offers from Lim & Co by email and SMS, about once a month. I can unsubscribe at any time.

The footer of a marketing email

You are receiving this because you signed up at our stand at the Home Show on 12 September. To stop receiving these emails, reply UNSUBSCRIBE to this email address. Lim & Co, 10 Example Road, Singapore.

A marketing SMS (in Singapore, unsolicited bulk messages start with <ADV>)

<ADV> Lim & Co: 10% off kitchen design consultations until 30 Nov. Book: 6123 4567. To opt out, text STOP to 8123 4567.

Confirming an opt-out

Thank you, [Name]. We have removed you from our marketing emails. You will still receive the quotations and invoices for your current project.

Common questions

Do I need consent to email an invoice or a payment reminder? Consent rules are about marketing. An invoice, a reminder about money owed or a delivery update is part of a deal the customer asked for. Keep sales offers out of those emails.
Is a business card enough consent to send our newsletter? It is weak proof in Australia and New Zealand, and it does not cover a newsletter unrelated to why they gave it to you. In Japan a business card allows advertising email, but not mail-order advertising. Ask the person to agree and record when and how they did.
What is the Do Not Call Register in Singapore? A national register where people list Singapore phone numbers that do not want marketing calls, SMS or faxes. Check it before marketing to a number unless you hold clear consent in writing or another accessible form. A check result is valid for 21 days.
How fast must I act on an unsubscribe? Within five working days in Australia and New Zealand, 10 business days in Singapore for unsolicited bulk email or SMS, and 10 working days in Hong Kong; in Japan, stop once you are told. Recording the opt-out in easySales the same day keeps you within all of them.
Does easySales block emails to people who opted out? No. Consent is a record your team follows; easySales does not send marketing itself. Check it before each mailing. See Contact details.
Can I buy a mailing list? Avoid it. The people on it have not agreed to hear from you, so you cannot show consent where the law requires it, and in Singapore and Hong Kong the do-not-call and unsubscribe rules still apply.
Is this legal advice? No. It is a general guide. Read the regulator’s guidance linked on this page, or ask a lawyer, for your own case.