Asking a friend for 40 is more awkward than losing 40. Which is why many hosts never ask, and quietly absorb it.
You don't have to. A few small habits make it routine.
Settle the same night when you can
The easiest debt to collect is the one that never exists. If you play with cash, pay out at the table. If you play with apps, send the money before people go home. Most unpaid debts are just payments that were postponed once.
Make the request exact
"You owe me money" invites an argument. This doesn't:
Hey, from Thursday: you were in for 100, out for 60, so you owe 40. You can send it to me on Venmo or hand it over next week.
It names the game, shows the working, states the amount, and says how to pay. There's nothing to dispute and nothing to look up.
Share the full record
If players can see the whole ledger, buy-ins and cash-outs included, they stop asking whether the host got the maths right. Bink sends each player a link with their result and a live ledger of the game, so the numbers aren't the host's word against theirs.
Follow up once, shortly after the deadline
If a payment is late, one short message is enough:
Hey, just a reminder about the 40 from Thursday. Let me know when you've sent it.
No sarcasm, no group chat. If you've agreed a deadline in your house rules, you're not nagging, you're applying a rule.
Stop debts stacking up
The rule that works best: nobody buys in on credit while an older debt is unpaid. It's not personal, it applies to everyone, and it stops a 40 turning into a 200.
When it keeps happening
Some people are just slow. Some people are never going to pay. If someone repeatedly ignores a deadline, move them to paying up front, or stop inviting them. A friendly game isn't a charity, and the people who pay on time are subsidising the person who doesn't.
Keep a record
Whichever way you play, have a place where the debt is written down: a notebook, a note on your phone, or a ledger the players can see. A debt you can see is much harder to forget, for both sides.