How to follow up on a late invoice

Before it is late

Put the due date and how to pay on every invoice, and agree payment terms in your contract. A short, friendly reminder a few days before the due date prevents a lot of late payments on its own.

A follow-up sequence

1. 1.The day after it is due: a friendly check. Did the invoice arrive, and is anything missing?
2. 2.About a week late: firmer. Restate the amount, the due date and how to pay, and ask when you can expect payment.
3. 3.Two to four weeks late: a final notice. Say what happens next, such as a late fee under your contract or pausing work, and by when.

Late fees: only what you are allowed to charge

Charge a late fee only if your contract allows it or the law gives you the right. In the United Kingdom, for business-to-business invoices, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation of 40, 70 or 100 pounds depending on the size of the debt. GOV.UK explains the current rules. Other countries have their own rules, so check locally.

When to pause work

If an invoice is well overdue and the client has gone quiet, it is reasonable to pause further work until it is paid, as long as you said so in your contract or final notice. Say it calmly and in writing.

Make paying easy

Late payment is often friction, not refusal. Put the payment link or bank details on the invoice itself, include any purchase order number the client gave you, and send it to the person who actually pays invoices, not only to the person you work with. Ask who that is at the start of the project.

If they dispute the work

Keep the payment and the disagreement separate. Ask exactly which part they are unhappy with, and ask them to pay the parts that are not in dispute now. A specific problem can be fixed; a vague one is often a reason to delay. Reply in writing so the record stays clear.

Keep a record

Log every invoice, its due date, each reminder and each reply. If you ever need to escalate to a debt recovery service or a small claims process, a clear record is what makes it straightforward.

From the Stelaah Store

• ✓Late Fee Calculator. A free online late fee calculator that works out a fair late fee using UK statutory interest or your contract rate, and writes the wording for your invoice.
• ✓Client Email Scripts. Ready-to-send email scripts for 13 moments in client work, each in a short, warm and firm version, as a 15-page PDF guide, a Word file and plain text.
• ✓Invoice Tracker Template. A free, editable invoice tracker template in Word, PDF, Excel and CSV for due dates, balances, disputes, payments and follow-up.
• ✓Invoice, Quote and Proposal Templates. Seven editable Word templates (invoices, a quote, a receipt, a project proposal and payment reminder letters) and an Excel invoice maker with an invoice log.