Invoice generator › Unpaid invoices

What to do about an unpaid invoice

Most late payments are administrative, not adversarial. The sequence below recovers the majority without a difficult conversation.

Before you chase: check three things

An embarrassing proportion of unpaid invoices were never actually payable. Check that the invoice went to the address accounts uses rather than to your contact, that any purchase order number they require is on it, and that the details — legal entity, amounts, dates — are right. If any of those is wrong, reissue rather than chase. You will not win an argument about an invoice that was defective.

Day 1 after the due date — the assumption of innocence

Short, friendly, no accusation. Most of the time this is all it takes, because the invoice is sitting in somebody's approval queue.

Subject: Invoice 2026-014 — EUR 3,500 — now due

Hi [name],

Invoice 2026-014 for EUR 3,500 fell due yesterday and I don't
think it's come through yet. Copy attached in case it's easier.

If it's already in your payment run, ignore me entirely.

Thanks,
[you]

Day 7 — find out where it is stuck

Stop asking for payment and start asking a process question. It is much harder to leave unanswered, and it usually surfaces the real blocker.

Hi [name],

Still nothing on invoice 2026-014 (EUR 3,500, due 18 September).

Could you tell me where it is in your process — has it been
approved, and is there a payment date? If it needs a PO number
or another form, tell me and I'll send it today.

Thanks,
[you]

Day 21 — one clear step up

Now name a date and a consequence, once. Stay factual; the moment you get angry you have handed them a reason to talk about your tone instead of their bill.

Hi [name],

Invoice 2026-014 (EUR 3,500) is now 21 days overdue and I haven't
been able to establish where it stands.

Please could you confirm payment by [date, 7 days out]. If I don't
hear anything by then I'll follow up with [finance contact /
director] and apply the late payment terms in our agreement.

I'd much rather sort this out directly.

[you]

Day 30 and beyond

Options, in increasing order of cost to the relationship:

• Go up one level. Your contact's manager, or the finance director. Often instant — nobody wants this on their desk.
• Pause the work. Effective while the engagement is live and worthless after delivery, which is the argument for staged payments.
• Formal demand letter. A letter setting out the debt, the deadline and the next step. In several countries this is a prerequisite for further action.
• Small claims or a payment order. Cheap and quick in some jurisdictions, slow in others. Worth the research once so you know what your options are.
• Debt collection. They take a substantial percentage. Mathematically worth it above a threshold you should decide in advance.

Statutory late payment interest exists in many jurisdictions for business-to-business debts, whether or not your contract mentions it. Worth knowing what yours is — it is sometimes more than people expect, and mentioning it precisely is more persuasive than mentioning it vaguely.

Prevention, which is where the real gain is

• Deposit up front. 30–50% on a first engagement is standard and filters out clients who cannot pay.
• Stage the payments. Milestones keep leverage alive during the work rather than after it.
• Invoice the day you deliver. An invoice sent three weeks late reads as if the money does not matter to you.
• Ask who pays and how, before starting. "What is your payment process and who should the invoice go to?" costs nothing at the beginning and saves this entire sequence.
• Make paying easy. Bank details on the invoice, or a payment link. Every extra step is a delay.

The one thing not to do

Do not go quiet out of awkwardness and then send one furious email six weeks later. The regular, unbothered follow-up is both more comfortable and more effective — and it keeps a relationship that is usually worth keeping.

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