In the vast majority of cases, nobody has decided not to pay you. Your document is simply stopped somewhere, and you are chasing the wrong person.
Why an invoice stays unpaid
Almost always for an administrative reason.
A missing order reference, an incorrect entity name, a format the system does not accept, a supplier registration document that was never completed, or simply a payment run missed by two days.
None of those causes is a dispute. They are stopped files, and a stopped file does not unblock itself.
The reminder that works
Short, dated, without emotion.
Recall the document number, the date of issue, the amount and the agreed date. Ask one thing only: on what date is the payment scheduled. Do not repeat your satisfaction, do not justify your work, do not apologise for chasing.
A factual message gets an answer; a message expressing frustration gets silence.
The chasing calendar
Three steps, written in advance.
On the due date: a neutral reminder to the accounts department. At seven days: a second message with the same wording, copied to your contact. At fifteen days: a phone call, which unblocks more files than ten letters.
Keep to that calendar for everybody, without exception. The exceptions are precisely the files that become losses.
What has to be written beforehand
The dispute is won or lost before the job, not after.
What is delivered, the delivery date, the amount, the payment date, and what happens if the job changes along the way. Five lines sent by message and confirmed in writing are worth more than a long contract nobody will sign.
Add a deposit on large amounts: it is common practice, and it filters out the clients who will not pay.
When to stop delivering
When the second job arrives before the first is paid.
It is the most useful rule in the trade. It will cost you a job now and then, and it will save you from losing a whole quarter to a client who accumulates.
Say it plainly: I will start again as soon as the previous balance is settled. That sentence is not aggressive, it is professional.
What remains possible afterwards
Remedies exist, but they depend on your situation and the amount.
The formal steps, the applicable deadlines and whether starting a procedure is worthwhile are checked with a lawyer, weighing the cost and the time against the sum at stake. For small amounts, the best decision is often to stop spending and stop delivering anything new.
The steps of a chase, in order
| The step | The indicative delay | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| The courteous reminder | A week after the due date | The invoice attached and the due date |
| The formal chase | Two weeks after | A reminder of the accepted quote and deliverables |
| The formal notice | A month after | A written formal notice, with proof of receipt |
What makes a debt defensible
The file. A quote accepted in writing, a dated order, a timestamped delivery, exchanges kept: those four pieces are usually enough, and they are gathered as the work goes, not at dispute time.
What prevents most unpaid invoices
A deposit or payment framed by a marketplace. The applicable debt-recovery rules depend on country and status, and are confirmed with a professional rather than deduced from a forum.
How not to go through it again
Keep a list, and reread it.
The names of the entities that paid late, the length of the delay, and what unblocked it. After a year, that list tells you with whom you need a deposit, with whom you need an accounts contact from the start, and with whom you should no longer work.
