Late payment penalties are compulsory mentions between businesses, which gives you a lever few creators use.
What must have been done before
Five documents, and they decide everything that follows.
A signed quote, or a written exchange amounting to agreement, with the amount and the content of the job.
A compliant invoice, carrying the compulsory mentions, including the payment terms and the penalties applicable in case of delay.
Proof of delivery: sending message, dated download link, acknowledgement.
A record of the approvals: who approved, on what date.
And an exact billing address, checked before sending.
Without those five, you do not have an unpaid invoice, you have a disagreement, and that is handled quite differently.
The sequence, day by day
Five steps, to be kept without skipping any.
Day one after the due date: a short, factual message with the invoice attached again. No emotion.
Day seven: a message asking for a precise date and the state of the file at the client's end.
Day fifteen: a formal reminder recalling the passed due date and announcing that the provided penalties apply.
Day thirty: a formal notice sent by registered post, with a clear deadline.
Then: the procedure described above.
One rule for the whole sequence: stop all new production for that client from day fifteen. Continuing to deliver while not being paid is the only behaviour that makes an unpaid invoice permanent.
The levers that really work
Four, in order of real effectiveness.
Stopping work in progress, announced calmly.
The written reminder of the penalties and recovery indemnity provided for by the mentions on your invoice.
Suspension of usage rights: if your contract provides that the assignment takes effect on full payment, a video running without payment poses the client a far bigger problem than your invoice.
And contact with the right person: in an organisation, accounting pays what the requesting department has approved. A reminder sent to accounting with no internal approval will never produce anything.
What to do before chasing
Six steps in this order.
Check the invoice carries the right order number.
Ask whether it reached the accounts team.
Confirm the name of the paying company.
Re-read the term agreed in the quote.
Send a written reminder with the due date.
And suspend the rights release until payment.
The steps, in order
| Step | What you do | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A written, factual follow-up | The day after the due date |
| 2 | A reminder with a deadline | Seven days later |
| 3 | A formal notice | Fifteen days later |
| 4 | A review of the remedies | After the formal notice |
What is prepared long before the non-payment
A signed quote, a purchase order, a proof of delivery and the acknowledgement of the invoice. Without those four documents, any recourse becomes difficult.
What you do in parallel
Suspend any new order for that client and stop delivering files in final quality. The available remedies are to be confirmed with a lawyer.
The signals to spot before accepting
Five, and each one justifies a higher deposit.
A client refusing any deposit while demanding a firm date.
An order placed verbally, with no signed quote.
A contact who cannot give the name of the person who approves.
A payment term stated as a number of days rather than a date.
And a company you cannot find anywhere, with no address or verifiable identifier.
One last habit, the most profitable of all: ask fifty per cent up front from every new client, with no exception and no negotiation. An unpaid invoice is never settled as well as it is avoided.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
