Most late invoices are not refusals
It is worth starting here because it changes the tone of the first message, and the tone of the first message changes how quickly you get paid.
A large share of overdue invoices are lost in an inbox, held up behind a purchase order number nobody told you to quote, sitting with the one person who approves them while they are away, or waiting on a query that never reached you. None of that is a customer refusing to pay, and treating it as though it is makes an easy problem harder.
So chase the day after it falls due, and chase pleasantly. Then keep going up the ladder without stopping, because the mistake is not being too soft at the start, it is going quiet in the middle.
The order, and the step almost everybody skips
Two things about that middle marker. It is not a threat, it is the formal notice that you intend to issue, setting out what is owed and giving a stated period to respond. And skipping it is expensive: a claimant who issues without one can be penalised on costs even having won the case.
It is also where a lot of disputes end, because it is the first message that visibly is not going away.
Who you are chasing changes the rules
This catches people, and it is a genuine fork rather than a nicety.
- An individual, including a sole trader. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies. It is prescriptive: particular information has to be given, a reply form goes with it, and the debtor gets a set period to respond before anything is issued.
- A limited company. The protocol does not apply to business-to-business debts unless the debtor is a sole trader. The general practice direction on pre-action conduct governs instead, which is looser and still expects you to set out the claim and give them a chance to answer.
So the first thing to establish is what you are actually owed money by, and "the company" on the side of a van is not evidence of a company. Check whether it is a registered company or a person trading under a name, because the answer decides your next step.
Winning is not getting paid
This is the part most guidance leaves out, because a judgment is where the story feels finished. It is not.
A judgment is a decision that the debt is owed. It moves no money. If the other side still does not pay, enforcement is a separate application with its own fee, and the routes suit different situations: taking control of goods, attaching earnings, a charging order against property, an order against a bank account.
Against somebody with genuinely nothing, an enforceable judgment is worth exactly nothing, and you are out the court fee as well as the original debt. Which is why the honest question before issuing is not "am I right" but "can they pay, and will they".
The cheapest step happens before the job
Everything above is recovery, and recovery is expensive even when it works. The step that costs almost nothing sits at the other end: knowing who you are dealing with before you start, agreeing payment terms in writing, and quoting the reference the customer's own system needs so the invoice cannot go missing in it.
A firm that already owes three other suppliers is not a payment problem you can chase your way out of. Finding that out beforehand takes minutes.
What to use at each step
For the money itself, the late payment interest calculator works out what you are actually owed, including the fixed compensation sum on top of the interest and why a UK business needs no clause in its terms to claim either. A statement of account is often the message that unsticks things, because it shows everything outstanding at once rather than one invoice at a time.
For the formal steps, the letter before claim covers what has to be in one, and the court fee and track calculator puts a number on what issuing costs against what you are owed, which is the arithmetic the decision actually turns on.
And before the next job, the customer credit checklist is the five minutes that prevents most of this.
Common questions
How long should I wait before chasing?
Chase the day after it falls due, and make the first one friendly, because most late invoices are not refusals. They are lost in an inbox, stuck behind a purchase order number that was never quoted, sitting with somebody on holiday, or waiting on a query nobody told you about. A short message asking whether there is a problem clears a good proportion of them and costs you nothing. Leaving it three weeks to avoid seeming pushy is how a solvable admin problem becomes a habit.
Do I need a clause in my terms to charge interest?
In the UK, no. Statutory interest on commercial debts applies whether or not you wrote anything about it, and a clause of your own can occasionally be worse than the statutory position rather than better. There is also a fixed compensation sum on top of the interest, which surprises people because it applies per invoice rather than per relationship. Outside the UK the position inverts and your contract is doing the work, so this is one to check rather than assume if you invoice abroad.
What is a letter before claim?
The formal notice that you intend to issue proceedings, and it is a required step rather than a threat you can skip. It sets out what is owed and why, and gives the other side a stated period to respond. Sending one is not aggressive and not a bluff: courts expect it, and a claimant who issues without one can be penalised on costs even after winning. It is also the point at which a surprising number of disputes settle, because it is the first message that plainly is not going away.
Does it matter whether I am chasing a company or a person?
Yes, and it changes what you have to do first. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies where a business is claiming a debt from an individual, and that includes a sole trader. It is prescriptive: specific information has to be provided, a reply form goes with it, and the debtor gets a set period to respond. It does not apply to business-to-business debts unless the debtor is a sole trader, in which case the general practice direction on pre-action conduct governs instead, which is looser but still expects you to give them a chance.
If I win, do I get my money?
No. A judgment is a decision that the debt is owed, not a transfer of funds, and it is the part most advice leaves out. If the other side still does not pay, you have to enforce it, which is a separate application with a separate fee, and the options each suit different situations: taking control of goods, an attachment of earnings, a charging order against property, or an order against a bank account. Against a debtor with genuinely nothing, an enforceable judgment is still worth nothing.
When is it not worth chasing through the courts?
When the likely recovery does not cover the fee, the time and the risk, which is a commercial judgement rather than a legal one. Work out the court fee against the debt, then be honest about whether the other side can actually pay, because a company already failing to pay several suppliers may not be there in six months. The cheapest step in this whole sequence is the one taken before the work starts: a credit check and agreed terms cost almost nothing and prevent most of what follows.