AnswersWhen a client won't pay
I'm a freelancer and a client won't pay. What's different for me?
The short answer
Very little. The late payment law covers goods and services sold between two parties acting in the course of a business1, and “business” includes a profession. So a freelancer can add interest at 8% over the Bank of England base rate3 and a fixed sum, £40, £70 or £100 by invoice size2, as a company can. What differs is the tax on an unpaid invoice, a court fee that weighs more on a small sum, and the time a sole trader client gets to reply.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
A £1,850 freelance invoice, 55 days late
Say you invoiced another business £1,850 for five days' work, dated 31 July 2026 on 14-day terms, so due on 14 August. On 8 October 2026 it is still unpaid: 55 days late. Interest started on 15 August, so it uses the Bank Rate on 30 June 2026: 3.75%4 plus 8%3, which is 11.75% a year.
Then it grows by £0.60 a day. On an invoice this size the fixed sum is the bigger number: interest does not pass £70 until day 118. A court claim for this sum costs a £115 fee, and a £181 hearing fee if they defend it and it does not settle first9. If you win, the court can order them to pay your court fees10.
The road ahead
Six steps. A stamp, then a court fee if needed.
Step 2: Work out the sum and ask once, in writing
Add interest at 8% over the Bank Rate3 and the fixed sum2 to the invoice, as in the sum above, and send the email below. Trading as a limited company? It is the supplier1, so the email and any claim are in its name.
Nothing signed? A spoken or emailed deal is still a contract, so send the email in the thread where you agreed the job. Next time, ask for part upfront.
Step 3: Check what the unpaid invoice does to your tax
A sole trader is on the cash basis5 unless they chose traditional accounting. It counts income when the money arrives, so an unpaid invoice carries no Income Tax yet. A limited company cannot use the cash basis5.
VAT is separate. If you are registered, you report the VAT and pay HMRC even if the invoice has not been paid6, unless you use the Cash Accounting Scheme. The tax page has the sums.
Step 4: A bigger client? Ask the Small Business Commissioner
The Commissioner12 takes free complaints, within 12 months of the due date, from firms with fewer than 50 staff about larger private businesses. A freelancer is well under 50. Try the client yourself first. What it can and cannot do.
Step 5: Still unpaid? Send a letter before action
It is the formal last letter before a claim. Allow the days from step 1: 14 for a company, 30 for a sole trader, whose letter should go by post with an information sheet, a reply form and a financial statement form8. How to write one.
Step 6: Start the claim online
Claim online or by post11. The fee follows the amount claimed, interest included9: £35 for a claim up to £300, £115 for £1,500.01 to £3,000.
A claim of £10,000 or less is normally a small claim, where the court usually cannot make the loser pay the other side's legal costs10, so you can run it yourself. Scotland and Northern Ireland have a different process11.
A letter you can copy
Firm email asking for the full sum by a date
Send it once the due date has passed and a short reminder has not worked. It suits a company or a sole trader client.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it by email, in the thread where the job was agreed, so it is dated and sits beside the deal. Keep a copy with the invoice. Invoicing through your own limited company? Write in its name, with its registered office as the address. A sole trader client gets this email with 14 days too. The 30 days belong to the letter before action.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- Your client is a member of the public. The law covers only contracts where both sides act in the course of a business1. A freelancer working for a private customer is on consumer rules, which these pages do not cover.
- They treated you as staff. A contract of service is not covered1. If you worked as their employee in all but name, this road is the wrong one. Ask a solicitor who does employment law.
- They say the work was not right. Interest on a disputed invoice is a poor first move. Ask in writing what they dispute and why, and ask for the part nobody disputes: the disputes page has the road.
- The sum is small and the client is worth keeping. One firm email costs nothing. Whether a court claim pays on a small invoice is on its own page.
- The client has gone into liquidation. The liquidator now shares out what is left, so a court claim usually only adds a fee. What happens to your invoice is on its own page.
The Wolf's note
The law's first question about you is whether you were in business. The size of the invoice changes the fixed sum and the court fee, not your right to be paid. Send the email, put the pay-by date in your diary, and let the date do the chasing.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
My client hasn't paid my invoice. What do I do first?
Check the invoice, then ask once, in writing, for a date.
6 min read · Letter included
In your books
Do I pay tax on an invoice that was never paid?
Yes, until you write it off, if you're a limited company or use traditional accounting.
5 min read
If they push back
No written contract: can I still get paid?
Yes. A verbal agreement is a contract.
6 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.