AnswersWhen a client won't pay
My client hasn't paid my invoice. What do I do first?
The short answer
Check, then ask once. Make sure the invoice is right and has reached whoever approves payments, then ask them for the date it will be paid. If you sold to another business, the law already lets you add interest at 8% over the Bank of England base rate2 and a one-off sum of £40, £70 or £1003 from the day after the invoice fell due4.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
A £4,200 invoice, nine days late
Say you invoiced another business £4,200, due on 29 September 2026. On 8 October it is still unpaid: nine days late. It went late in the second half of 2026, so the yearly rate is 11.75%6: 8% on top of the Bank Rate5, which stood at 3.75% on 30 June.
Nine days late has already added £82.17. From here it grows by £1.35 a day. The £70 arrived with the first day of interest7 and is a one-off. On day 14, when the firm email goes, the extra is £88.93 (£18.93 plus the £70). On day 30, when the letter before action goes, it is £110.56 (£40.56 plus the £70). On day 60 it is £151.12.
The road ahead
Six steps. All free until the court.
Step 1: Check what you sent
Look at the invoice number, the amount, the purchase order number if they gave you one, and your bank details. Then see who got it: the person who approves payments, not only the person who ordered the work.
A missing purchase order number, a wrong amount or an invoice in the wrong inbox can hold up payment without anyone refusing it. If you do not know who approves payments, ring the main number and ask.
Step 2: Check the date
Find the payment date you agreed. With none agreed, the payment is late 30 days after they got the invoice or you delivered the work1, whichever is later.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 those 30 days run from the day they have notice of the amount4, not the day you sent it, so an invoice that did not reach them does not start the count. If the date has not passed, ask only whether it arrived.
Step 3: Day 7: ask once, in writing, for a date
Seven days after the due date, email the person who approves payments, with the invoice attached. Ask one question: on what date will it be paid? Skip the apology. Already past day 7? Send it today. The email below is ready to copy.
A date, or a reason such as a missing purchase order number, is a good reply: either is more than you have now. "It's in the next payment run" is not a date, so ask which day the run is.
Step 4: Keep a note and put the next dates in your diary
From today, write down each date, name and what was said. Put the date they give you in your diary, or your reply-by date if they give none. A later letter is built from this note.
Then add day 14 and day 30, counted from the due date. The law fixes none of these days; they are a rhythm that gives each email time to work.
Step 5: Day 14: send a firm email with the sum worked out
If they gave a date and it has passed, or they have not replied, say so. Add the interest and the fixed sum, worked out as in the sum above, and attach a new invoice for the extra2.
Ask for the whole amount within 14 days9, the reply time the court's pre-action rules give a company in a straightforward case. More wording for these emails is on the page on reminder emails.
Step 6: Day 30: still unpaid? Send a letter before action
It is the last letter before a claim. In a straightforward case a company is given 14 days to reply9; a sole trader is given 3010. How to write one is on its own page.
If that date passes too, the next step is a court claim11 in England and Wales, the first step on this road with a cost. The court fee12 is £205 for a claim of £3,000.01 to £5,000, and you may be able to claim it back if you win.
A letter you can copy
First email asking for a payment date
Send it on day 7 late, or today if you are past it, once you have checked the invoice and who approves payments.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it to the person who approves payments and copy in the person who ordered the work. If the client uses a supplier portal, check the invoice shows as received there too. An email is dated, so it is your record. Keep it with a copy of the invoice and a note of anything said on the phone.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- It is a day late and the client has paid on time before. A short message asking whether the invoice arrived is enough. The formal email can wait for day 7.
- The invoice is wrong and you know it. Fix it first. Send a corrected invoice or a credit note, then ask for a date on the right sum.
- They have told you they dispute it. A request for a date is the wrong email. Ask for their reason in writing, settle the part nobody disputes, and read the page on disputes.
- The client is a consumer. The interest and the fixed sum8 only cover sales between two businesses. Consumer debts follow other rules, and this page does not cover them.
- You or the client are in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The reply days, the letter before action and the court claim here are for England and Wales; the other two nations have their own court process11.
The Wolf's note
A late invoice is a question until someone says otherwise. Ask it once, in writing, and put the date they give you in your diary. A date is something to plan around; silence tells you which letter comes next.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
How do I chase an overdue invoice politely?
Two short emails: on day 7, ask for a payment date; on day 14, name one, with the interest and fixed sum worked out.
5 min read · Letter included
What should a payment reminder email say at each stage?
Five emails: a week before the due date, on it, then 7, 14 and 30 days late.
6 min read · Letter included
My client has gone quiet. How do I get an answer?
Ask someone else: ring accounts payable, email a second name, then post to the registered office, which the law counts as delivery to the company.
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.