AnswersWhen a client won't pay
Should I send a statement of account, and what goes on it?
The short answer
Yes. Once a client has two open invoices, or one that is a fortnight late, send one page that lists every unpaid invoice with one total. Keep the late payment sums in a separate box: a fixed £40, £70 or £1004 is owed on each late invoice, not once per client. If the client signs a reply confirming the balance, that restarts the six-year time limit8 from the day they sign.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
Three late invoices, one statement
Say a client has three invoices unpaid on Wednesday 30 September 2026. Interest runs at 11.75% a year, the rate for anything that went late between 1 July and 31 December 2026.
- Invoice due 14 August 2026 (47 days late)£1,850.00
- Invoice due 28 August 2026 (33 days late)£2,400.00
- Invoice due 11 September 2026 (19 days late)£780.00
- Interest: £1,850 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 47 days5£27.99
- Interest: £2,400 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 33 days5£25.50
- Interest: £780 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 19 days5£4.77
- Fixed sums: £70.00 + £70.00 + £40.004£180.00
- All in on 30 September 2026£5,268.26
On the statement, the balance reads £5,030.00 and the £238.26 of late payment sums sits in a box beneath it. Together the three add £1.62 every day until they pay.
The road ahead
Five steps. All free.
Step 1: Pick the moment
Start once two invoices are open or one is 14 days late, then send one each month while any stay unpaid. Send it with your day-14 reminder, and at day 30 enclose it with your letter before action. The law fixes none of these days.
Step 2: List every unpaid invoice
One row each: number, date, due date, amount, paid or credited, balance, days overdue. Show part payments and credits as they stand. Their accounts team will check every row against their own ledger, and will query a statement that does not match.
Step 3: Keep the late payment sums apart
Put interest to the statement date, and one fixed sum for each late invoice2, in a box under the table, not in the balance.
Interest starts the day after the due date1, at 8% plus the base rate3. With the base rate at 3.75%6, that is 11.75% a year for invoices that went late in the second half of 2026.
To bill for the extra, see how to invoice for it.
Step 4: Mark anything disputed
If they dispute a line, mark it disputed and leave it out of the totals. The rest still stands and can still be chased. What happens next is on its own page.
Step 5: Send it and ask for a date and a signature
Email it with the two-line note below and keep the sent copy. It is a reminder with a table, not a demand. Ask them to pay, or to say which line is wrong, by one date. For the time limit to restart, an acknowledgment must be in writing and signed by them9, so ask for the signed page, not a one-word reply.
A letter you can copy
Statement of account with covering note
Send it once two invoices are open or one is 14 days late, then each month while any stay unpaid.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it by email, as a PDF, and keep the sent copy. The email's date is your record that it went. If a line is disputed, mark it disputed in the table and leave it out of both totals. Say so in the covering note. A statement is a reminder, not your proof in a claim. Your invoices, terms and proof of work do that.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- One invoice, a day or two late, or a date already promised in writing. A short reminder does the job. Wait for the promised date, and send the statement if it passes.
- The account is in dispute. Settle the dispute first, and send a statement only for the lines nobody disputes. This page covers it.
- They are a consumer. The interest and fixed sums here are for sales between two businesses, and these pages do not cover consumer debts.
- The company is in liquidation or administration. A statement is the wrong tool. It needs a proof of debt: see claiming from a company in liquidation.
- The invoice is more than six years old. A signed reply does not revive a claim already out of time8, and the six-year limit7 usually runs from the due date.
The Wolf's note
A statement has one job: to put the same number in front of both of you. Once their ledger and yours agree, the only question left is the date. Ask for it.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
Don't want to do this yourself?
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