Most polite and efficient way to chase late payment.

[Fredward]

Take a look at this article that had data from a study on payment times.

 

https://www.xero.com/small-business-guides/invoicing/invoice-payment-terms/

 

If you want to get paid within 30 days then the best payment term to write on the invoice is 13 days. I put 14 on mine because I don't like the number 13! But, if you are only invoicing once a month, then the jobs from the first week of the month likely wont be paid until the last week of the next? I try to invoice within 5 days, sometimes the same day. Speed of payment is sometimes related to customer satisfaction, but often not. Even very happy customers can forget, I haven't had many clients thsat have been payment dodgers, only one recently which was a rental property owner, just got paid for a job in September, but was low value so didn't chase it hard.

 

Anyway, that website has some good tips, such as adding late fees.

[HertsWood]

1. Resend invoices each month reminding them that overdue invoices attract 4.5% per month after 30 days

2. Give last warning after 6 months

3. Take to Small Claims Court

4. Still no payment - threaten to take to High Court and involve High Court Enforcement Officers..

5. They tend to see the light at this stage - a CCJ is bad enough, but a High Court Writ is whole lot of trouble & extra publicity that debtors don't want / need....

[simonm]

I do. If I don't get it after 28 days I pay them regular visit in my smart work clothes covered in sawdust, mud all over my boots. Its best when it's in someone's office. They soon pay up. Or send them a invoice with unpaid in big red letters across it

 

28 days bloody el...i give em 7 days then i badger them non stop! we turn up on time, do as we have quoted, sometimes above and beyond the quote, work really hard for our money so why should a domestic customer feel the need to retain payment for so long! its just how some people are.

[Johny Walker]

just send a revised invoice that includes a 10% addmin charge ,stating failure to pay buy return legal action will be takern to recover the full amount ,its works

[IVECOKID]

I Hound them to death ,,,,E-mails ,phone calls ,letters and paying them a FEW VISITS they soon get sick of it .....

 

 

Ste

[scraggs]

Just pay them a visit, most don't like confrontation and pay up.

[Ty Korrigan]

Since this last summer we had a regular string of non-payers.

Some Brits as French tend to respect the terms and conditions of our quotes but recently the French non-payers have spiked.

Emailing and calling weekly works.

Keep the dialogue going.

Visiting and pinning the bill to the door on a regular basis also works and is certainly not harrasment as one client put it to me.

Also getting a very large friend dressed in a black leather jacket to knock on the door after 9pm and deliver the bill works well.

So much so, that Big Clive is due to make another round before Xmas for us.

He likes doing it too, he looks like a dark menacing gypsy but is in fact as soft as.

A week or so ago I avoided a potential non-payment by 'threatening' to tip the arb waste when a client complained about paying full rate for 'untrained' staff, referring to my 2 arb students.

So far I've recovered all outstanding debts but often only after a seriously long chase.

Ty

[Gray git]

An email saying if they are in financial difficulties so unable to settle the whole amount I'll happily take part payment and goods for the remaining value or more to secure against the remaining amount till they are in a position to settle normally irritates them anough to pay, only used this twice both times on minted customers.

Normally payment within 15 days reminder on day 16, late payment reminder on day 29 stating 10% will be added if not settled within 5 working days as per T&C not had to take it further than this yet.

And also offering to return there property (rakings and chip + interest) all over the driveway like ty once

[Hobbsurf]

Basic terms of payment on the quote (mine are on completion unless otherwise agreed) - duplicated on the invoice with the courtesy call the day before to remind them you are coming (access clear, no dog crap etc) & the question "how will you be paying"?

 

Managing the expectations early on makes it easier. I used to be a bit coy on asking for payment, people exploit that as they see it as a chink in the armour.

 

Older & wiser now, it's a subject that should form part of the "patter" as you do the quote.

 

Russ

[benedmonds]

It has been discussed on here before many times, some one mentioned a statutory demand and I have used this threat successfully a couple of time now.

 

Prompt Payment Code

https://www.gov.uk/statutory-demands/overview