It’s your business to be paid for the goods or services that you deliver, right? So why let an invoice go unpaid?

If you allow unpaid invoices to accumulate, at some point it will start to have a detrimental effect on your own business. So why wait until that time when if you haven’t done so already, you can implement an invoicing process and get your business better protected.

The process can be kept nice and simple (1) invoice, (2) track, (3) remind, (4) chase and (5) escalate!   Let’s look at each of these steps a little closer.

Step 1 – invoice

Make sure that you invoice at the very least contains 9 crucial pieces of information which are:

1. a unique identification number (UIN).
2. your company name, address and contact information.
3. the company name and address of the customer you’re invoicing.
4. a clear description of what you are charging for.
5. the date the goods or service were provided (supply date).
6. the date of the invoice.
7. the amount(s) being charged.
8. The VAT amount, if applicable.
9. the total amount owed.

You may wish to consider our post “Invoice unpaid? Invoicing properly?” which provides more information about what to include you in your invoices along with bonus tips.

Step 2 – track

Once you have sent your invoice to your customer, diarise and track when payment is due.

Step 3 – remind

When the invoice due date is nearing, send a payment reminder as a little nudge that payment is due.  A simple but polite reminder can sometimes result in an invoice being paid before the due date.

Step 4 – chase

If your invoice is not paid on time, do not be afraid to chase payment. 

Prepare a police email to your customer to let them know that your invoice has not yet been paid.  You could also call them to check all is OK.  They may have just overlooked your invoice.

Step 5 – escalate

Do not allow an unpaid invoice to remain unpaid for substantial periods of time. If you have followed steps 1 to 4 and you still have not been paid, you may need to stop working for that particular customer.  It may also be time for you to get help from a debt recovery solicitor.

How we can help you

Johnson May are debt recovery solicitors and we offer low fixed fees to help our clients get invoices paid. 

We are based in Beckenham, London but we service clients throughout England.

Our debt recovery process follows an approach that champions communication to recover payments swiftly for our clients.

Make a free enquiry

Call us on 020 8150 7171, email info@johnsonmay.com or complete a Free Online Enquiry for a free, no-obligation discussion and let us explain your legal rights and options.