1. Check the invoice and payment terms
Confirm the amount, due date, agreed payment terms, payment details and any purchase-order requirements. Small administrative errors can delay payment even when the customer intends to pay.
Check that the invoice was sent to the right person and that the customer has everything needed to process it.
If the due date is unclear, read when a business invoice is considered late in the UK.
2. Chase the unpaid invoice professionally
The Office of the Small Business Commissioner recommends a polite reminder as an early step. Include enough information for the customer to act: the invoice reference, amount, due date and payment instructions.
If the first reminder is ignored, follow up directly with the person responsible for payment rather than repeatedly sending the same message. The aim at this stage is to recover payment without creating unnecessary friction.
3. Keep your recovery evidence together
Keep the original invoice, contract or agreed terms, proof of completed work or delivery, emails and reminders. If the invoice later needs formal recovery, a clear record of what happened and when becomes much more useful.
4. Review late-payment interest and compensation
For an eligible late commercial debt, statutory interest and fixed recovery compensation may be available. Check the official rules and any contractual late-payment terms before adding charges to a demand.
Read how UK late-payment interest is calculated, or see the £40, £70 and £100 recovery-compensation bands.
5. Make the recovery follow-up firmer
If friendly reminders do not resolve the invoice, a clearer documented follow-up can set out the outstanding amount, what you are asking the customer to do and a reasonable deadline for response or payment.
Avoid escalating the wording automatically if the customer has raised a genuine dispute that needs to be resolved first.
6. Escalate proportionately if the invoice remains unpaid
If the debt remains unresolved, later recovery steps can include a final demand and seeking support. The Office of the Small Business Commissioner says it may be able to assist eligible UK small businesses with unresolved payment disputes involving larger customers.
Legal action or a collection agency is a more serious step. Consider the cost, evidence, commercial relationship and whether professional advice would be useful before proceeding.
A simple unpaid-invoice recovery sequence
In many cases the practical sequence is: verify the invoice and due date, send a polite reminder, follow up directly, keep a record of each contact, review any potentially applicable late-payment charges, send a firmer documented demand and only then consider proportionate escalation.
The appropriate step depends on the circumstances. A genuine dispute about the work, invoice or contract should be addressed rather than treated as an ordinary payment delay.
Official guidance
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LatePay Kit can check the basic eligibility questions, estimate potential late-payment charges and recommend a recovery stage based on how overdue the invoice is.
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