Send a polite reminder the day after the due date, follow up firmly at 7 and 14 days, add statutory interest if it drags on, and send a letter before action at around 30 to 45 days. This guide walks each step with the exact emails to send.
By Connor, founder of Heoka · Updated 15 October 2026
Most late payments are admin, not malice. Before you chase, check three things: the invoice went to the right person, it shows the correct amount and payment details, and it actually stated a due date. If any of those are wrong, fix and resend with a short apology. You have just found the fastest payment you will collect this month.
Chase the day after the due date, not two weeks later. Chasing immediately is not rude. It quietly tells every customer that your invoices do not drift.
Subject: Invoice [number], due yesterday
Hi [first name],
A quick nudge on invoice [number] for £[amount], which was due on [date]. I suspect it just slipped through. I have attached it again to save you looking.
If it is already on its way, ignore me and thank you.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Still nothing after a week? Now you name the amount and ask a direct question that needs an answer. The template for this one is in the Late Payment Playbook, word for word. The key line invites them to tell you about any problem, because silence is the only thing you cannot work with.
At two weeks overdue, you escalate by telling them what the law already gives you. No threats, just facts.
Subject: Invoice [number], now 14 days overdue
Hi [first name],
Invoice [number] for £[amount] is now two weeks past its due date of [date], and I have not heard back on my last two emails.
I would much rather sort this between us. For clarity though, late commercial payments accrue statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, plus fixed compensation. I have not added either yet.
Can you give me a payment date this week?
Thanks,
[Your name]
If your customer is another business, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies even when your contract says nothing about late payment. If your contract gives you its own substantial remedy for late payment, such as a fair contractual interest rate, that applies instead; a token or unfair term does not stop statutory interest. Otherwise you are entitled to:
Worked example. A £3,000 invoice is 60 days overdue. As of August 2026 the Bank of England base rate is 3.75%, so the statutory rate is 8% + 3.75% = 11.75% a year.
Interest: £3,000 × 11.75% = £352.50 a year, which is roughly £0.97 a day. 60 days ≈ £58.
Compensation: £70 fixed, because the debt is between £1,000 and £9,999.99.
Total claimable on top of the invoice: about £128. The base rate moves, so check the current figure on the Bank of England site before you calculate yours.
The base rate you use is fixed per half year, not today's: the rate in force on 30 June for debts that fell overdue between July and December, and the rate on 31 December for debts that fell overdue between January and June. The government's own guide to late commercial payments walks through the same sum, and its page on debt recovery costs confirms the £40, £70 and £100 figures. You can claim the fixed sum once for each late payment.
Consumers are different: the Act covers business-to-business debts. For consumer customers, interest depends on your contract terms or the court rate.
State the full amount including interest and compensation, and give a specific deadline, normally 7 days, before you begin formal recovery. Keep the tone flat and factual. You are no longer persuading, you are recording.
Subject: Final notice: invoice [number], £[total] now due
Hi [first name],
Invoice [number] for £[amount] was due on [date] and is now 30 days overdue. With statutory interest of £[interest] to today and fixed compensation of £[40, 70 or 100], the total owed is £[total].
Please pay £[total] by [date, 7 days from today]. If it is not paid by then, my next letter will be a formal letter before action.
If there is a problem I do not know about, ring me on [number] before then.
Thanks,
[Your name]
A letter before action is a formal letter stating the debt, the deadline (usually 14 days), and that you will start county court proceedings if it passes. Courts expect you to have sent one, and it is the single most effective email in the whole ladder because it shows you are genuinely prepared to act. For a company customer, the court's practice direction on pre-action conduct sets out what it expects.
Subject: Letter before action: invoice [number], £[total]
Dear [name],
I am writing about invoice [number] for £[amount], which was due on [date] and remains unpaid despite my reminders of [dates].
The amount now owed is £[total]: the invoice of £[amount], statutory interest of £[interest] to [date] under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and fixed compensation of £[40, 70 or 100]. Interest continues at £[daily amount] a day.
If the full amount is not paid within 14 days of the date of this letter, I intend to start court proceedings without further notice, and will ask the court to award the debt, interest, compensation and court fees. If you dispute any part of it, please tell me in writing within the same 14 days, with your reasons.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Company name]
If your customer is a sole trader rather than a limited company, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies instead. Your letter must enclose a statement of account, the protocol's information sheet and reply form, and a financial statement form, and you must give them 30 days to reply, not 14.
If it still goes unpaid, a defended claim of up to £10,000 is normally allocated to the small claims track, and you can start the claim online on gov.uk. Court fees scale with the debt and are added to your claim. Most debts settle before a hearing.
Chase the day after the due date. If you never agreed a payment date with a business customer, the law treats the invoice as late 30 days after they received it or after you delivered the work, whichever is later. A prompt reminder is normal practice, not rude, and it is the cheapest point at which to get paid.
Yes, if your customer is a business. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you charge 8% a year plus the Bank of England base rate, and fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100, unless your contract gives you its own substantial remedy. For consumer customers, interest depends on your contract terms or the court rate.
8% a year plus the Bank of England base rate, which as of August 2026 makes 11.75% a year. On a £3,000 invoice that is about £0.97 a day. The base rate used is the one in force on 30 June or 31 December, depending on which half of the year the debt fell overdue.
A letter before action is the formal last letter before court. It states the debt, the total with interest and compensation, and a deadline, usually 14 days for a company, after which you will start proceedings. If the customer is a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies, and they get 30 days and a set of enclosed forms.
Yes. You can start a money claim online on gov.uk. A defended claim of up to £10,000 is normally allocated to the small claims track, and you can ask the court to add the court fee to what the customer owes. Courts expect you to have sent a letter before action first, and most debts settle before a hearing.
The businesses that get paid on time are not luckier. They invoice immediately, take deposits on bigger jobs, put payment terms on the quote rather than the invoice, and chase on a fixed rhythm without fail. The last one is the hardest, because chasing is exactly the kind of awkward, repetitive job that slides when you get busy.
That is the job Harness by Heoka exists to do. It watches your accounting software, drafts every rung of this ladder overnight in your tone, and sends from your own email address once you approve it each morning. Drafts wait for you to approve, edit or skip. You can let routine reminders send on their own. 7 days free, then £19 a month for the whole company. £950 deposit: we audit, build and test. If you want it running after that, monthly at an amount we agree from the scope.
Harness drafts your chases overnight from your accounting software and hands you a morning approval queue. You keep the final say on every email.
Card taken today. You are charged £19 on day 8 unless you cancel. Cancel any time.
Use it in the web app at api.heoka.co.uk, no AI subscription needed. Or connect it to Claude (Free can add one connector) or ChatGPT Plus, Pro or Business, but not ChatGPT Free or Go.