What can I do when a client won't pay an invoice?

Before you chase, check your contract, quote or terms of business and the invoice itself. Look for:

• the payment terms and any agreed late payment interest
• the exact legal entity you contracted with. A limited company is responsible for its own debts, so check its registered name and number on Companies House. A sole trader is personally liable.
• any clause requiring negotiation or mediation before court

If no payment date was agreed with a business client, the payment is late 30 days after the client receives your invoice or you deliver the goods or services, whichever is later.

Gather your evidence while it's fresh: the contract or accepted quote, emails, proof of delivery and the invoice.

Most unpaid invoices are settled without anything formal:

1. Send a reminder on or just after the due date, with the invoice and your bank details.
2. Call. Find out whether it's cash flow, an admin slip or a complaint about the work. Each needs a different response.
3. Offer a payment plan if that helps, and confirm the instalments in writing.

If both of you are businesses, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim simple interest at 8% over the Bank of England base rate. Base rate has been 3.75% since 18 December 2025, so the rate is 11.75% a year for debts that fell due in 2026. Under section 5A of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 you can also claim fixed compensation for each late payment:

• debts under £1,000: £40
• £1,000 to £9,999.99: £70
• £10,000 or more: £100

You can claim reasonable recovery costs above those amounts too. These rights don't apply to consumers, and a substantial interest rate agreed in your contract can replace statutory interest.

Before you sue, the court expects you to send a formal letter before action: what is owed, how you worked it out, a deadline to pay and what you'll do next.

• Client is an individual or sole trader: follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. Your letter should enclose an information sheet, reply form and financial statement, and you should allow 30 days for a reply.
• Client is a company or other business: give a reasonable time to respond, usually 14 days for a straightforward debt.

Skipping this step can cost you. The court can make you pay costs or reduce the interest you recover, even if you win.

In England and Wales you can claim online through GOV.UK if you know the exact amount, you and the client both have addresses in England or Wales, and you're claiming against no more than two people or organisations. Otherwise you use paper form N1.

The court fee depends on the amount claimed, including interest. For example: £35 up to £300, £115 for £1,500.01 to £3,000, £455 for £5,000.01 to £10,000, and 5% of the claim from £10,000.01 to £200,000.

Claims of £10,000 or less usually go to the small claims track. If the client defends, you must first attend a free phone mediation session of up to an hour. Each side generally pays its own legal costs, but a winner can recover court fees. If the client still doesn't pay after judgment, you can ask the court to enforce it, for example through bailiffs, an attachment of earnings order or a charging order.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own court processes.

A statutory demand is a formal demand under the Insolvency Act 1986 that can lead to winding up a company or bankrupting an individual.

• Companies: if a company owes you more than £750 and doesn't pay within 3 weeks of a demand left at its registered office, it is treated as unable to pay its debts under section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986, and you can petition to wind it up.
• Individuals, including sole traders: the debt must be at least £5,000 to petition for bankruptcy, under sections 267 and 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986. The debtor has 18 days to apply to have the demand set aside.

Use this only for a debt that isn't genuinely disputed. If there's a real dispute, the court can stop the process and you may have to pay the other side's costs. These are the rules in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions.