How to best word a letter chasing payment of invoices

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  • edda wrote: »
    It's just that I know some companies sit on invoices and don't pay them until someone chases. Not very nice I know,

    That's business! When people don't pay me on time I don't take it as a personal insult. They are keeping the money in their bank as long as possible to help their business. A letter from a supplier that tells me my invoice is overdue and I need to pay up within 7 days will get a BACS or cheque done immediately. But sitting on invoices is no crime, especially when the supplier haven't chased you.
  • brightonman123
    brightonman123 Posts: 8,532 Forumite
    I would def call weekly at least, and get a promise of payment / reason for non payment - not receiving the invoice is most likely (poor!) excuse.


    fax/email a copy straight away, and request acknowledgement, and/or when payment is to be made. follow this up if no reply with 24hrs.

    giving them a soft contact (any queries etc? please call us..) shows you have tried to resolve any issues, should it go to court.

    reminders should be simple to start with- a/c overdue, please pay.. then nxt one with ACCOUNT OVERDUE IN LARGE BOLD LETTERS!

    I would also escalate each time you contact them, especially if they are unlikely to advertise again.. always get full name of person you speak to!

    make it clear as to the invoice details, days overdue(?), amount o/s, and possible extra costs if not paid in accordance with terms etc..

    if for a larger co, some have a website contact page- use the complaint option if possible, but be polite and professional!

    KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING!

    for future ads, can you insist on pre-payment?

    (yes, i am a frustrated out of work credit controller!)
    Long time away from MSE, been dealing real life stuff..
    Sometimes seen lurking on the compers forum :-)
  • Does it make any difference if the 'company' that has not paid the invoice is a registered charity? There was still a signed contract for the work undertaken but not paid for.
  • paddyrg
    paddyrg Posts: 13,543 Forumite
    Does it make any difference if the 'company' that has not paid the invoice is a registered charity? There was still a signed contract for the work undertaken but not paid for.

    No, they are still a business no matter what they do with the money they make
  • I think few businesses pay invoices these days until chased, everyone has a queue of people to pay, times are tough, cashflow is complicated, no one is going to rush to pay any bill. You can't take it personally and you can't be scared of credit control work. We find phone calls to be most effective, if you make them regularly, and we back ours up with weekly emails, so no-one can say they didn't know they still had to pay us.

    It's the ones who keep coming up with excuses after several reminders you have to worry about, and start to get tough with.
    Cash not ash from January 2nd 2011: £2565.:j

    OU student: A103 , A215 , A316 all done. Currently A230 all leading to an English Literature degree.

    Any advice given is as an individual, not as a representative of my firm.
  • Lovelyjoolz
    Lovelyjoolz Posts: 1,070 Forumite
    Firstly, it sounds like you have alot of repeat, month-on-month business. Why don't you look at getting these customers onto standing orders / direct debits?

    I think my business is in all likelyhood in the minority in that I pay all of my suppliers in 30 days or less. Mostly because the majority of my suppliers are small local businesses whom I would hate to see fail.

    My customers, on the other hand, are a very mixed bag of those who pay early, those who pay on time, those who pay late regardless and those who don't pay until you chase them. You will very quickly learn who these are and so can concentrate on chasing them early. If they owe you a substantial amount, try calling them a week or so before its due, saying "just calling to check you have received our October invoice" at least then you take away the we haven't received it excuse when you chase a week or two later.

    Seriously - don't send letters until you think you might be heading for court. Just keep a careful diary of when you rang, time/date/person you spoke to with what they promised. Phone calls take two minutes and you get instant feedback. With your regular customers you'll quickly build a relationship which, as said previously, can result in a very pleasant, friendly chat once a month. Also, if you're friendly with the purchase ledger clerk, you're more likely to make it onto the cheque run in the first place!
    You had me at your proper use of "you're".
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,346
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    edited 25 August 2012 at 10:14AM
    I agree with all the people here about sending letters. Do not do it unless you are thinking of taking court action. keep sending reminders or statements. It depends on the business, but my accountant told me that many firms will pay only on their payment date after the 30 days are up which means that phone calls within the first two months are probably going to be ignored with many firms.

    I have found that if you think that you are getting fobbed off then increase the frequency of phonecalls say from once a month to once every two weeks and then every week. Always be polite and businesslike and do not make threats or any implied threats.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 45,938
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    Note that this thread was bumped by some spam which has now been dealt with. Remaining advice remains sound ...
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • I think of it as a game. We run a small limited company, offering management consultancy services to major companies (yes, you'll have heard of them). We invoice monthly, 30 days terms. At the end of 30 days I send a standard e-mail saying 'Having checked our records, I note that your payment for invoice dated xyz has not yet been received..' 7 days later I ring them and have a nice little chat, during which I just happen to mention that we haven't been paid yet (by this point we've already sent the next invoice out). About a week later, we get the money. And we do it all over again next month. Fun, isn't it.
    No longer a spouse, or trailing, but MSE won't allow me to change my username...
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