How to chase an unpaid invoice

• Agree when you will be paid before you start, in writing, and put it on the quote.
• Take a deposit on bigger jobs, especially when you are buying materials.
• Put a due date on every invoice, not "payment on receipt" with no date.
• Make paying you one tap: a card payment link on the invoice is easier to act on than bank details at the bottom.

1. On the due date: a friendly reminder with the invoice attached and the way to pay.
2. A week later: a firmer reminder. Say the date it was due and ask when you will be paid.
3. Two weeks later: a phone call. Most late payers are disorganised, not dishonest, and a call sorts more than a letter.
4. Then a letter before action: the amount, the date it was due, and that you will start a court claim if it is not paid. Give a business 14 days; give a homeowner or sole trader 30, which is what the court's pre-action rules for debts owed by individuals expect.
5. Still nothing: you can make a claim for money online through the courts. gov.uk explains how.

If a business pays you late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts rules let you claim interest and a fixed recovery charge, unless your contract sets a different interest rate.

• Interest: 8% a year plus the Bank of England base rate, worked out daily on what is owed.
• If no payment date was agreed, the payment counts as late 30 days after the customer got the invoice or you did the work, whichever is later.
• Payment terms between businesses are usually no longer than 60 days.

The late payment rules above are for business customers only. With a homeowner, you can only charge interest if it was in the terms they agreed to before the job, and those terms have to be fair. That is why a deposit, clear payment terms on the quote and a due date on the invoice matter more with homeowners than with anyone.