Late payment is the quiet killer of trade businesses. The work’s done, the materials are paid for, but the money’s still sitting in someone else’s account — and you feel awkward about chasing it. The good news: getting paid on time is mostly a system, not a confrontation. Set it up once and most of your invoices sort themselves out. Here’s how.
Prevention beats chasing
The cheapest invoice to chase is the one that never goes late. Four habits do most of the heavy lifting:
- Agree terms up front. Put your payment terms on the quote — “payment due within 7 days of completion” — so it’s never a surprise.
- Take a deposit on bigger jobs. 25–50% before you start protects your materials cost and filters out time-wasters.
- Invoice the moment the job’s done. The day you finish is the day the customer is happiest and most willing to pay. Don’t let it sit in your van for a fortnight.
- Make paying effortless. An invoice with a one-tap payment link gets paid far faster than one that asks for a bank transfer the customer has to set up manually.
The chasing ladder
When an invoice does go past its due date, work a fixed, escalating sequence. Consistency is what gets you paid — and keeps you calm, because you’re just following the steps, not agonising over each message.
| When | Action | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Day +1 | Friendly nudge by text or email | Assume they forgot |
| Day +7 | Firmer reminder, restate due date & link | Polite but clear |
| Day +14 | Formal notice, mention your terms | Businesslike |
| Day +30 | Final notice before further action | Firm, final |
What to actually say
Keep it short, friendly and specific. A first nudge that works:
Hi John, hope you’re well. Just a quick reminder that invoice #1043 for £480 was due yesterday — here’s the link to pay in a couple of taps: [link]. Any problems, just let me know. Thanks!
And a firmer day-14 version, still professional:
Hi John, invoice #1043 for £480 is now 14 days overdue. Please arrange payment within the next 7 days using the link below. If there’s an issue with the work or the invoice, let’s sort it out — otherwise I’d appreciate prompt payment. [link]
Notice what these do: they name the invoice and amount, give a one-tap way to pay, and leave the door open in case there’s a genuine problem. You stay the reasonable one throughout.
Your legal rights when it gets serious
If chasing isn’t working, UK law is on your side — but the rules differ depending on who the customer is.
If your customer is a business
You have a statutory right to charge interest on late commercial payments: 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. With the base rate at 3.75% (mid-2026), that’s 11.75% a year. On top of the interest you can also claim fixed compensation for the cost of chasing:
| Debt size | Fixed sum you can claim |
|---|---|
| Up to £999.99 | £40 |
| £1,000 to £9,999.99 | £70 |
| £10,000 or more | £100 |
You don’t need a clause in your contract to claim this against a business — it’s a statutory right. Just mentioning it in a reminder often prompts payment on its own.
If your customer is a private homeowner
Statutory commercial interest doesn’t automatically apply to consumers. You can still charge interest or a late fee, but only if it was in your terms and the customer agreed to it before the work — which is exactly why putting clear terms on your quote matters. Beyond that, your routes are a formal letter before action and, as a last resort, the small claims track of the County Court (Money Claim Online) for debts up to £10,000.
How Yoley helps you get paid faster
Yoley is built so most of this happens without you thinking about it. Every invoice carries a built-in payment link so customers pay by card or bank in a couple of taps. You can convert a quote to an invoice the second the job’s done, set your payment terms once so they appear on every document, and see at a glance which invoices are outstanding so nothing slips through. With Open Banking on Pro, payments auto-match against invoices so your “who still owes me” list is always up to date — no spreadsheet, no guesswork.