Chase late invoices UK: see the 2026 guide

This URL is InvoiceAdept’s older short page about chasing late invoice payments in the UK. We have consolidated the useful guidance into one complete, reviewed 2026 resource so readers do not have to compare two pages that answer the same question.

Read the current guide: Chase late payments without losing clients UK (2026): reminders, interest and tone.

That guide covers reminder cadence, WhatsApp versus email versus phone, relationship-safe wording, when to pause further work, B2B statutory interest and compensation in outline, Letter Before Action as a process step (not a solicitor template), and habits that reduce overdue invoices. Keep it as the main reference rather than relying on the shorter examples that previously appeared here.

Many UK tradespeople also find it helpful to review dealing with clients who will not pay at this stage.

The idea in one minute

Getting paid starts before the chase: clear payment terms on the quote or order, a due date on the invoice, payment details that are easy to use, and a polite first reminder soon after the due date. Most late invoices are admin delays, forgotten approvals or cash-flow timing — not deliberate refusal. A calm, documented sequence usually recovers money faster than an angry first message.

If you are sorting this alongside other compliance work, read cashflow management for tradespeople.

For business-to-business commercial debts, UK law can allow statutory interest at Bank Rate + 8% (Bank Rate held at 3.75% on 30 July 2026, so 11.75% a year for interest periods 1 July–31 December 2026 until the rate changes; next BoE decision referenced for context is 17 September 2026) (plus fixed compensation in many cases) under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts regime. That right does not automatically apply the same way to household consumers. Always check whether your customer is a business or a consumer before you mention interest, and check current GOV.UK late commercial payments guidance rather than inventing a rate. If your contract already sets a different interest rate, that usually displaces the statutory rate for that debt.

If you are VAT-registered, remember the VAT registration threshold is £90,000 (check GOV.UK for the current figure). Late payment chasing does not change how VAT is shown on the original invoice; interest invoices, if you issue them, should follow the same record-keeping care as any other sales document.

Related: see invoice payment terms under UK law for practical next steps.

Use the consolidated 2026 guide

For reminder templates, channel choices, when to mention interest without sounding hostile, stop-work decisions and prevention habits, continue to the full UK chase guide.

Worth pairing this with our guide to how to calculate late payment interest.

InvoiceAdept can help you create invoices, track what is unpaid and send reminders (reminders are a Pro feature), but it does not file VAT returns, Making Tax Digital updates, CIS300, Money Claim Online or Self Assessment to HMRC, and it is not a debt-collection or solicitor service. This page is practical business guidance, not legal advice. Check current GOV.UK guidance and speak to an accountant or solicitor if a debt is large, disputed or headed for formal recovery.

This consolidation notice was last reviewed on 5 September 2026. The canonical reference for this topic is the full 2026 guide linked above. This page remains at its existing URL for readers and old links; no claim is made here that a technical 301 redirect is already in place.