Nothing is more annoying for an entrepreneur than an invoice that is not paid. Unfortunately, almost everyone has to deal with payment defaults from time to time. When a client or customer does not pay an invoice, this can put a company in so much misery that it can no longer pay its own bills. In the worst case, this can even result in the bankruptcy of a company. In this FAQ you can read what you can do if an invoice is not paid.

Check in advance who you do business with

If you are already dealing with an invoice that is not paid, you may not immediately benefit from this tip. But you may want to take these with you before entering into an agreement with potential new customers. It is advisable to assess the risk of default in advance. There are various options for this. For example, you can request a credit report or have a risk check performed. Both are inexpensive and can save you a lot of trouble.

Make payment easy

Make payment as easy as possible for the customer and offer multiple payment options. Think, for example, of iDEAL, but also Paypal, (one-time) direct debit, digital direct debit mandates, credit card and postpay via AfterPay or Klarna. Do you send the invoice by post? In that case, the inclusion of a giro collection form is often still the obvious choice. But you can also offer other options here, such as an iDEAL QR code. A customer can then pay directly with the payment app on his mobile.

Latest payment date on invoice

When invoicing, do not leave any chance of ambiguity about the payment deadline. Therefore, do not just state the payment term (payable within 30 days), but be specific and state the exact date (pay before August 30). Also indicate very clearly which product or service it concerns and what the total amount is that must be paid. A neat layout that corresponds to your corporate identity also contributes to getting an invoice paid faster, because the customer immediately sees who the invoice comes from and inspires confidence. An invoice where the customer has to guess the sender will not be paid very quickly.

Remind the customer of the pending payment

This is already possible with a simple reminder SMS with a payment link. You can also choose, for example, to send a reminder email to the debtor. Telephone contact also contributes to getting an invoice paid faster and often comes across as friendlier. That way you can also keep the customer relationship good. Listen to the debtor’s reason for not paying the invoice, but pay particular attention to solving it. For example, if necessary, make a payment arrangement. With a payment arrangement, there is a greater chance that an invoice will still be paid.

Remind the customer again

This time in a more compelling way and also name the consequences in the event of non-payment, such as collection costs and any interest that will be added, for example. Such a second reminder that is more compelling in tone is also called a reminder. Also make one last telephone attempt to get the invoice paid.

Hand over the claim

Have you done everything you can to get the invoice paid, but still haven’t received anything? Then it may be advisable to hand over the claim to, for example, a collection agency. In this case, you declare the debtor in default. When you inform the customer or client that you will collect the claim by means of coercion, do not forget to mention that all additional costs will also be for his account.

The above tips can ensure that you get your invoices paid faster from now on. And it doesn’t have to be a lot of work at all. A good start saves you half the work. And when you have automated your debtor management , that also makes a huge difference. You will automatically receive a timely reminder if a payment term has been exceeded and you can start the follow-up by means of a fixed schedule. Would you rather not have to worry about your debtor management at all? Then you can also choose to outsource your entire debtor management.