Business invoice unpaid: when should you instruct a lawyer?

1. Check the debtor and the order

Compare the names on the quotation, order confirmation and invoice. Is the customer a BV, vof or sole trader? A trading name may belong to a different legal party from the person you emailed. State whether a contact ordered for someone else. A collection file against the wrong party wastes time and may cause additional costs.

Keep the accepted quotation, order confirmation and later agreed changes. An invoice you created does not always prove that the customer ordered the work charged. Include delivery records, time sheets, completion messages and approval correspondence. If part has been paid, state which invoices you allocated that payment to.

Official explanation: Official explanation.

2. Establish when the debt is payable

Check the payment period actually agreed and when the invoice was received. Ondernemersplein gives thirty days as the starting point for business agreements without an agreed period. Special rules apply to large businesses paying SMEs. A deadline added later to an invoice is not automatically the same as a prior agreement.

Prepare a table of invoice date, receipt, due date, payments and outstanding balance. Include any complaint about performance rather than ignoring it. If several contracts are involved, check whether all invoices are payable already. A reminder for work not yet due may increase disagreement without bringing payment closer.

3. Distinguish inability to pay from a substantive dispute

Ask specifically why the customer is not paying. An administrative error, temporary cash shortage and disputed delivery call for different responses. Confirm telephone agreements in writing. If the customer says the work was defective, ask which parts and when they previously complained. Treat the response as a possible defence, not simply a delaying tactic.

Identify the amount admitted and the amount disputed. Collect the customer’s evidence and your reply. A counterclaim or asserted set-off can turn collection into substantive contract litigation. Give your adviser all correspondence, including emails weakening your position. An incomplete file may lead to a mistaken assessment of prospects and costs.

For this follow-up question, read Business set-off: may you deduct a counterclaim from an invoice?.

4. Send a focused payment demand with the right documents

A useful demand identifies the parties, contract, invoices, outstanding sum and requested payment. Supply missing documents the customer reasonably needs to assess the invoice. Explain how to report a specific error. Use a traceable delivery channel and retain the version sent with its attachments.

Business customers do not automatically have the same mandatory free consumer reminder protection. This does not mean every cost is payable without assessment. Check the contract, standard terms and statutory basis. Do not add arbitrary administration charges or current interest rates taken from an old template. If uncertain, have the interest basis, period and calculation assessed before adding ancillary claims.

For this follow-up question, read Commercial interest and business collection costs: check basis, period and calculation.

5. Compare collection agencies, bailiffs and lawyers

A collection agency can demand payment but cannot independently use coercive measures. A judicial bailiff has conditional powers for service and enforcement; a lawyer can also assess whether a disputed contract claim is legally sound. The choice therefore depends on what is missing: pressure to pay, formal procedural acts or substantive dispute handling.

Ask who will perform the work, what is included and what happens if the customer defends the claim. An agreement on collection charges does not mean every sum is recoverable from the other party. Discuss your own cost exposure and expected recovery separately. Official collection-provider guidance also mentions registration; check which requirements apply to the chosen service and debtor.

6. Assess proceedings and recoverability together

According to Rechtspraak, the kantonrechter handles money claims up to and including €25,000 without a mandatory lawyer. Ordinary civil money cases above that limit generally require legal representation. Special case types and the relationship between claims may matter. Have jurisdiction and the total claim established, rather than considering only one invoice’s principal.

A judgment is not payment received. Ask about evidence of assets, ongoing insolvency or other creditors. Discuss whether a payment arrangement makes business sense and how to document it without unintentionally surrendering rights. Immediate recovery concerns may require another measure, but threats of attachment or bankruptcy without assessment do not replace a sound file.

For this follow-up question, read Business payment plans: record instalments, interest and missed-payment consequences.

7. Fictional example: disputed extra work

Suppose a design agency supplies a website and bills for the original assignment and extra pages. The customer says only the basic package was approved. A partial payment follows without a clear description. The agency wants the entire balance sent for collection immediately, while agreement about the extra pages is scattered across messages.

A useful file separates the original order, additional instructions and payment received. It can then be assessed which part is sufficiently established and where evidence is missing. This fictional example does not predict who is right. It shows why a payment dispute sometimes needs the assignment clarified before a standard collection letter is useful.

8. Checklist for your first collection consultation

Put the outstanding principal, desired outcome and known defence at the top. Mention concrete signs of impending bankruptcy and any formal deadlines. First request assessment of the basis, evidence and costs; choose the collection step afterwards.

• Correct legal customer name and details of the ordering party.
• Quotation, order confirmation, standard terms and changes.
• Delivery evidence, hours, acceptance and any complaints.
• Invoice schedule showing payments and checked due dates.
• Demands, customer replies, counterclaim and available recovery information.

Worked example: an outstanding balance is not an undisputed claim

Fictional example: you invoice €12,000. The customer accepts €9,000, disputes €3,000 for extra work and has already paid €2,000. The accounting balance is €10,000. If the payment is allocated to the accepted part, €7,000 remains in that part. This distinction helps the discussion, but the correct allocation and legal obligation to pay require separate assessment. Do not add interest and collection costs to the principal without an explanation.

Use three columns: the amount you request, the customer’s position and evidence for each item. For additional work, this might include the instruction, an approved price and delivery. An instalment arrangement for an accepted amount does not itself resolve the additional-work dispute. Record which items a proposal covers and which issues remain open; wording such as ‘payment in full and final settlement’ needs particular attention before you agree.