How long should you wait before chasing a late invoice?
Get paid on completion where you can. If that's not possible, set 7-day payment terms and have a system that automatically follows up when they're missed. Most payment delays aren't intentional and respond to the first clear prompt.
The problem with vague payment terms
"Payment on completion" or "due upon receipt" sounds reasonable but gives the client no specific date to work toward, so there's no moment at which they're technically overdue. If payment on completion isn't realistic, 7-day terms are the right default. No rule requires trade businesses to extend 14 or 30 days of credit just because it's common elsewhere.
When to follow up, and why the timing matters
The right time to send a reminder is 7 days after the due date, not 7 days after the invoice. At 7 days overdue, the job is recent, and a prompt usually gets a fast response. The further past due an invoice gets, the more effort recovery takes, and the greater the risk it becomes an ongoing problem rather than a simple delay.
Setting terms that work
For larger project invoices, staged payments, an upfront deposit, progress payments, and a final balance on completion reduce the total ever outstanding at once. It's also worth including a late payment clause noting that overdue amounts accrue interest from the due date, standard commercial practice, not an aggressive move.
How Korda handles the timing
Once an invoice is issued, Korda automatically tracks the due date, and the follow-up sequence starts when the overdue threshold is hit, all sent from your business email address. Your Morning Brief shows the current position across every invoice each morning.