How long should you wait before chasing a late invoice?

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

Send the first reminder the day after the due date, not a week later, and count from the due date, not the invoice date. Most late payers have simply forgotten, and a prompt while the job is recent usually gets a fast response. If it's still unpaid, follow up again at 7, 14 and 28 days overdue. 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. Here's what to send at each step, and your aged debtors report shows which invoices are overdue.

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 Pro handles the timing

Once an invoice is issued, Korda Pro tracks the due date and sends payment reminders by text and email 1, 7, 14 and 28 days after it, stopping as soon as the invoice is paid. Your Morning Brief shows the current position across every invoice each morning.