Payment reminders: the ladder, the law and the disputed invoice

Chasing payment is the job nobody wants and the one most worth automating, because the reason invoices go unpaid for months is rarely refusal. It is that asking is uncomfortable, so it gets postponed, and an invoice nobody has mentioned for six weeks is harder to raise than one chased on day eight.

Automation removes the discomfort by removing the decision. What it must not do is remove the judgement, because a reminder sent to somebody in a genuine dispute, or to a client whose business is in trouble, does damage that the recovered cash does not cover.

What we'll cover

• Why invoices actually go unpaid
• The ladder, and what changes at each rung
• What a reminder should contain
• The disputed invoice
• Building it with CodeWords
• Statutory interest and what it is for
• Paying, and what never happens in a chat
• Where automation has to stop
• Prevention, which beats all of it
• Making it survive
• Limits worth knowing about
• What to build first
• Frequently asked questions

Why invoices actually go unpaid

Four reasons, and they need different handling, which is why a single chasing sequence applied to everybody performs badly.

It was never seen. Sent to somebody who left, caught in a filter, addressed to a general inbox nobody works. Very common and entirely fixable.

It is in a queue. The client pays on a cycle and yours arrived after the cutoff. Nothing is wrong; the reminder just needs to land before the next run.

Something is wrong with it. A wrong reference, a missing purchase order number, a figure the client disagrees with. Chasing this harder achieves nothing, because it is not a payment problem.

They cannot pay. The one that needs a person, quickly, and the one that repeated automated chasing makes worse.

A useful sequence is designed to find out which of these it is, rather than to apply pressure.

The ladder, and what changes at each rung

Three contacts, each different in kind, then a person. A sequence that repeats the same message louder teaches clients that the early ones are ignorable.

Before it is due. A short note that payment is due shortly, with the invoice attached. This is not chasing, it catches the never-seen case, and it is the highest-value message in the whole ladder.

Just after the due date. Friendly, assuming an oversight, and explicitly inviting a problem to be raised. This is where you find out about the wrong reference or the missing purchase order.

Two weeks or so later. Plain and factual. The amount, how overdue, what happens next. No irritation, because irritation invites a defensive reply rather than a payment.

Then a person. Somebody who can negotiate, agree a plan, or decide the relationship needs a conversation. That judgement does not belong in a sequence.

What a reminder should contain

The invoice number and the amount, so it can be matched without searching.

The due date and how far past it is, stated as a fact.

The invoice itself or a link to it. A reminder without the document creates work for the person you are asking to do something.

One way to pay, and the same one each time.

A named person to reply to. Chasing from a nameless system is easy to ignore.

An easy way to say there is a problem. The single most useful sentence in any reminder is an invitation to tell you if something is wrong with the invoice.

Keep it short. A long reminder reads as an argument, and nobody pays faster for having read more.

The disputed invoice

The distinction that most automated chasing gets wrong: an invoice somebody is querying is not an overdue invoice, and treating it as one is both unfair and counterproductive.

The moment a client raises a query, the sequence must stop. Not pause for a day, stop, until a person has resolved it. Continuing to send reminders alongside an open query is the fastest way to turn a small disagreement into a lost client, and it looks like you are not listening, which at that point you are not.

Record the query, who is handling it and when it was raised. Disputes that nobody owns sit for months and then become bad debt for a reason that had nothing to do with the client's ability to pay.

Once resolved, restart the ladder from an appropriate rung rather than from where it left off.

Building it with CodeWords

CodeWords connects to more than 3,000 integrations, and the connection is made once and reused.

1. Open CodeWords and start a new automation.
2. Describe what should happen in plain language to Cody, the automation builder: which invoices are chased, at what intervals, what each message says, and the rule that any reply stops everything.
3. Authorize the connections to your ledger system and your WhatsApp Business Platform account.
4. Describe the exceptions: a payment already received, an open query, a payment plan in place, a client you have agreed to leave alone.
5. Check the payment status immediately before every send, since a reminder to somebody who paid last week costs more goodwill than the reminder was worth.

You describe the outcome; Cody builds it, connects it, and deploys it. The free plan covers light use, with Pro at $39 per month and Business at $100 per month as usage grows; details are on the pricing page.

Statutory interest and what it is for

Worth knowing precisely, because it is frequently mentioned vaguely as a threat and rarely used properly.

For business-to-business transactions in the UK, statutory interest on a late commercial debt is 8% above the Bank of England base rate, and a creditor can also claim fixed compensation for recovery costs, rising with the size of the debt to £100 for debts of £10,000 or more (GOV.UK guidance).

Three practical points. It applies to commercial transactions rather than consumer ones. Mentioning your entitlement is a statement of the position rather than a threat, and it reads better stated plainly than implied. And whether to actually charge it is a commercial decision about the relationship, which is precisely why it should not be automated.

State the entitlement in your terms at the start. Deciding to invoke it is a conversation.

Paying, and what never happens in a chat

Make paying take one tap. A reminder that requires somebody to find bank details in an email from six weeks ago is a reminder that gets postponed.

A payment link, going to a page under your own name, in every reminder, pointing at that specific invoice.

What must never happen is taking card details in the conversation. Beyond the data problem and your payment provider's terms, it trains clients to send card numbers to anybody messaging them in a friendly tone, which is exactly what somebody impersonating you will do.

The same applies to changing bank details by message. If your details genuinely change, that is a signed letter and a phone call, never a chat message, because invoice redirection fraud works precisely by looking like an ordinary update from a supplier a client trusts.

Where automation has to stop

A client in genuine difficulty. Somebody who has said they cannot pay needs a person and a plan. More reminders produce nothing except a worse outcome for both of you.

Anything involving a formal demand. Letters before action, legal steps, recovery. Those carry consequences and require a decision.

A client who has gone silent after previously responding. That is a signal worth a call rather than a fourth message.

Anyone in an open dispute. Covered above, and worth repeating because it is the commonest failure.

A long-standing client with a first late payment. A relationship that has worked for years earns a phone call rather than a sequence.

Prevention, which beats all of it

Most of the chasing you do is caused by something upstream, and it is cheaper to fix there.

Invoice promptly. An invoice sent three weeks after the work is an invoice about something nobody remembers agreeing.

Send it to the right person. Ask at onboarding who handles payment and what reference they need, because a missing purchase order number is a fortnight's delay nobody notices.

Agree terms in writing including the due date and what happens when it passes.

Take deposits where the trade supports it.

Invoice accurately. A meaningful share of disputes are arithmetic or scope, and they are entirely avoidable.

Making it survive

Check payment status before every send, without exception.

Stop on any reply and route it to a person.

Log queries with an owner and a date, since unowned disputes become bad debt.

Keep a do-not-chase list for clients a person has taken over.

Report days outstanding, not messages sent.

Limits worth knowing about

A reminder cannot make somebody solvent. Some of your ledger is a commercial problem rather than a communication one.

Automated chasing damages relationships when it is wrong, and being wrong once costs more than several correct reminders gained.

Statutory interest is a decision, not a default setting.

Payment terms only bind if they were agreed, which means in writing at the start.

The channel has rules, so proactive contact outside the 24-hour window needs an approved template, and a client who asks you to stop messaging must be respected across every automation.

What to build first

The reminder sent before the due date. One message, a few days ahead, with the invoice attached. It is not chasing, it catches the invoices nobody ever saw, and in most ledgers that group is larger than anybody expects.

Two habits make the difference. Stop everything the moment a client replies, because an automated reminder landing alongside an open query turns a small disagreement into a lost client. And check the payment status immediately before every send, since chasing somebody who has already paid is the one failure that costs you more than the invoice.

Frequently asked questions

Why do invoices go unpaid?

Usually because they were never seen, they are sitting in a payment cycle, something is wrong with them, or the client cannot pay. Each needs different handling, which is why one sequence for everybody performs poorly.

What should a payment reminder ladder look like?

A note before the due date, a friendly one just after that invites problems to be raised, a plain factual one a couple of weeks later, then a person. Each rung different in kind rather than louder.

What should a reminder contain?

Invoice number, amount, due date and how far past it, the invoice or a link to it, one consistent way to pay, a named person to reply to, and an easy way to say something is wrong.

What happens when a client disputes an invoice?

The sequence stops until a person resolves it. A disputed invoice is not an overdue one, and reminders arriving alongside an open query turn a small disagreement into a lost relationship.

What is statutory interest on late payment?

For UK business-to-business debts it is 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation for recovery costs that rises with the debt size to £100 at £10,000 or more. Whether to charge it is a commercial decision.

Should payment reminders mention legal action?

State your entitlement plainly in your terms at the outset. Anything beyond that, including formal demands, is a decision a person makes rather than something a sequence escalates into.

How should clients pay?

Through a link to a page under your own name, pointing at that specific invoice, in every reminder. Never by giving card details in the conversation, which trains clients to do exactly what an impersonator will ask for.

What if my bank details change?

Never by message. A signed letter and a phone call, because invoice redirection fraud works by looking like an ordinary update from a trusted supplier.

When should a person take over?

A client in genuine difficulty, anything formal, a client who has gone silent after previously responding, an open dispute, and a long-standing client with a first late payment.

How do I reduce chasing in the first place?

Invoice promptly and accurately, send it to the person who actually pays with the reference they need, agree terms in writing at the start, and take deposits where the trade allows it.

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