Can I (Tradesman) Charge Interest On An Unpaid Invoice?

[Cantthinkof12use]

Hi there, I am about to issue a customer with an invoice after they failed to pay me on a date agreed verbally between ourselves. I am just wondering what the procedure is for charging interest if they fail to pay the invoice within the time limit. Is there a universal rate I can apply? Can I charge this without having made them aware before they agreed that I would do their work. I have been self employed for a while now and this is the first time this has happened so any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you

[ummmm]

Write to them explaining the late payment charges then issue the invoice.

[pixie373]

You can send an invoice. I'm not sure they are obliged to pay without prior agreement. I would add something to the bottom of your invoices anyway, saying late payments will incur a fee of ...% or something similar.

[murraymints]

If they forgot to keep to your verbal agreement, you could equally say they also forgot that you had informed them of late payment penalty..works both ways

[Maydup]

The best thing to do is to send a reminder invoice with 7 days to pay. Add at the bottom that after 7 days an interest payment will be applied. You have covered all bases that way.

In the future you could use step payments as the work progresses and then for the final bill give everyone 14 days to pay. add the interest penalty to the bottom of your invoices. Once the time is up send a reminder with a couple of days grace. Then after 7 more days send the next one with the first week's interest. Lots of paperwork isn't it?

[Quoi]

see here
http://payontime.co.uk/late-payment-legislation-interest-calculators

[beegeebee]

I always recall the quote " A verbal contract isn't worth the paper its written on"

[Peter Pedant]

Quoi's site looks OK
which means that you can charge interest under the act

write to them and say if they dont pay pronto
then you will start .....