How to Recover an Unpaid Invoice as a Freelancer

Delayed payments are one of the biggest problems faced by freelancers. In fact, many consider quitting freelancing for this very reason. As an independent contractor, you rely on timely payments for regular cash flow and to cover overhead costs like equipment rental.

You’ll have already invested significant time and effort into the project so not getting paid on time can be frustrating. It’s important to remain calm and follow a set of commonly used business practices when chasing late invoices – this will help protect valuable client relationships.

You can’t start chasing an invoice until 30 days after it was submitted and it’s not uncommon for businesses to wait until the end of this period to settle their bill. Two days after an invoice is due, send a follow-up email to inquire about any issues with the invoice. One of the most common reasons for delayed payments are typos or errors in the original invoice. To avoid this problem, we recommend using one of our invoice templates.

Continue reading to learn more about how to professionally chase late invoices:

Best Practices for Chasing Late Invoices