The UK guide
Getting paid, without it eating your week.
To get paid faster, chase the most valuable overdue amount first, not the oldest. Send a short, specific, polite reminder, keep a consistent cadence, and use statutory late-payment interest when a commercial client drags on. Most money is lost not to bad payers but to chasing that never happens. This guide covers the whole job, with free UK tools throughout.
1. Know exactly what you’re owed
You cannot chase what you cannot see. Before anything else, get one number: the total sitting in overdue invoices right now, and the individual amounts behind it. A rough estimate is enough to start, and it is usually larger than owners expect.
Work out your figure in about two minutes with the free stuck-revenue calculator, or connect your accounts to see the exact number from your own ledger.
2. Chase in the right order
The instinct is to chase the oldest invoice. The money says otherwise: chase by value first, weighted by how late it is and how a client usually pays. A £4,000 invoice thirty days late is worth more of your attention than a £200 one ninety days late.
If you only do one thing each week, do the single highest-value chase. That one habit recovers more than a scattergun of reminders, and it is the whole idea Kelo is built around, one number and one action a week.
3. Chase politely, but specifically
For an owner-run business the client relationship is the asset, so tone matters. A good reminder is short, names the invoice and amount, gives a clear next step, and assumes good faith. Escalate the firmness gradually rather than jumping to threats.
The full guide, with four copy-and-send templates for each stage, is here: how to chase a late payment politely.
4. Know where automated reminders stop
Xero and QuickBooks can send scheduled reminders, and for the routine cases they work. But they run on a fixed schedule from a generic address, and they don’t tell you which account actually needs a human. Knowing the edge of what automation covers is what stops money slipping through it.
Read where the built-in reminders run out: where Xero’s invoice reminders stop, and what automated reminders fix and miss.
5. Use the law when you have to
On business-to-business debts in the UK, you are entitled to charge statutory interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, plus a fixed compensation sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the debt size, plus reasonable recovery costs. You rarely need to invoke it, but knowing you can changes the conversation, and mentioning it (calmly) in a later-stage reminder often gets a stalled payment moving.
Work out what you could add with the UK late-payment interest calculator. Confirm the current base rate, as it moves in six-month reference periods.
6. Stop the leak at the source
The cheapest recovery is the late payment that never happens. Agree terms in writing, invoice the moment the work is done, make paying easy, and put chasing on a system rather than your memory. The recurring failure is not one bad client; it is the chase that keeps getting bumped by billable work. The full playbook is how to reduce late payments.
Connecting your accounting is the simplest way to make the system automatic: how Kelo connects to Xero or QuickBooks.
Questions people ask about getting paid
How do I get a client to pay an overdue invoice?
Chase the most valuable overdue invoice first, not the oldest. Send a short, polite, specific reminder that states the invoice number, the amount, and a clear next step. If it stays unpaid, escalate in stages and, on a commercial debt, you are entitled to add statutory interest and a fixed compensation sum.
How much interest can I charge on a late commercial payment in the UK?
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act, statutory interest is the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, on business-to-business debts. You can also add a fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt, plus reasonable recovery costs.
When is an invoice legally overdue?
On the day after the agreed payment date. If no date was agreed, the default under the Act is 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the goods/services, whichever is later.
How often should I chase an unpaid invoice?
A reminder just before the due date, one on the day it falls due, then a short cadence afterward, every 5 to 7 days, escalating tone gradually. Consistency matters more than frequency, which is where most owner-run businesses lose money: they chase once, then never get back to it.
What is the fastest way to reduce late payments?
Make the terms explicit up front, invoice immediately, and have a system that tells you what is overdue and who to chase without you having to remember. The leak is rarely one bad payer; it is the chasing that does not happen consistently.
Start with your number.
See what’s stuck in about two minutes. No account needed.
See what you’re owedKelo is operated by a sole trader registered in England.
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