# How to chase late payments with AI (UK)

Agree payment terms in writing, invoice with the details the law requires, then chase on a fixed schedule rather than when you remember. On a late business payment you can add statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, and a fixed debt recovery sum.

## Steps
1. Agree the payment terms before you start the work: Put the payment period in writing before any work happens, because the terms you never agreed are the ones you argue about later. If you do not agree a date, GOV.UK is explicit that the law makes the payment late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or gets the goods or service, whichever is later. Agreed terms are usually within 30 days for public authorities and 60 days for business transactions. Have AI hold the agreed term against each client so the chase dates are already known the moment you invoice.
2. Send an invoice that meets the legal requirements: An invoice missing a required detail is a free excuse to delay. GOV.UK requires a unique identification number, your business name, address and contact information, the customer's company name and address, a clear description of what you are charging for, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts being charged, the VAT amount if applicable, and the total owed. A sole trader adds their own name and any trading name; a limited company uses the full name on its certificate of incorporation. Have AI assemble it from your records and check every field is present before you send it.
3. Track what is owed, not what is paid: Most people watch money arriving, which tells you nothing until it is already late. Track the other side of the ledger - every issued invoice, its agreed term, its due date and its age - so the question "who is overdue today" has an answer without you opening anything. Have AI reconcile issued invoices against your bank continuously and keep a running list of what is outstanding and by how many days.
4. Chase on a schedule, not on a feeling: Chasing when you finally get annoyed means chasing inconsistently and late, and it makes the awkward ones the last to be asked. Fix the schedule instead - a polite reminder before the due date, one on the day, then at seven, fourteen and thirty days - and apply it identically to everybody. Have AI draft each one on time with the invoice number, the amount and the age of the debt already filled in. Sending it is outward-facing, so it waits for you.
5. Add statutory interest and debt recovery costs: Late payment between businesses carries a statutory right to interest, which GOV.UK gives as 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions, plus a fixed sum for debt recovery costs - £40 for a debt up to £999.99, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 at £10,000 or more, chargeable once per payment. Most people never claim it. Have AI calculate the figure per invoice so the number in the email is right, and decide yourself whether to charge it.
6. Escalate, and know when to stop: When the schedule runs out, the remaining routes are a formal letter before action, mediation, a debt recovery service or the small claims track. Each costs time or money, so the honest calculation is the size of the debt against what recovering it will take. Have AI assemble the file - the contract, the invoice, every chase you sent and the dates - so whichever route you pick starts from a complete record rather than a search through your sent items.

## FAQ
Q: How long does a customer have to pay an invoice?
A: Whatever you agreed in writing, and GOV.UK notes agreed terms are usually within 30 days for public authorities or 60 days for business transactions. If you did not agree a date, the law makes the payment late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or receives the goods or service, whichever happens later. So the absence of agreed terms does not mean the absence of a deadline - it means you get the statutory one instead of the one you would have chosen.

Q: Can I charge interest on a late payment?
A: On a commercial debt, yes. GOV.UK gives statutory interest as 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions. Because it moves with the base rate, the figure is only correct on the day you calculate it, so check the current rate rather than reusing a number from a previous invoice. Statutory interest does not apply to consumers in the same way, and you cannot claim it as well as interest under a contract term that already covers it.

Q: How much can I claim in debt recovery costs?
A: A fixed sum set by late payment legislation, on top of the interest - £40 for a debt up to £999.99, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more. You can only charge the business once for each payment. It is small, it is rarely claimed, and the reason to know it exists is that it changes the tone of the conversation: a late payment stops being an inconvenience you absorb and becomes a cost with a published price.

Q: What must a UK invoice include?
A: A unique identification number, your business name, address and contact information, the customer's company name and address, a clear description of what you are charging for, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts being charged, the VAT amount if applicable, and the total owed. Sole traders add their own name and any business name being used, plus an address where legal documents can be delivered. Limited companies use the full company name from the certificate of incorporation.

Q: Can AI chase my late payers for me?
A: It can do all of the work and none of the deciding. AI can track every issued invoice against its agreed term, spot what has gone overdue, draft each chase on schedule with the right invoice number, amount and age, and calculate the statutory interest and recovery costs. What it should not do is send them without you. An email to a paying client is outward-facing and occasionally relationship-ending, so the draft is the machine's job and the send is yours.

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