Unpaid Invoice?

How long does a client have to pay an invoice? In Florida, no single number of days fits every bill. The answer usually comes from three places: the payment terms, a reasonable-time standard when no terms are set, and the state’s time limits for filing a lawsuit. This guide covers each one in order. KEW Legal focuses on business contract and vendor disputes, including unpaid invoices, for owners and vendors in Miami-Dade and Broward County.

Short Answer: There Is No Single Number of Days

No single number of days applies to every invoice. The deadline starts with the payment terms the parties agreed to. The most common terms are “due on receipt,” “net 15,” and “net 30.”

Due on receipt means payment is expected when the invoice arrives. Net 15 means payment is due 15 days after the invoice date. Net 30 means 30 days.

Many freelancers and small vendors never write their terms down. Missing written terms make timing harder to prove, so the facts of the deal matter more. The work itself, the invoice, and the messages between the parties all become evidence.

Each layer answers a different question. Payment terms answer when money is due. The statute of limitations answers how long you have to file suit. A late payment and an expired lawsuit deadline are different problems, so keep them separate.

For a broader view of business disputes, read our partnership dispute guide.

How Payment Terms Set the Deadline

Asking how long a client has to pay an invoice starts with the contract. A written payment term sets the due date. The clearest deadline appears in the signed agreement, the accepted written offer, or the terms printed on the invoice.

A strong invoice makes those terms easy to enforce. Include the invoice date, a clear due date, the amount owed, the accepted payment methods, and the correct recipient. Missing details give the client a reason to say it never received a usable bill.

Florida’s high court has said an oral contract still needs an offer, an acceptance, consideration, and essential terms stated clearly enough, as in St. Joe Corp. v. McIver. A vague phrase like “pay soon” leaves the due date open to argument.

Invoice timing matters too. Sending the invoice promptly after the work is delivered shows when payment was due. Late invoicing invites a fight over when the clock started.

Either side can propose different terms, such as shorter or longer windows. Read them before you send the invoice, not after.

When No Payment Terms Are Stated

When a deal has no due date, the timing question turns on the facts. A one-time purchase reads differently than a long working relationship.

The practical fix is a written demand with a specific deadline. It should list the invoice number, the amount, the work or goods delivered, and the date payment is due.

A clear written deadline does two things. It shows when the client fell behind. It also gives you a record if the matter later reaches court.

Interest can come into play too. When interest is owed and the contract sets no rate, Fla. Stat. § 687.01 points to the rate in § 55.03. Under that section, the state’s Chief Financial Officer sets the rate each quarter.

For a sale of goods, Florida law also lets a seller recover the price when the buyer fails to pay as it becomes due, but only for goods accepted, or conforming goods lost or damaged within a commercially reasonable time after risk passed to the buyer, or for identified goods the seller cannot resell at a reasonable price after reasonable effort, or where the circumstances reasonably indicate that such effort will be unavailing, under § 672.709.

Can You Still Collect an Old Invoice? Florida’s Time Limits

The statute of limitations sets how long you have to file a lawsuit. It is not the deadline for the client to pay. § 95.11 sets different filing periods for different types of actions. For example, under § 95.11(6)(a), an action for specific performance of a contract must be commenced within one year. A suit on an oral or unwritten contract (a contract not founded on a written instrument), including one for the sale and delivery of goods, must be commenced within four years under § 95.11(3)(j).

The clock generally starts when the last element of the claim occurs, under § 95.031. For an unpaid invoice, that usually means the date payment was missed. That is why the due date on the invoice matters so much.

Some events pause the clock. Under § 95.051, a payment of part of the principal or interest on a debt founded on a written instrument pauses the time. A pending arbitration over the same dispute does too. A partial payment can change the math on an older bill.

Whether an unpaid invoice can still be enforced depends on the terms of the underlying agreement and the limitations period that applies to it under § 95.11. Whether it does turns on the contract type, the due date, and any payments or written acknowledgments since then.

Waiting also weakens a claim. Records get harder to find, and witnesses move on. A debt can remain enforceable and still be hard to prove.

Late Payment, Shortened Windows, and Next Steps

Florida courts can refuse to enforce a term only when it is unfair in how it was made and unfair in what it says. Basulto v. Hialeah Automotive requires both parts, weighed together.

Keep one rule separate. A clause that shortens the time to sue is void under § 95.03. That rule covers the lawsuit deadline, not the payment due date.

If the contract lets one side recover attorney’s fees for enforcing it, § 57.105 allows the court to award fees to the other party when that party prevails. This applies only to contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1988.

County courts generally hear actions at law where the amount in controversy, not counting interest, costs, and attorney fees, is $50,000 or less. That applies to actions filed on or after January 1, 2023, under § 34.01.

Practical steps to take now:

• Review the signed agreement and every invoice.
• Confirm the work or goods were delivered.
• Send a written demand with a specific due date.
• Keep copies of all messages and payments.
• Check for late-payment interest and attorney’s-fee terms.

For next steps when a client stops paying, read our guide to a client who won’t pay.

If a client has stopped paying an invoice your business is counting on, the uncertainty alone is stressful. KEW Legal, with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach, can review your contract, invoices, and deadlines with you. The first consultation is free, confidential, and without obligation. Call 305-990-2300 or send us a message.

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