Client Refusing to Pay Your Invoice?

If your client is refusing to pay your invoice, you have clear steps to take, and the order matters. First, find out why the bill is unpaid. Then review your contract, send a written demand with a deadline, and weigh formal options such as small claims or county court. Florida also sets time limits for suing, so don’t wait too long. This guide walks through each step for service providers, freelancers, and business owners in Miami-Dade and South Florida. It explains general rules of Florida law. Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page.

First, find out why the invoice is not being paid

Start by asking your client directly whether something is blocking payment. A cash-flow delay and a dispute over the work call for different responses.

A cash-flow delay means the client agrees the bill is owed but has not paid yet. A dispute means the client objects to the work, the amount, or the timing. Ask which one you’re facing. Call or meet with the client and keep the tone calm. Ask whether there is an objection, what it is, and when payment is expected. Confirm that the invoice arrived and reached the right person.

Write down what the client says, when they said it, and who said it. Do this while the conversation is fresh. Your notes can matter later if the matter goes to a judge or a mediator.

An objection that is never stated is different from one that is stated in writing. A stated objection gives you something specific to answer. An unstated one may surface later, often as a counterclaim. Either way, the answer shapes your next step.

Check your contract, invoice terms, and paper trail

Your contract and records show what you agreed to and what you actually delivered. Review them before you send anything to the client.

Look at the signed agreement or purchase order. Find the payment due dates, any late fee or interest language, and any clause that lets the winning side recover attorney’s fees. Confirm the invoice matches the agreed scope, rates, and deliverables. A bill that differs from the agreement gives the client an easy argument.

Gather proof that the work was delivered or completed. Useful records include emails, approvals, signed timesheets, project files, and delivery receipts. Put them in one folder, with dates.

A missing written contract does not always end your right to payment. Emails, quotes, and the way both sides acted can show the agreed terms. Whether you can recover depends on the facts, so collect everything that shows the deal.

Send a clear written demand with a deadline

A written demand puts the debt on record and gives the client a specific date to pay. Send it once your records are in order.

Identify the invoice number, the amount owed, and the original due date. Attach the supporting records, such as the signed agreement and proof of delivery. Name a specific date for payment. Say plainly what you will do if payment is not made by that date, such as pursuing the balance through the options your contract allows.

Keep the tone factual and polite. A judge or mediator may read the letter later, so write it as if they will. Leave out insults and threats you won’t follow through on.

Send the letter to the address and contact listed in the contract. Use a method that gives you proof of delivery, and save a copy. The letter becomes part of your paper trail and shows you gave fair notice.

Options if the client still refuses to pay

If the demand fails, you can offer a payment plan, make a written settlement offer, or file a lawsuit. Each option has different costs and timing.

A payment schedule works well when the client has the money but needs time. Put the plan in writing, with exact amounts and dates. State what happens if a payment is missed. The written plan also gives you a record if the client falls behind again.

A written settlement offer is another tool. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.79 and Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.442, a proposal for settlement is served on the other party and must meet specific requirements. Under Rule 1.442, a proposal that is not accepted within 30 days of service is deemed rejected. Under § 768.79, rejecting a proposal for settlement can carry attorney’s fee consequences for either side, depending on the final judgment.

Interest is another point to check. A lawful contract rate generally applies if your contract sets an interest rate, subject to Florida’s usury limits (Fla. Stat. ch. 687).

Which court a dispute belongs in depends on the facts of the claim, including its type and amount, so the specifics are worth reviewing with a lawyer. Under Fla. Stat. § 47.011, an action is generally brought in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located, though contractual venue or forum-selection clauses, the separate corporate rules of § 47.051, and the multiple-defendant rules of § 47.021 can change where suit is filed. Fla. Stat. § 44.102(2)(a) expressly excludes an action filed to collect a debt from the cases a court is required to send to mediation at a party’s request, so an unpaid-invoice claim generally cannot be pushed into mediation under that provision, although the Florida Small Claims Rules separately provide for mediation at the pretrial stage.

What the client may argue back, and the risk of halting work

A client who won’t pay often says the work was late, incomplete, or defective. Expect that, and document the work now.

Common responses include requests for a credit or setoff (an amount the client subtracts from what it owes), claims of poor quality, and claims that you missed a deadline. A client may also counterclaim, asking the court to award it money. Your records of the work matter as much as the invoice.

If you sold goods, Florida’s commercial code sets a notice rule. Under Fla. Stat. § 672.607, a buyer who accepted goods must notify the seller of a breach within a reasonable time after discovering or when it should have discovered the breach, or be barred from any remedy. The buyer also carries the burden of proving any breach of goods it accepted.

Before you pause any deliverable, file access, or project work, check the contract’s suspension terms. Halting work without a basis in the contract can create problems of your own. Confirm what the contract allows before you act.

Timing: how long to wait and when deadlines run

Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11, the time to sue on a written contract is five years. For an oral or unwritten contract, the time is four years.

A contract cannot cut that time short. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.03, a contract provision that sets a shorter period to sue than the statute allows is void.

Some events pause the clock. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.051, payment of any part of the principal or interest on a written instrument tolls (pauses) the limitations period. A pending arbitration on the same dispute does too.

Check the payment due date and any notice-and-cure period in the contract before you send a final demand. Keep a dated record of every reminder. Track the deadlines from the first unpaid due date. A missed deadline can end a claim even when the debt is valid.

Preventing the next unpaid invoice

A clear written agreement prevents many payment fights before they start. Use one on every project, including small ones.

Your agreement should state the scope, the price or rates, the payment due dates, any late charges, and the attorney’s fee terms. Where a contract allows attorney’s fees to one party that must act to enforce it, Florida law may allow the other party to recover reasonable fees if that party prevails, depending on the contract’s wording. A fee clause can work in either direction, so read it closely.

Ask for a deposit or milestone billing on larger or longer projects. Invoice promptly and on the schedule the contract sets. Track each invoice’s status. Act on the first missed payment, not the third.

Talk through your situation with KEW Legal

An unpaid invoice can strain your cash flow while you weigh each option. A dispute involving a business you run or manage can feel urgent.

KEW Legal acts as outside general counsel for business owners and handles business contract and vendor disputes across Miami-Dade and South Florida. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.

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