Getting paid on time: invoicing and payment for small delivery businesses

Delivering is the easy part. Getting paid for it is where small delivery businesses lose sleep. A few accounts paying a month late can leave you funding your customers' businesses out of your own overdraft. This guide covers how to set up invoicing and payment so that most customers pay on time without being chased, and what to do when they don't.

Agree terms before the first delivery

Most payment problems start with nothing being agreed. Before you deliver to a new account, put in writing (an email is fine):

• How often you invoice: per delivery, weekly or monthly.
• When payment is due, for example 7 or 14 days after the invoice date.
• How they can pay.
• What happens if they don't: that you may pause deliveries, and that you may charge late payment interest.

If you don't agree a payment date with a business customer, the law sets one for you. Gov.uk says that if no date is agreed, payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or you deliver the goods or service, whichever is later (gov.uk: late commercial payments). For most small suppliers, 30 days is longer than you want, so agree something shorter.

The same gov.uk page says payment periods for business transactions must usually be within 60 days, although businesses can agree longer if it's fair to both sides.

How often to invoice

Frequency	Suits	Pros	Cons
Per delivery or per clean	Window cleaning, one-off log deliveries, households	Small amounts, paid quickly	More invoices to send
Weekly	Cafés, restaurants, small trade accounts	Debts never get large; easy to spot a missed payment	Some customers prefer one monthly bill
Monthly	Larger accounts, offices, water cooler rental	Fits customers' accounts processes	A month of goods at risk before the first invoice

A useful rule: the less you know a customer, the more often you invoice them. You can always move a good payer to monthly later.

Always invoice from what was actually delivered, including any short or failed drops, not from what was ordered. Invoices that match reality get paid. Invoices with errors get queried, and a queried invoice is a late invoice.

Ways to get paid compared

Direct Debit

The customer authorises you once, and you collect each invoice when it's due. For regular customers it's the most reliable method: no chasing, no forgetting. It suits weekly or monthly accounts, water cooler rental and window cleaning rounds. Customers are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee, which makes most people comfortable signing up. There are processing fees, so build them into your prices.

Card payment links

An invoice email with a "pay now" link. Quick for the customer, especially households and small cafés, and you're paid within days. Fees are typically a percentage per payment.

Bank transfer

No fees, but it relies on the customer remembering, and on them using the right reference. Expect to chase more, and to spend time matching payments to invoices.

Cash

Still common on doorstep rounds and log deliveries. Record cash against the specific delivery straight away, or it becomes impossible to reconcile.

Offering two methods, say Direct Debit for regulars and a card link for everyone else, covers almost everyone.

Make invoices easy to pay

• Send invoices promptly, on the same day each week or month.
• Show the due date clearly, near the total.
• Include your bank details and the reference to use, even if you also offer card payment.
• Send to the person who actually pays. In many cafés and restaurants, that's not the person who orders.

A simple chasing routine

1. Due date: nothing. Most customers pay on time if the invoice was right.
2. A few days overdue: a friendly reminder with the invoice attached and the pay link.
3. Two weeks overdue: a phone call. Ask when it will be paid and write down the answer.
4. Still unpaid: pause deliveries until the account is up to date, and say so politely but clearly.
5. Long overdue: a formal letter claiming statutory interest and compensation (see below), then consider small claims if needed.

Pausing deliveries is your strongest tool. A supplier who keeps delivering to a non-paying account just grows the debt.

Your rights: late payment interest and compensation

When a business customer pays late, UK law lets you claim interest and debt recovery costs. Per gov.uk:

• Statutory interest is "8% plus the Bank of England base rate" for business-to-business transactions, unless your contract sets a different rate (gov.uk: charging interest on commercial debt).
• Fixed debt recovery costs can be added per late invoice: £40 for debts up to £999.99, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more. You can also claim reasonable further costs of recovering the debt (gov.uk: claim debt recovery costs).

These rules apply to payments between businesses, not to household customers. Many suppliers never use them, and you may decide a good customer who's a week late isn't worth it. But mentioning them in your terms, and in a firm letter to a persistent late payer, often gets the invoice paid. Check the gov.uk pages for the current base rate and for how to calculate interest.

Household customers

For window cleaning, milk and log deliveries to households, the late payment rules above don't apply. Your best tools are practical: bill straight after the clean or delivery, make paying one tap, take cash at the door where customers prefer it, and don't let more than one or two visits go unpaid before you have a word.

Keep a live view of who owes what

Whatever system you use, you should be able to see at a glance which invoices are unpaid and how overdue they are. If finding that out means going through your bank statement line by line, chasing will always slip.

RoundSorted builds invoices from what was actually delivered, sends them for customers to pay by card online (Solo and Team) or by bank transfer, records cash at the door, and shows what's outstanding. See pricing, or read how to price delivery rounds to make sure the invoices are worth chasing.