Prevent your invoice from being prescribed

Due invoice

We talk about a 'due invoice' when the due date has come and gone. Unless you've reached a different agreement with your customer, it is standard for this payment period to be 30 days from the day after receipt. As of that date you have the right to collect your money by legal means. It's best not to wait too long, because the later you take action, the smaller the chances of payment.

Prescription of an invoice

A time-barred invoice is no longer valid. This means that your customer's obligation to pay expires after a certain period of time. How long this period is depends on the type of invoice. As a rule of thumb, invoices in a business context have a limitation period of ten years, whereas payment obligations in a private context are more likely to be one year. However, there are significant deviations, and, in some cases, the limitation period is only six months

Let's focus more closely on business invoices.

Can I collect a prescribed invoice?

From the legal perspective, once the prescription period has passed you no longer have an enforceable right to collect the invoice. Your customer's legal obligation to pay essentially just vanished into thin air... Should you ever attempt to collect a business invoice that is more than 10 years old, your customer can raise the defence of 'prescription' in court. Of course, you can still always try to get a payment via further reminders or telephone calls, but a court proceeding is out of the question at that point.

Prevent prescription of your invoice via interruption

You can extend the prescription period of an invoice by 'interrupting' its prescription. In that case the prescription period starts to run all over again from day one. A business invoice which – for example – is 9 years old will then be collectible for another full 10 years. So most business invoices are in practice exigible up to 20 years after the date – if you interrupt on time.

How do you interrupt the prescription of an invoice?

You can interrupt an invoice by passing it on to Unpaid sometime within that first prescription period. At the moment that the bailiff sends a formal notice of default, this extends the period by another 10 years.

Suspension of the prescription period

In some cases the prescription period can be suspended. This means that the prescription period of the invoice simply stops running for a certain period. When the cause for the suspension disappears, the prescription period will begin running again from the same point where it stood prior to the suspension.

Don't let it get that far...

A golden rule: don't allow unpaid invoices to become prescribed. Take action immediately as soon as the payment date has passed. A quick reaction is the best guarantee that you'll obtain your money.

Your payment reminders and demands haven't produced results? Unpaid collects your money quickly and efficiently.

Find out how it works here 

Try Unpaid

Ready to collect your unpaid invoices? Fill in your details  below to get started!