Forgot to invoice a client earlier in the year..

Hello there.

I have a client who I do a job for every week and invoice every week. There has never been an issue with payment until now.

Basically I forgot to invoice the client for a weeks work back in January and have only noticed now as I have updated my accounts. It's an error on my part and have apologised to the client for my mistake.

When I then asked if I could still issue them an invoice I was met with "We currently have the auditors in and they have said no one can issue an invoice 60 days after the close of the accounts"..

Now I've done some research and lots of people seem to disagree with the situation quoting the Limitations act 1980..

So my question's are...

Should I still be expected to get paid?
As the client knows I have done the work, should I expect them to pay?

or

Have I missed the boat?

Thanks for your help and apologies if this so obvious but I literally have tried everything.

Kind Regards

Dave

Hi Dave,

As excuses go, that isn't a very good one...

True, it might cause a minor annoyance for them from an accounting perspective, but these kinds of situations occur all the time and for them to claim they now *can't* make payment is completely ludicrous.

The answer to both of your questions is yes, you should absolutely expect to get paid and you should expect the client to pay.

Our advice is to issue the invoice immediately for the period in question and send it through normal channels.

The clock starts ticking from the date the invoice is issued and you should follow through with your normal credit control process. If the invoice goes past agreed terms then you could apply the late payment penalties as allowed by law.

Hope that helps :)

Hi Dave,

If they are refusing to pay the invoice, you could consider litigation and enforcement as a debt collection method.

It's not as costly as it might appear; or that time consuming.

You can use the Government's Money Claim Online Portal (www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome) to make an application for a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and once obtained you could instruct County Court Bailiffs or High Court Enforcement Officers (if judgment value is over £600+) to recover the money.

If your judgment is over £600+ and you choose to use High Court enforcement to recover the money, the enforcement costs are payable by defendant if successfully enforced.

I hope this helps you understand your options.

Kind regards

Burlington Group