{"id":128868,"date":"2026-08-04T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/?p=128868"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:45:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:45:25","slug":"sending-an-effective-payment-reminder-step-by-step-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/sending-an-effective-payment-reminder-step-by-step-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Sending an effective payment reminder: how to get that invoice paid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gert-bellemans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener author\">Gert Bellemans<\/a>, managing director of Bizzon. Last legal review: October 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A formal payment reminder is a written demand to pay an overdue invoice within a fixed period.<\/strong> You send it once a friendly reminder has had no effect. With a business customer (B2B) you may charge interest and compensation straight away. With a consumer (B2C) you must first send one free reminder and wait at least 14 calendar days.<\/p>\n<p>In short:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Work with a fixed four-step process, so you do not have to decide again for every invoice.<\/li>\n<li>Use a separate letter for B2B and for B2C; the legal rules differ considerably.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you can prove that your reminder arrived. Without proof, your position is weak.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/b2c-first-payment-reminder-template\/\">Request the free payment reminder templates<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>How do you send a payment reminder? A 4-step plan<\/h2>\n<p>Decide in advance which step you take on which day. The biggest pitfall is that every unpaid invoice becomes a new, emotional decision: \u201cShall I give them one more chance?\u201d That hesitation costs time and money.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Friendly payment reminder (day 1 to 7 after the due date).<\/strong> Short and businesslike. State the outstanding amount, the invoice number and the payment details. No threatening language: the invoice may simply have been overlooked.<\/li>\n<li><strong>First formal reminder (day 8 to 14).<\/strong> Refer to your earlier reminder, set a new final payment date (usually 14 days) and point out the consequences: statutory interest and a compensation clause.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Second reminder or notice of default (day 15 to 30).<\/strong> The last step before handing over. State that you will pass the claim to a debt collection agency and that the additional costs are for the debtor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Handover to a debt collection agency (from day 30).<\/strong> Bizzon takes over the file from \u20ac 49 per file. Clients are paid within 17 days on average.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Already sent two reminders without result?<\/strong> Then this is the moment to hand over. \ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/active-debt-collection\/\">Start your file from \u20ac 49<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>What is the difference between a B2B and a B2C payment reminder?<\/h2>\n<p>A consumer is far better protected by law than a business. In B2C you must first send a free reminder and the costs are capped; in B2B you may charge interest and costs from the first day after the due date.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><\/th>\n<th>Business (B2B)<\/th>\n<th>Consumer (B2C)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Legal basis<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Act of 2 August 2002<\/td>\n<td>Book XIX of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, since 1 September 2023<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Reminder mandatory?<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>No<\/td>\n<td>Yes, one free reminder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Waiting period<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>None<\/td>\n<td>14 calendar days; by post it starts on the third working day after sending, by e-mail on the following day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Interest<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>10.5% per year in 2026, from the due date<\/td>\n<td>At most the reference interest rate + 8 percentage points, only after the waiting period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Compensation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Fixed sum of \u20ac 40 per invoice, plus whatever your terms provide<\/td>\n<td>Up to \u20ac 150: max. \u20ac 20. From \u20ac 150.01 to \u20ac 500: \u20ac 30 + 10% of the part above \u20ac 150. Above \u20ac 500: \u20ac 65 + 5% of the part above \u20ac 500, capped at \u20ac 2,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Tone<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Businesslike and direct<\/td>\n<td>Clear, without legal jargon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>What must the free reminder to a consumer contain?<\/h3>\n<p>The first reminder must state the amount due, the compensation you will charge after the period expires, your name and company number, a description of the product or service supplied, and the payment period of 14 calendar days. You may not charge any costs for it, including file or administration fees.<\/p>\n<h3>What do you risk if a B2C reminder contains a mistake?<\/h3>\n<p>With a mistake you risk losing not only your right to costs and interest, but even your right to the principal amount. If the consumer files a complaint, the costs of the investigation are moreover borne by the party complained about. The burden of proof lies with you as the business.<\/p>\n<p>That is why many business owners have their consumer files handled by a specialist. \ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/active-debt-collection\/\">Let Bizzon handle your B2C files<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Do you have to send a reminder first in B2B?<\/h3>\n<p>No. As soon as the payment term has expired, you may hand the claim straight to a debt collection agency. We still recommend one formal reminder: it is usually faster, cheaper and less damaging to the relationship than going straight to court.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>What should a payment reminder contain?<\/h2>\n<p>A good payment reminder contains six elements and leaves no room for doubt:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The outstanding amount<\/strong>, exact, in euro.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The invoice number<\/strong>, with a copy of the invoice attached.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A new final payment date.<\/strong> In a first formal reminder, 14 days after receipt is customary.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The payment details<\/strong>: IBAN and the payment reference.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The consequences of non-payment<\/strong>: statutory interest and the compensation clause.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The next step<\/strong>: handover to a debt collection agency, with the additional costs for the debtor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Rather not write it yourself?<\/strong> \ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/b2c-first-payment-reminder-template\/\">Request the ready-made templates<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Do you have to send a payment reminder by registered post?<\/h2>\n<p>No, that is not a legal requirement. A reminder by ordinary post or by e-mail is in principle sufficient. For larger amounts or persistent non-payers, registered post is sensible, because it proves that the letter reached the debtor&#8217;s address.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our advice:<\/strong> send the reminder both by registered and by ordinary post. That way your customer can never claim in court that he received nothing. Keep all correspondence and proof of sending.<\/p>\n<h2>Is a payment reminder by e-mail valid?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes. Since 1 January 2023 the new Belgian Civil Code recognises notification by electronic means as a valid means of communication. But \u201cI sent the e-mail\u201d is not proof. You must be able to show that the recipient has seen your e-mail.<\/p>\n<p>You have that proof in two cases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The customer has replied to your e-mail.<\/li>\n<li>You have received an electronic read receipt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Without that proof, the burden of proof lies entirely with you. In practice, a lawyer will not start a case without it. No response to your e-mail? Then follow up by post or confirm by telephone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tip:<\/strong> request a read receipt for your own invoices, reminders and notices of default, and be careful about confirming read receipts on incoming e-mails yourself.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Tired of chasing payments? Hand it over<\/h2>\n<p>Bizzon takes over the follow-up of your unpaid invoices from \u20ac 49 per file. You supply the invoice and your earlier reminders; we handle the communication with your customer, diplomatically and decisively.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paid within 17 days on average<\/li>\n<li>4.4 out of 5 on Google<\/li>\n<li>More than 10 years of experience in debt collection for Flemish SMEs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAfter 3 months I still had an outstanding invoice, and even after 4 payment reminders nothing was moving. I then came across Bizzon, and thanks to your work the invoice was paid after 1.5 weeks! Great work, so in future I know exactly where to find you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wannes de Jong, Google review (translated from Dutch)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/active-debt-collection\/\">Start your file from \u20ac 49<\/a><\/strong> or <a href=\"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/contact-bizzon\/\">contact us<\/a> on +32 11 46 90 00.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions about payment reminders<\/h2>\n<h3>How many payment reminders do you have to send?<\/h3>\n<p>For a consumer, one free reminder is legally required. For a business there is no mandatory number. In practice, a process of one friendly reminder and two formal reminders works best.<\/p>\n<h3>May you charge costs for a payment reminder?<\/h3>\n<p>For a business you may do so from the first day after the due date: interest plus a fixed sum of \u20ac 40. For a consumer the first reminder is free, and only after 14 calendar days may you charge the legally capped compensation and interest.<\/p>\n<h3>How long do you have to wait after a payment reminder?<\/h3>\n<p>For a consumer at least 14 calendar days after the free reminder. For a business you set the period yourself; 14 days is customary.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the difference between a friendly reminder, a formal reminder and a notice of default?<\/h3>\n<p>A friendly reminder is a polite request to pay. A formal reminder is a demand with a final date and the consequences. A notice of default is the last formal warning before a debt collection agency or the court.<\/p>\n<h3>When do you call in a debt collection agency?<\/h3>\n<p>As soon as your reminders remain without result, usually around day 30 after the due date. For a business it is allowed as soon as the payment term has expired. At Bizzon this is possible from \u20ac 49 per file.<\/p>\n<h3>What does a debt collection agency cost in Belgium?<\/h3>\n<p>At Bizzon you start from \u20ac 49 per file. In B2B files you can recover the statutory interest and the compensation clause from the debtor.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many payment reminders do you have to send?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"For a consumer, one free reminder is legally required. For a business there is no mandatory number. In practice, a process of one friendly reminder and two formal reminders works best.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"May you charge costs for a payment reminder?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"For a business you may do so from the first day after the due date: interest plus a fixed sum of \u20ac 40. 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A formal payment reminder is a written demand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":127426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-payment-reminders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128882,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128868\/revisions\/128882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizzon.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}