Duly Paid / How it works
Reminders first. Court only if you say so.
Duly Paid follows the path a good credit controller would: courteous first, firmer later, exact throughout, and it always leaves the big decisions to you.
Add the invoice. Customer, amount, date, and a PDF if you have one. About 30 seconds.
We chase. Six steps from three days before the due date, on working days, in your name (on Solo or Business).
They pay, or tell you why not. “I’ve paid” and dispute buttons in every email.
You decide what's next. A Letter Before Action, then a court claim pack, only when you say.
The sequence
Every email, word for word.
These are the real templates, filled in with an example. You can switch any step off, change its timing, and preview it with your own invoice before anything is sent.
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T-3
Friendly heads-up
A light-touch note a few days before the due date.
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Due
Due-date reminder
On the day it's due: a reminder with your payment details.
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+7
Polite chase
It may just have slipped through. A courteous nudge.
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+14
Firm reminder
Firmer, and mentions your right to statutory interest.
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+21
Final notice
States the exact interest and compensation now claimable, and gives 7 days.
A friendly heads-up
Hello Sam,
Just a quick note from Your Business Ltd: invoice INV-0142 for £2,400.00 is due for payment on Saturday 19 September.
If it’s already scheduled, thank you. There’s nothing more to do. If anything on the invoice doesn’t look right, reply to this email and it’ll go straight to Your Business Ltd.
Example · Friendly heads-upDue today
Hello Sam,
Invoice INV-0142 for £2,400.00 from Your Business Ltd is due for payment today.
The payment details are below. If you’ve already paid, thank you. Please press “I’ve paid” so Your Business Ltd knows to look out for it.
Example · Due-date reminderA polite reminder
Hello Sam,
We haven’t yet seen payment of invoice INV-0142 for £2,400.00, which was due on 19 September 2026. It’s now 7 days overdue.
It may simply have slipped through the net. Could you take a look and arrange payment today? If there’s a problem with the invoice, reply to this email and let Your Business Ltd know. They’d rather hear about it now.
Example · Polite chasePayment is now overdue
Hello Sam,
Invoice INV-0142 for £2,400.00 was due on 19 September 2026 and is now 14 days overdue. Please arrange payment straight away.
As this is a contract between businesses, Your Business Ltd is entitled under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 to claim statutory interest at 11.75% a year (currently £0.77 a day), plus fixed compensation of £70. Paying now keeps things simple.
Example · Firm reminderFinal notice
Hello Sam,
This is a final notice about invoice INV-0142, which was due on 19 September 2026 and is now 21 days overdue. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, Your Business Ltd is now claiming:
Interest continues to build at £0.77 a day until payment. Please pay £2,486.22 within 7 days, by 17 October 2026. If payment isn’t received by then, Your Business Ltd may send a formal Letter Before Action, the step before a county court claim.
If you dispute this invoice, please tell Your Business Ltd now using the link below.
Example · Final noticeHouse rules
Persistent, never pushy.
We built the timing rules the way we'd want to be chased ourselves.
Working days only
Reminders go out at 07:00 on working days, with an hourly catch-up from 08:00 until 18:00. Nothing is sent after 18:00, on Saturdays, Sundays or England & Wales bank holidays: anything still due waits for the next working day's 07:00 run.
One email a day, at most
Added an invoice that's already late? We start at the right step, rather than firing off every reminder it missed.
A week's notice before the final notice
A final notice is never the first contact, and always comes at least 7 days after the previous email. Chasers are at least 3 days apart.
Legal letters sent automatically
At 30 days we suggest a Letter Before Action and draft it for you. It only goes when you confirm.
Your customer's side
Easy to pay. Easy to talk.
Each email links to a simple, private page showing what's owed and how to pay: your bank details or your own payment link. Two buttons make the conversation easier for everyone.
“I’ve paid”
Your customer tells you when and how they paid. We pause chasing straight away and email you to confirm when the money lands.
“Dispute this invoice”
If something's wrong, they can say so. Every reminder stops and you get their reason by email, because chasing a disputed invoice helps nobody.
Part-payments count
Record a part-payment and reminders ask only for the balance. Interest is worked out on what's actually outstanding, day by day.
Escalation
The Letter Before Action
Before you can take someone to court, the court expects you to have given them a final, formal chance to pay. Duly Paid drafts that letter with everything filled in:
- your details and your customer's, the invoice, what was supplied and when it was due;
- the reminders you've already sent, and any part-payments;
- for business customers, statutory interest to the date of the letter, the daily rate after that, and fixed compensation;
- a clear deadline, how to pay, what happens if they don't, and an invitation to raise any dispute or consider mediation.
We pick the right form of letter for who you're chasing:
| Your customer is… | Letter | Time to pay |
|---|---|---|
| A limited company, LLP or other organisation | Letter Before Action (Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct) | 14 days |
| A sole trader or partner | Letter of Claim (Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims) | 30 days |
| A private individual | Letter of Claim (no statutory interest) | 30 days |
For individuals, the Debt Claims Protocol also requires you to enclose an Information Sheet, Reply Form and Financial Statement. We tell you exactly which forms, and link to the official copies.
Download it as a print-ready PDF, print it from your browser, or have us email it with the PDF attached and a copy to you. On the Solo plan one letter a month is included, then £7 each; on Business they're unlimited. Without a plan you can still add the invoice and buy its letter for £7, one-off (no reminders are sent without a plan).
The Money Claim Online pack Business
If the letter's deadline passes without payment, Duly Paid lets you know, and on Business it builds a step-by-step pack for HM Courts & Tribunals Service's Money Claim Online:
- claimant and defendant details formatted the way the service asks for them;
- particulars of claim written for you and kept within the 1,080-character limit;
- the interest basis, rate, start date, amount to date and daily rate;
- the court fee for your claim, from the current fee table;
- a checklist before you file, and what happens after.
On Solo, or without a plan, we email you that the next step is a county court claim at Money Claim Online, which you can make yourself, and that Business builds the pack for you.
Court fees for money claims
The fee is based on the total you claim, including interest.
| Amount claimed | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 |
| £10,000.01 to £200,000 | 5% of the claim |
Source: GOV.UK Civil court fees (EX50), updated 13 July 2026, checked 7 October 2026. Money Claim Online accepts claims up to £99,999.99.
DP-0042Ready when you are
Let the polite persistence begin.
Solo and Business both start with 14 days free, and your first reminder can go out on the next working morning.
- Payable to
- Your business
- Reminders
- Working days only
- Legal steps
- Only with your say-so
- Our cut
- £0.00
