Get your customers to pay on time

Getting customers to pay your invoices on time is an essential part of good debtor management. How do you do that? Use the checklist in the article ‘How to get from quotation to payment’ and follow the tips below.

1. Find out more about your customers

Check out your client before going into business with them. This way, you can prevent surprises later on and reduce the risk of a customer not paying.

Check a business

Check the KVK Business Register. There you can see who is authorised to sign and check if there has been a bankruptcy or suspension of payments. Credit rating agencies provide credit information about businesses.

Check a consumer

If you mainly work for consumers, you can ask for a personal credit check (eigen inzage) from the Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR, in Dutch).  An ‘Eigen Inzage’ does not provide a full view of the customer’s financial situation, but it can show whether a person has any current loans or payment duties.

2. Agree on payment term

The payment term is the period within which your customer must pay the total amount of the invoice. Always agree on the payment term in advance, before delivering your product or providing your service. Mention the payment term in your general terms and conditions, in your quote, in the contract, and on your final invoice.

Statutory payment terms

The applicable payment term depends on your customer:

• Consumers

There is no statutory payment term for consumers. You set the term yourself, but it must be reasonable.

• Businesses

A payment term of 30 days is standard. The maximum statutory payment term for businesses is 60 days, unless otherwise agreed.

• Large firms

If you are a sole trader or run an SME and trade with a large firm, that is, a firm with more than 250 staff, a legal payment term of 30 days applies.

• Public (governmental) organisations

Public organisations must pay bills within 30 days.

3. Ask for a deposit

A deposit means you receive part of the amount in advance. This provides greater certainty that the customer intends to proceed with the order and will pay.

• For products you may require consumers to pay up to 50% of the purchase price in advance.
• For services there there is no legal maximum.

You agree the amount of the deposit with your customer. Always include any agreements regarding a deposit in your general terms and conditions.

5. Invoice quick en clear

Ideally, send the invoice right after you deliver a product or give a service. The sooner you send the invoice, the more likely your customer is to pay on time. Send the invoice no later than the fifteenth day of the month after the month in which you delivered the product or gave the service. For example, if you deliver on 20 October 2024, you should send the invoice by 15 November 2024 at the latest.
Make it as easy as possible for the customer to pay. This increases the chance of quick payment. Consider sending a payment request via your banking app or an e-invoice. Also, ask which payment method your customer prefers. You could also offer a discount or an extra product to customers who pay quickly.

Protect yourself with ‘retention of title’

Do you deliver products? Retention of title (eigendomsvoorbehoud) means that you remain the owner of the delivered product until your customer has paid. If your customer does not pay, you can take back the products. You state the retention of title in your general terms and conditions.

What if your customer does not pay?

If a customer does not pay within the agreed time, please contact them first. Sometimes an invoice has been forgotten or lost. If your customer does not pay within a few days, send a payment reminder. If that does not help either, you can take further steps, such as issuing a formal demand for payment or starting debt recovery proceedings.