You can chase recruitment invoices in stages: reminders around the due date, then a statement and a call from whoever owns the client, then a formal demand, with court kept for amounts that justify the cost. Because every client is a business, statutory interest and fixed compensation are due from the day after the payment date, without a reminder. You'll also want to decide in advance who makes the call and how far behind a client can fall before you stop supplying temps.
In this article
The short version
- Placement fees often stall in approval, while temp invoices quietly pile up.
- A set chasing sequence means nobody decides invoice by invoice.
- Statutory interest and fixed compensation apply without sending a reminder.
- A limit in your terms of business helps decide when to pause supply.
- Unpaid invoices go to the District Court up to €15,000, not Small Claims.
Placement fees and temp invoices go overdue differently
When one of your placement fees goes unpaid, it's often stuck in the client's process, not refused outright. The hiring manager may not have approved it, it may be missing a purchase order, or it may be sitting with an accounts team that doesn't know the candidate has started.
Temp invoices go wrong more quietly, because a client a few weeks behind can owe you several small invoices at once, none large enough on its own to prompt a call. The total grows while you keep paying your temps every week.
That difference changes your first move on each. For a placement fee, find out where the invoice is stuck and who can release it. For temp invoices, look at the client's account as a whole and send a statement, so they can clear every open invoice in one payment.
A chasing sequence for every client
If you agree a sequence in advance, nobody in your agency has to decide, invoice by invoice, whether it's time to chase. The timings below are a starting point to adjust to your terms of business.
- Send a short reminder a few days before the due date, giving the amount, the purchase order number and a link to pay. On a placement fee, use this point to confirm the invoice has reached whoever approves it.
- On the due date, send a second reminder. Clients on weekly temp invoices get a statement with it.
- About a week later, send a firmer message that names the amount and the days overdue, and mentions that statutory interest applies under your terms.
- About two weeks after the due date, the consultant or account owner calls the client contact they deal with.
- After a further period you've set, send a formal demand, covered in the last section.
To see what statutory interest adds, take one of your placement fees of €7,500, paid 40 days late. At 10.4% a year, the rate from 1 July 2026 (it's reset every 1 January and 1 July), interest comes to €85.48 (€7,500 × 10.4% × 40 ÷ 365), and fixed compensation on an invoice over €1,000 and up to €10,000 is €70.
Adfin's Essential credit control is free under fair use and covers the reminder and statement steps, with unlimited reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, Xero or QuickBooks sync and an aged debtors view where each client has an owner and next steps. With Enhanced, at 0.3% per paid invoice and only when it's used, Adfin's collection agents decide when and how firmly each client is reminded, within rules the agency approves. The same level adds statutory interest to client invoices once they're overdue, with grace periods and the option to waive it for a particular client, and its emails go out from your own address.
Who chases, and when to stop supplying
Consultants can worry that chasing a fee will cost them the next role with that client. Splitting the work helps, with accounts sending the routine reminders in the agency's name and the consultant calling only once a fee passes a point you've agreed. The client hears about money from the process first and from the relationship second, and the consultant's call is likely to carry more weight because it comes later.
Temp supply is the harder decision, because every week you keep supplying a client who's behind adds another invoice you've already paid wages for. Setting a limit in your terms of business, such as how many weeks an account can fall behind before new assignments pause, gives you an agreed rule to point to, so you aren't making the call under pressure.
You can also cut the number of temp invoices that need chasing. Collecting them by SEPA direct debit means each one is taken on its due date once the client has signed a mandate, and through Adfin each collection of up to €2,000 costs at most €2.20 (card payments aren't capped).
Formal steps if the invoice stays unpaid
If reminders and calls haven't worked, a 7-day demand letter before legal proceedings is usual practice, though it isn't always a legal requirement. It can set out the invoice, the statutory interest and the compensation you're claiming.
Small Claims isn't available for unpaid invoices, since debts are excluded from it. Court depends on the amount, with the District Court hearing claims up to €15,000, the Circuit Court up to €75,000 and the High Court anything above that. On top of fixed compensation, S.I. 580 of 2012 lets you claim reasonable recovery costs, which can include a solicitor's or a debt collection agency's fees.
Before you start, weigh the amount against the time and cost involved, and against whether you want to place candidates with that client again.
Common questions
When should an agency start chasing a placement fee? Before it's due, by checking the invoice has reached whoever approves it and carries the right purchase order number. A reminder a few days before the due date is a natural point to do that.
How much interest can I add to an overdue recruitment invoice? Statutory interest runs at 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026, from the day after the payment date, plus fixed compensation of €40, €70 or €100 depending on the invoice amount. You're entitled to both without sending a reminder.
Can I use Small Claims for an unpaid recruitment invoice? Small Claims can't be used, because debt claims such as unpaid invoices are excluded from it. For an amount up to €15,000, the District Court is the starting point.
Do I have to send a demand letter before going to court? A 7-day demand letter is usual practice before legal proceedings, but it isn't always a legal requirement. Sending one gives the client a last clear chance to pay.
Should I stop supplying temps to a client who hasn't paid? That's a commercial decision, and it's easier to make if your terms of business set the limit in advance. You're then following an agreed rule when you pause new assignments.
Can I add debt collection costs to my claim? On business debts, S.I. 580 of 2012 lets you claim reasonable recovery costs above the fixed compensation, which can include a debt collection agency's or a solicitor's fees.
Sources
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 580 of 2012, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/580/made/en/print
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Late payment interest rate (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/late-payment-interest-rate-
- Citizens Information - Court proceedings for recovering debts (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/personal-finance/debt/court-procedures/
- Courts Service - About small claims (accurate as of November 2026) https://courts.ie/guides/about-small-claim
- Courts Service - About the District Court (accurate as of November 2026) https://procedures.courts.ie/guides/about-the-district-court
