A workable timeline starts escalating 21 days after the due date and leaves 7 days between steps: escalated notice on day 21, payment plan offer on day 28, phone call on day 35, final notice on day 42 and handover on day 49. The start day and the gaps are your call, but starting at least 14 days after the due date gives your normal reminders a fair chance first.
In this article
The short version
- A common timeline starts 21 days after the due date with 7-day gaps.
- That puts the handover on day 49, four weeks after the first escalated notice.
- The fastest setting, a 14-day start with 3-day gaps, hands over on day 26.
- A letter before claim then adds 14 days for a business customer, 30 for an individual.
- In Adfin you set the start day and gaps per collection agent.
What happens before you escalate
An escalation timeline picks up where your normal chasing stops. Before the due date you'd usually send a friendly reminder, then a note on the day and one or two overdue reminders over the following fortnight.
The clock for escalation starts from the due date on the invoice. If you never agreed payment terms with a business customer, an invoice becomes late 30 days after the customer received it or after the work was done, whichever is later. Statutory interest on a business-to-business invoice runs from the day after the due date, or from the day after that 30-day period ends.
Escalation is for the invoices still unpaid once all that has run its course, where the customer hasn't paid, hasn't replied and hasn't raised a problem.
A worked timeline
Here's what a 21-day start with 7-day gaps looks like for an invoice due on 1 December. The dates are just an illustration.
| Day after due date | Date | Step | What the customer receives |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 22 December | Escalated notice | An email from someone more senior, saying the invoice has been passed to them, with a link to pay |
| 28 | 29 December | Payment plan offer | An email offering to spread the balance over instalments |
| 35 | 5 January | Phone call | A call about the invoice, and a payment link if they agree |
| 42 | 12 January | Final notice | A last email saying further steps may follow |
| 49 | 19 January | Handover | The invoice comes back to you to decide the next step, such as a letter before action |
From the first escalated notice to the handover takes four weeks, so you know roughly when a very overdue invoice will either be paid or need a decision from you. This example also runs straight into the Christmas break. You might pause escalations over the holidays for customers you know are closed.
After the handover, the formal process adds its own time. A business customer is usually given 14 days to reply to a letter before claim in a straightforward case, and an individual or sole trader gets 30 days under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. So with this timeline, a court claim is unlikely to start before February.
Faster or slower timelines
You can tighten or loosen the timeline in two places: the start day and the gap between steps.
With the shortest settings, a 14-day start and 3-day gaps, the steps land on days 14, 17, 20, 23 and 26, and the invoice is handed over less than four weeks after it fell due. That pace can suit a large invoice, or a month when cash is tight.
At the other end, a 30-day start with 7-day gaps puts the steps on days 30, 37, 44, 51 and 58. That gives a long-standing client plenty of room to sort things out, and gives your own team time to pick up the phone before the automated call goes out.
As for how often to follow up, a gap of under three days is unlikely to give the customer time to act on the previous message, and more than a week between steps can let the invoice drift. Whichever you choose, apply it consistently, so customers in the same position are treated the same way.
How Adfin runs the timeline for you
Adfin's collection agents can run this timeline for you once you turn on escalations. You choose when escalation starts, from 14 days after the due date, and whether each following step comes 3, 5 or 7 days after the last. Any step can be switched off.
Escalation begins only after a customer hasn't responded to your usual reminders and overdue notices. You get a notification when invoices are escalated, and escalations can be paused for a customer from the customers view. Customers on different collection agents can have different timelines, so a key account doesn't have to follow the same pace as a one-off job.
Common questions
How long should I wait before escalating an overdue invoice? At least 14 days after the due date, so your normal reminders have had time to work. Waiting three weeks also allows for invoices stuck in a customer's approval process.
How often should I follow up on an overdue invoice? Every 3 to 7 days during escalation is a reasonable range, leaving the customer time to act on each message without the invoice going quiet for weeks.
When does an invoice legally become late? On the day after the agreed due date. If you didn't agree terms with a business customer, it's late 30 days after they received the invoice or the goods or services, whichever is later.
When should I send a letter before action? Once your own final notice has passed without payment or a reply. Sending it earlier can feel heavy-handed to a customer who simply needed a phone call.
How long does a customer have to respond to a letter before action? For a business, the courts treat 14 days as reasonable in a straightforward case. Individuals and sole traders get 30 days.
Can I use a different timeline for different customers? Yes. In Adfin, each collection agent has its own escalation settings, so you can put key accounts on a slower timeline, and you can pause escalations for any single customer.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: when a payment becomes late (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/when-a-payment-becomes-late
- Ministry of Justice - Practice Direction: Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct
- Ministry of Justice - Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/protocols/debt-pap.pdf
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
