Free tools and guides for getting paid
Everything on this page is free, and most of it is useful before you ever speak to an agency. Work out exactly what you’re owed, send a letter that gets taken seriously, read up on your options - and when you’re ready, compare vetted recovery agencies on merit rather than marketing.
Free tools
Late-payment calculator & letter generator
Enter the invoice amount and due date and it works out the statutory interest (8% plus the Bank of England base rate, dated correctly to the six-monthly reference periods) and the fixed £40/£70/£100 compensation - then turns your figures into a ready-to-send letter before action. No sign-up.
Open the calculator →Embed the calculator on your site
Accountant, bookkeeper or trade body? One copy-paste snippet puts the calculator on your own website, and we maintain the rate table so it never goes out of date.
Get the widget →Guides
Plain-English reads on chasing what you’re owed - no jargon, no hype, and honest about when each route isn’t worth it.
Choosing the right debt collection agency: a creditor’s guide
The full decision journey - when an agency is the right tool, how the market charges, the regulation to check and how to instruct.
Read →Debtor threatening a counterclaim? What it means and what to do
How to tell bluff from substance, what filing one actually costs the debtor, and how to protect your position.
Read →How much interest and compensation can you charge on a late invoice?
The statutory interest and fixed compensation you can legally add to an overdue commercial invoice - and how to work it out.
Read →How long can you chase an unpaid invoice? UK time limits explained
Six years in England and Wales, five in Scotland: what resets the clock, what doesn’t, and why acting early matters.
Read →Small business debt recovery: how to get paid, step by step
The escalation ladder from polite reminder to court and enforcement, and when to move up a rung.
Read →Letter before action: what to send before you escalate
What goes in it, the 30-day rules when your debtor is an individual or sole trader, and the free tool that writes one for you.
Read →Debt collection agency vs small claims court
Cost, effort and risk compared honestly, including when court is genuinely the better route.
Read →Debt collection agency fees explained
No-collection-no-fee, commission and fixed fees, and which model tends to suit which debt.
Read →Debt collection agency checklist: five checks before you instruct
The five-minute pre-instruction checklist - fee model, regulation, specialism, communication and the red flags.
Read →Recovering rent arrears: a landlord’s guide
Recovery routes for residential and commercial landlords, including former tenants who’ve moved on.
Read →Compare agencies
Comparing is free for creditors - the agency you choose pays us for the introduction, and no agency can pay to rank.
Compare debt collectors
How the blind comparison works: vetted agencies side by side on fees, specialisms and verified track record, with names hidden until you choose.
See how it works →Browse by debt type and region
Dedicated pages for unpaid invoices, rent arrears, CCJ enforcement and legal action, plus every UK region and nation - with the Scottish and Northern Irish differences flagged where they exist.
Browse the hub →Start a comparison
Tell us about the debt and see only agencies that genuinely take your kind of case.
Compare now →Match me
Answer a few questions and we’ll recommend your single best-fit agency.
Get matched →Understand your options
Debt recovery options
Collection, litigation and enforcement, explained side by side - with what each costs and what the debtor pays.
Read the guide →Rent arrears recovery
What a landlord can actually do in 2026 - the routes for residential and commercial lets after the Renters’ Rights Act.
Read the guide →Key UK debt recovery facts
Current as at August 2026. General information, not legal advice.
- Statutory interest on overdue commercial (business-to-business) invoices in the UK is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
- Late-payment compensation on a commercial invoice is a fixed sum per invoice: £40 where the debt is under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 at £10,000 or more.
- In England and Wales a simple contract debt such as an unpaid invoice can be pursued for six years from when the debt became due (Limitation Act 1980, s.5); in Scotland the obligation is extinguished entirely after five years under prescription rules (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, s.6).
- A written, signed acknowledgment of a debt or a part payment restarts the six-year limitation clock in England and Wales, but once a debt is statute-barred no later acknowledgment or payment can revive it (Limitation Act 1980, ss.29–30).
- Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, a business claiming a debt from an individual or sole trader should send a Letter of Claim enclosing the Information Sheet, Reply Form and a Financial Statement form, with an up-to-date statement of account (or the debt details set out in the letter itself), and allow 30 days for a reply before issuing proceedings.
- Money claims worth £10,000 or less are normally allocated to the small claims track in England and Wales (CPR Part 26), where the winner generally recovers court fees and limited fixed sums but not legal costs (CPR 27.14).
- A County Court Judgment must be for at least £600 - and must not arise from a Consumer Credit Act–regulated agreement - to be transferred to the High Court for enforcement by writ of control; where such a judgment is £5,000 or more, enforcement against the debtor’s goods must go through the High Court, though county court methods such as attachment of earnings, third-party debt orders and charging orders remain available at any value.
- Issuing a writ or warrant of control six or more years after judgment requires the court’s permission (CPR 83.2), and a CCJ stays on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years - unless it is paid in full within one month of judgment, in which case the debtor can have the entry removed entirely on proof of payment.
- Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) requires a written lease of purely commercial premises, at least seven days’ net rent outstanding, and certificated enforcement agents - and since 1 May 2026 the notice of enforcement must give 14 clear days (SI 2026/366).
- In England, Section 21 “no-fault” notices can no longer be served from 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and mandatory possession for rent arrears (Ground 8) now requires three months’ arrears - both when notice is served and at the hearing - with four weeks’ notice.
Our tools and guides are general information for creditors, not legal advice. England and Wales is the default throughout; we flag where Scotland and Northern Ireland differ.