Summary
- Agree terms, currency and governing law in writing before you invoice. They decide what you can charge and how you can recover it later.
- Chase on their clock. Send reminders so they land in their working hours, and allow for their public holidays.
- Make paying in their currency easy. Local account details or a card payment link remove the most common excuse.
- UK late payment interest can apply, but only if your contract is governed by UK law.
- Escalate in steps. A firm reminder and a call recover most invoices long before you need a lawyer.
Why overseas customers pay late
Most overseas customers who pay late aren’t refusing to pay. The invoice is stuck somewhere in a process built for domestic suppliers.
International transfers take longer. Wise puts overseas payments at 3 to 5 business days, and local bank holidays add to that. A customer who pays on the due date can still look a week late in your bank account.
Then there are timezones. New York is usually 5 hours behind the UK and California 8, while Sydney is up to 11 hours ahead. An email you send at 9am can land in the middle of their night, and sit under a pile of other mail by the time they’re at their desk. Most of Europe is only an hour ahead, so there the bigger risk is a local holiday, not the clock.
And large customers abroad often want supplier set-up done first: bank details on their own form, tax details, a PO number. If any of that is missing, your invoice waits.
Set it up before you send the invoice
Your best leverage comes before the work starts. Put these in writing with the customer.
Payment terms. State the due date in days and as a date on every invoice. Don’t assume they read “30 days” the way you do.
Currency. Decide whether you invoice in pounds or in their currency. If you invoice in pounds, the exchange rate risk sits with them, which they may push back on. If you invoice in their currency, it sits with you, so agree who covers transfer fees too.
Governing law. Your contract should say which country’s law applies and where disputes are heard. This one clause decides whether you can claim UK statutory late payment interest (more on that below).
Supplier set-up. Ask early what their payables team needs from a new overseas supplier, and send it before the first invoice, not after the first reminder.
Purchase order numbers. If they use POs, get the number onto the invoice before it goes out. Here’s how to get a PO number before the invoice is due.
Chase on their clock
The same reminder works better when it arrives at the right time. Aim for mid-morning in the customer’s time zone. That’s mid-afternoon in the UK for the US east coast, early evening for the west coast, and late at night for Australia.
Watch the dates too. Their public holidays don’t line up with UK bank holidays. Thanksgiving in the US and the August break in much of Europe are the obvious ones, and a reminder sent then will sit unread.
Keep the sequence simple. A friendly note before the due date, one on the day, and a firmer one a week later. Trove’s data shows two reminders bring in about 75% of the invoices that get paid. After the second, pick up the phone at a time they’re at their desk.
If you have several overseas customers, give each country or region its own reminder workflow rather than chasing them on your UK schedule. Here’s how to vary invoice reminders by customer location in Xero.
Make it easy to pay in their currency
Every step between “approved” and “paid” is a chance for the invoice to stall. Remove as many as you can.
- Local account details. A multi-currency account can give you local bank details in your customer’s country, so they pay you like a domestic supplier. Wise Business offers this, and other providers do too.
- A payment link. A card or bank payment link on the invoice and in every reminder means they can pay in two minutes. If you use Stripe, here’s how invoice chasing works for Stripe users.
- The full amount. Say clearly who pays transfer fees, so you don’t end up chasing a short payment.
Does UK late payment law apply to an overseas customer?
It can. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you charge statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation, on late business invoices. It applies to contracts governed by UK law.
That’s why the governing law clause matters. If your contract is governed by the law of England and Wales (or Scotland or Northern Ireland), the Act can apply even though your customer is abroad. Section 12 only switches it off where you chose UK law but the contract has no significant connection to the UK, which won’t usually be true for a UK business supplying an overseas customer.
Getting interest awarded is one thing. Collecting it from a company abroad is another. Allianz Trade points out that the Act “is not a universally accepted law” outside the UK, so treat interest as leverage in your reminders, not money in the bank. Take advice from a solicitor with export experience before you rely on it.
For how the charges work, see our full guide to late payment fees in the UK and whether late payment charges are legal.
When reminders stop working
Escalate in steps, and keep the relationship in mind if you want to work with them again.
- Call, then email a summary. Ask what’s holding it up. Often it’s a missing form or a PO.
- Send a statement showing everything outstanding, with the interest you’re entitled to charge if your contract allows it.
- Send a letter before action. It sets a final deadline and shows you’re serious.
- Use a collection agency that works in the customer’s country, or take legal advice. Wise notes debt collectors take around 25% of the amount owed, and suing across borders costs more again. Here’s how credit control software compares with a debt collection agency.
What to look for in a platform for chasing overseas invoices
If you chase more than a handful of overseas customers, doing it manually in your UK working day gets messy. Here’s what to check in any credit control platform.
| You need | Check that the platform |
|---|---|
| Reminders in their working hours | Lets you set schedules per customer group or region |
| Different rules by country | Can put customers in each country or region in their own workflow with their own wording and owner |
| Invoices in other currencies | Chases each invoice in the currency it was raised in |
| Emails that get read | Sends from your own email address, so replies come back to you |
| Accurate balances | Syncs with your accounting software, so you never chase a paid invoice |
| Easy payment | Puts your payment link or account details in every reminder |
| Leverage when it’s late | Can add statutory late fees and send a letter before action |
| Help when reminders run out | Can escalate internationally, connecting you to a local debt collection agency in your customer’s country |
Trove covers these needs:
- Workflows by country or region. Trove reads the address from your accounting software, so overseas customers can sit in their own workflows with their own timing, wording and owner. One Trove customer runs a separate workflow per US state, each owned by a different team member.
- Your own email address. Reminders go from you, so replies come back to you.
- A payment link in every reminder. Your customer can pay as soon as they read it.
- Late fees and letters before action. Trove can add statutory late fees and draft a letter before action when you need one.
- International escalation. If reminders don’t work, Trove can connect you to a local debt collection agency in your customer’s country, so you don’t have to find one yourself.
For a wider comparison of tools and prices, see our guide to credit control software.
Frequently asked questions
Should I invoice an overseas customer in their currency or in pounds?
Their currency is easier for them to approve and pay, which usually means faster payment. Pounds protect you from exchange rate moves. Many UK businesses invoice in their customer’s currency and hold a local account to receive it.
Can I charge late payment interest to an overseas company?
Yes, if your contract is governed by UK law. Collecting it is harder than charging it, so get advice before you rely on it.
What time should I send reminders to overseas customers?
Mid-morning in their time zone. Most of the year, that’s about 2pm to 3pm UK time for New York, 5pm to 6pm for California and around 9am for Paris or Berlin.
Do I need a lawyer in their country to recover an unpaid invoice?
Not usually. Most late overseas invoices are stuck in process, not disputed. Clear terms, well-timed reminders, a call and a letter before action recover most of them. Take legal advice if the customer disputes the debt or stops replying.
Trove runs a free 30-day trial and takes about five minutes to connect to Xero. You can start a free trial here or book a demo if you’d like to see how it handles your overseas customers first.
