First a reminder, then a formal notice, then costs and interest. Consumers are protected by stricter rules than businesses.
In short
If a client does not pay your invoice, first send a payment reminder a few days after the payment term. If you agreed no term with a business, the statutory term is 30 days; between businesses 60 days is the maximum, unless you can show that a longer term harms nobody. If a business pays late, you are entitled to at least € 40 in collection costs and to statutory commercial interest: 10.4% a year since 1 July 2026. If your client is a consumer, you must first send a free formal notice giving 14 days to pay; only after that may you charge collection costs, and the statutory interest is then 4%. Collection costs follow a statutory scale: 15% of the first € 2,500, decreasing to at most € 6,775. An invoice to a business becomes time-barred five years after the payment term.
The essentials
Payment term
Nothing agreed with a business: 30 days. At most 60 days between businesses. For consumers you set a reasonable term yourself.
Collection costs
On a scale: 15% of the first € 2,500, 10% of the next € 2,500, 5% of the next € 5,000; never less than € 40 and at most € 6,775.
Statutory interest
Businesses and government: 10.4% a year (since 1 July 2026). Consumers: 4% (since 1 January 2026).
Consumer
First a free formal notice giving 14 days to pay, counted from the day after receipt. Only then collection costs.
Limitation
Invoice to a business: 5 years after the payment term. To a consumer: 2 years, 5 years for services. A written reminder before then restarts the period.
Example: a € 3,500 invoice to a business, 60 days late
You invoice a business client € 3,500 and agree no payment term. After the term nothing happens; in the end he pays 60 days late. The invoice amount is made up; the scale and the rates are those of the Dutch government.
Example: a € 3,500 invoice to a business, 60 days late
Payment term
Nothing agreed: 30 days, by law
Collection costs
15% of the first € 2,500 = € 375, plus 10% of the next € 1,000 = € 100: € 475 in total
Statutory commercial interest
10.4% a year on € 3,500, 60 days: about € 60
What you may claim
€ 3,500 + € 475 + about € 60 = about € 4,035. Commercial interest runs from the day after the payment term
The same invoice to a consumer
First a free formal notice with 14 days to pay; only then collection costs, and the statutory interest is 4%
What follows: with a business client the law is on your side, but you only get what you ask for. State on your invoice that you charge statutory interest and collection costs once the due date passes; then there is no discussion afterwards. In booxx you see per invoice what is still open and which reminders have already been sent.
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First call, then remind
Ondernemersplein, the KvK's portal for entrepreneurs, advises starting with a phone call: ask whether the delivery was as expected and whether the invoice is correct. That often shows why the client has not paid. Keep notes of the call.
If nothing happens, send a payment reminder a few days after the payment term. State that you will charge statutory interest if the client still does not pay. A written reminder before the end of the limitation period restarts that period.
Business or consumer: two sets of rules
If your client is a business, you do not have to send a free formal notice first. You can follow the collection procedure in your terms and conditions, and without a contract the statutory rules apply: collection costs according to the scale, with a minimum of € 40, and statutory commercial interest for the days after the payment term.
If your client is a consumer, you must first send a free formal notice: the veertiendagenbrief (fourteen-day letter). It gives the client 14 days to pay, counted from the day after receipt, and states the collection costs that follow if he does not pay. An earlier payment reminder only counts as the fourteen-day letter if it states both the 14 days and the collection costs. Other costs, such as reminder or administration fees, may not be charged on top of the collection costs.
If that does not work
If the client cannot pay in one go, agree a payment arrangement, on paper, with the condition that it ends if he misses an instalment. If that fails too, you can call in a collection agency, a bailiff or a collection lawyer. A collection agency can only ask; a bailiff can seize assets with a court judgment.
If your client is in another EU country, there is the European order for payment procedure: the client gets 30 days to respond, and if he does not, the court enforces payment.
What the software does for you
In booxx you see for every sales invoice what is still open and which reminders have already been sent. You can e-mail a reminder from the invoice, and on a paid subscription you can switch on automatic reminders: they go out 1, 8 and 15 days after the due date, with the invoice attached and a payment QR code for the amount still open. The e-mail is in the language of the invoice.
Those e-mails are reminders without costs: they mention no collection costs or interest. If you want to charge those, send a formal notice yourself that says so, and to a consumer the fourteen-day letter first. The software works in English, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian and Romanian, and you can try it for 90 days without a payment method.
Updated October 2, 2026. General explanation of the Dutch rules, not tax advice — for your own situation, decide together with your accountant or the Dutch Tax Administration.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statutory payment term in the Netherlands?
If you agreed nothing with a business, 30 days. Between businesses 60 days is the maximum, unless a longer term demonstrably harms nobody; large companies must pay SMEs and freelancers within 30 days. For consumers you set a reasonable term yourself.
How much in collection costs may I charge?
According to the statutory scale: 15% of the first € 2,500, 10% of the next € 2,500, 5% of the next € 5,000, 1% of the next € 190,000 and 0.5% above that, never less than € 40 and at most € 6,775. With a consumer only after a free formal notice giving 14 days to pay.
How high is the statutory interest in 2026?
For commercial transactions, with businesses and government, 10.4% a year since 1 July 2026; it runs from the day after the payment term. For consumers 4% since 1 January 2026. State on your invoice that you charge statutory interest, so there is no discussion.
When does an invoice become time-barred?
An invoice to a business becomes time-barred five years after the payment term. To a consumer after two years, and for services after five years. If you remind the client in writing before the end of that period, it starts again.
Create a set of books, send your first invoice and see whether it works for you. The first 90 days are free and no payment method is asked for, so there is nothing to cancel later.