Writing a payment reminder: deadlines, interest and fees

When does default begin?

If your customer does not pay on the agreed date and you have sent a reminder, they are in default (section 286 BGB). If the invoice states a payment due date you do not need a reminder once it has passed. Without a due date a business customer is in default at the latest 30 days after receiving the invoice. For consumers that only applies if the invoice points it out.

What you may claim

• Default interest: 9 percentage points above the base rate in business-to-business transactions, 5 percentage points against consumers (section 288 BGB). The Bundesbank base rate changes on 1 January and 1 July.
• Flat fee: 40 euros against businesses, once per claim (section 288 (5) BGB)
• actual costs of enforcement such as legal fees, where they were necessary
• Reminder fees are only permissible up to the amount that covers actual costs. A first friendly reminder is best free of charge.

Reminder levels

• Payment reminder: friendly, no fee, with a new short deadline of about seven days
• First reminder: names the claim, the interest and the flat fee, deadline of seven to ten days
• Second or final reminder: announces what happens next, for example court dunning proceedings or handing over to a lawyer

What a reminder contains

• invoice number, invoice date and original due date
• outstanding amount and the new payment deadline as a date
• interest and flat fee, each shown separately
• your bank details and a note that payment and reminder may have crossed

How Saldiqo helps

Saldiqo shows which invoices are ready for a reminder, proposes the next level, calculates interest and the flat fee and sends the reminder by email with the invoice attached. You can snooze a reminder for seven, fourteen or thirty days, for example when a customer has announced a payment.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a reminder to claim interest?

Not always. With a due date on the invoice default begins when the date has passed. Without one it begins after 30 days. A reminder creates clarity.

How high is default interest?

9 percentage points above the Bundesbank base rate against businesses, 5 percentage points against consumers.

May I charge reminder fees?

Only in the amount of actual costs. Flat fees above that can be challenged.

How many reminders are needed?

The law does not prescribe a number. A reminder and two dunning letters are common.

What comes after the final reminder?

For example court dunning proceedings or a collection agency. It is best to take legal advice for that.

More guides

• E-invoicing in Germany: obligation, formats and deadlines
• The EÜR (cash-basis profit calculation) explained simply
• GoBD for self-employed people: the essentials
• Invoicing as a small business: how to do it right
• Writing an invoice: the mandatory details under section 14 UStG
• Assigning invoice numbers correctly
• XRechnung or ZUGFeRD: what is the difference?