Debt collection guides for businesses that are waiting to get paid.
Expert articles on debt collection, dunning, default interest and limitation periods in Austria and Germany. Written by incaseof.law, the debt collection institute authorised in both markets.
For freelancers, SMEs, property managers, trades and law firms.
In short
What is in the debt collection guide from incaseof.law?
This is where incaseof.law collects the debt collection knowledge from its daily work with outstanding claims. The guide is written for companies that have delivered and are waiting to be paid, not for lawyers, and every article names the legal sources it relies on. If you would rather hand the invoice over now: submit a claim explains the handover, debt collection costs answers the cost question, and how debt collection works shows the three steps.
Our guides bring together 29 articles on debt collection, payment reminders, legal procedures and receivables management in Austria and Germany. Each article names its author, sources and jurisdiction.
29 guides covering Austria and Germany. Publication and update dates are shown on each article.
Start here
The two guides most creditors read first.
They answer the questions that come up most often in Austria and Germany: how a debt collection procedure actually runs, and what happens when a collection claim is ignored. If a case is acute right now, the immediate steps are set out under customer not paying.
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Enter the invoice details, review your letter and download Word or PDF for free. No registration, with guidance for Austria and Germany.
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29 articles on debt collection and unpaid invoices in Austria and Germany, including one written for debtors. Browse by topic or publication date. Technical terms are explained in the glossary.
Invoice limitation on 31 December 2026: what becomes time-barred and what to do before New Year
German limitation on 31.12.2026: which 2023 invoices become time-barred, what really stops the clock and your plan for November and December.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Final invoice unpaid: what trades businesses should do now when the customer will not pay
Final invoice not paid? When it falls due in Austria, how to handle defect complaints and retentions, and which documents a handover needs.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Reminder fees in Germany and Austria: how much are you allowed to charge?
Reminder fees in Germany and Austria: what you may charge per reminder, when the 40-euro lump sum applies and where the legal limits are.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Small invoices, big hassle: is debt collection worth it for small amounts?
Debt collection for small amounts in Germany: there is no minimum. What the debtor pays, what dunning costs you and when a handover makes sense.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Filing a payment-order claim (Mahnklage) in Austria: form, required details and checklist
Filing a payment-order claim in Austria: the JustizOnline form, all required details as a checklist, competent court, court fee and payment order.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Payment terms on the invoice: what to state, what applies and when the customer is in default
Setting payment terms on invoices in Germany: usual periods, “payable within 14 days”, default, legal limits, cash discounts and wording that works.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Applying for a court payment order online in Germany: process, costs and the collection alternative
Applying for a German court payment order online: three routes via online-mahnantrag.de, the competent court, fees from 38 euros, deadlines and collection.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Payment reminder or formal demand: difference, deadlines and templates for Germany and Austria
Payment reminder or formal demand? The difference lies in the effect, not the name. Deadlines, tone and templates for Germany and Austria.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Instructing a collection agency online: how the handover works for businesses
Instructing debt collection online in Germany: requirements, documents, registering in the client portal, costs and what happens after the handover.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Final payment reminder ignored: your next step in Germany
Reminder ignored? Check whether your customer is in default, skip the third reminder and choose between a collection agency and a court payment order.
Stephan Holzbach Read more
Payment-order claims in Austria: process, deadlines and costs
When you really need the order for payment, what it costs and how the procedure is going on.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
EY Scale-up Award 2026: Rising Star
Rising Star at the EY Scale-up Award for the second time in a row.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Limitation periods for claims in Germany
If the limitation period expires, your customer may permanently refuse payment.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Court payment-order proceedings in Germany
The way to the enforceable title when reminders no longer help.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Calculating late-payment interest in Germany: a B2B guide
So high are the late-payment interest in business transactions, with calculation example.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Writing a payment reminder in Germany: templates and deadlines
Reminder stages, deadlines and two templates to copy.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Customer not paying? What businesses can do next
81 percent of German companies are struggling with late payment.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
The technology partnership between ibana and incaseof.law
In the future, receivables management will be directly out of the ibana platform.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Unpaid B2B invoices: seven strategies to reduce payment defaults
40 percent of all B2B invoices in Austria are too late.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Calculating late-payment interest in Austria: a B2B guide
From when interest is incurred and how you calculate it correctly in the B2B.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Debt collection without a prior payment reminder
No duty of reminder in Austria, but delay is a prerequisite.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Debt collection in Vienna: how to recover your money
How collection works in Vienna and what it costs you as a creditor.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Payment reminders before debt collection in Austria
There is no legal requirement to send a reminder before instructing a debt collection agency.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
Debt collection in Vienna: a legally compliant, digital approach
A modern digital debt collection agency like incaseof.law solves problems before they land in court.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
AI in debt collection: where it helps and where people decide
Where AI reads documents at incaseof.law, where fixed rules apply and where the team decides.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
receivables management: a comparison Austria & Germany
Legal framework and cost structures in Austria and Germany.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
What happens if I don't pay for collection?
Consequences, deadlines and options for action for those concerned.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
How does debt collection in Austria work?
From out-of-court payment reminder to digital enforcement.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read more
The Austrian Supreme Court decision on incaseof.law
The Supreme Court decision on aspects of the platform in 2023.
Dr. Maximilian Kindler, LL.M., MBA Read moreGet started
Your money belongs in your account. Let us begin.
You have read how it works. Once the invoice is already overdue, another article will not help: hand the claim over to incaseof.law.
Your next step
Hand over an overdue claim in a few minutes.
You submit the invoice online and incaseof.law handles the collection as a debt collection institute licensed in Austria and registered in Germany: out of court first, with court steps only after your approval.
Start debt collectionSources and legal basis
- § 1333 ABGB, default interest
- Ordinance on maximum fees for debt collection institutes, BGBl. No. 141/1996
- § 118 GewO 1994, debt collection institutes
- German Legal Services Register, BfJ, reg. no. 2024 0000 8388
- GISA, Austrian Business Information System, GISA 32140156
- WKO, Association of Commercial Service Providers