No time to chase payments
You are working on the next project instead of writing payment reminders and chasing your money by phone. Alongside client work there is simply no time for a reminder process of your own.
Licensed in Austria · Registered in Germany
Debt collection for freelancers. Prepare unpaid fees for handover.
Project completed, fee unpaid? Connect the engagement, work delivered and invoice balance in one reviewable file. incaseof.law regularly accepts due, undisputed claims with documented payment default.
Prefer to talk? Request a call back
For freelancers, SMEs, property managers, trades and law firms.
State-licensed debt collection institute
Registration
Your account for submitting claims.
Register in the customer portal. Add your company details and submit your outstanding claims there.
Already registered? Log in to the customer portal
Make the agreed scope of work clear
Creative, advisory and technical projects can combine very different obligations in one invoice. Establish whether the agreement concerned a specific result, ongoing activity or a block of hours. Keep the offer, instruction, scope and subsequent changes together.
Add appropriate evidence such as approved drafts, handover records, activity reports or agreed time records. Sending a download link does not automatically prove that every contractual obligation was completed. What matters is the work actually owed and the agreed requirements for payment.
Which amount is genuinely outstanding?
Allocate stage payments and credit notes to the project. In a continuing relationship, do not confuse unpaid older invoices with new work that is not yet due. Interest and costs remain separate items. A clear balance sheet helps both your own assessment and a later handover.
What if the customer requests further changes?
Distinguish an additional instruction from a complaint about work already owed. Record both with dates and responses. A disputed claim needs specific clarification and, where appropriate, legal support. Digital handover does not resolve a disagreement over performance.
Documents ready? Here is the next step.
Check the claim and balance, record objections and identify the relevant jurisdiction. Acceptance and cooperation follow our terms.
Germany: payment becoming due under a contract for work. Always assess the specific contract.
When the fee does not arrive
Your client is not paying your invoice
You have delivered, the work has been signed off, and still the fee does not arrive. As a solo self-employed person, one open invoice hits you in three places at once.
Liquidity that is missing right now
Without a finance department, every open invoice is felt immediately. The money is missing for rent, materials and the next tax prepayment, while you wait for an amount you are owed.
The bad feeling when following up
You do not want to lose the client and you avoid the conflict. So you ask cautiously instead of insisting clearly on payment, and you keep waiting.
In short
Can I instruct debt collection as a freelancer, and from what amount?
Project completed, fee unpaid? Connect the engagement, work delivered and invoice balance in one reviewable file. incaseof.law regularly accepts due, undisputed claims with documented payment default.
Basis: acceptance requirements and services under the terms.
Our partnerships
Freelancers, SMEs, property managers, trades and law firms hand over their outstanding claims to us.
We support our partners in debt collection, from single outstanding invoices through to direct integrations into existing systems via API.
On Google
4.9 out of 5
And many more. See all partners and references
How handover works
Hand over in a few minutes, under the agreed terms
If payment does not arrive, check your documents, the due date and default. Handing over an undisputed claim can then be the right next step.
1
Upload the invoice
Upload the open invoice digitally, no form marathon. The claim is handed over in a few minutes, under the terms.
In about 3 minutes
Automatic analysis
Amount1,800 €
Overdue60 days
Clientidentified
2
We collect
We initially handle the accepted instruction out of court. Court proceedings, required representation and additional costs need separate clarification.
Checked in seconds
Escalated firmly
Dispatch
Payment requestdelivered
1st reminderdelivered
Final reminderdelivered
3
Money to your account
Received payments are settled in the agreed order. Follow the case in the customer portal. Understand partial payments and payouts.
Paid out in full
€
Client
Incoming payment
Your account+1,800 €
Take a few minutes online to submit your claim and leave the rest to us.
Your case, concretely
An example: EUR 1,800 in fees, put off for 60 days
A freelance designer issues an invoice for EUR 1,800 after finishing a project. The client confirms receipt but has been putting her off until next week for 60 days, and her own reminders go unanswered. She hands the claim to incaseof.law, which takes it through every stage, from the payment request and the court order to enforcement.
- No more chasing payments by phone yourself. We get your fee.
- No success commission on recovered principal. Conditions and cost consequences under the terms apply.
- Small invoices are worth it too. The effort for you stays equally low.
Invoice #F-2087
Overdue for 60 days · freelance project
1,800.00 €
Out-of-court payment requestOptional: Letter from the partner law firm with a payment deadline
Active
Court orderAccelerated via electronic legal communication
If needed
EnforcementFinal step, subject to separate assessment
If needed
Payout to your account
100% of the fee, no deductions for you
+1,800.00 €
Illustrative example. Aggregated network data, as at 2026.
Time and nerves
What does chasing payments cost you in time?
As a one-person business, chasing payments mainly costs you evenings: drafting the reminder, keeping deadlines in your head, calling, being put off, calling again. With incaseof.law you hand over the fee note in around 3 minutes; after that the demand, the deadlines and the escalation run without you. You can see the status in the portal at any time.
| What comes up | If you chase it yourself | If incaseof.law takes over |
|---|---|---|
| Payment reminder | Every reminder drafted by you, usually in the evening after the project. | Upload the fee note, hand it over in around 3 minutes. |
| Follow-up calls | You have the awkward conversation yourself, often more than once. | The demand for payment comes from a licensed institute. |
| Deadlines and escalation | You have to know yourself when the next step is due. | Deadlines and escalation run through incaseof.law, out of court and, if necessary, in court. |
| Overview | Sticky notes, calendar and mail folder. | The status of your claim is in the portal at any time. |
| Questions from your client | You are your client's only point of contact. | You arrange a call back, incaseof.law handles the correspondence. |
Table scrolls sideways
What that adds up to: clients of incaseof.law spend around 70% less time on their outstanding invoices. For a one-person business those are the evenings you spend working or off, instead of chasing payments. If you do not want to wait any longer, you can hand the fee note over digitally.
Time saved: internal analysis by incaseof.law, as of 2026.
What it costs
No job is too small
If fully recovered, principal is paid out without a success commission. Interest and collection costs remunerate the service under the terms. Court, legal and transmission costs, and obligations on direct payments or cancellation, need separate consideration. Payment or full reimbursement is not guaranteed. Read the terms.
- Principal claim. What your client owes goes to your account in full after successful recovery, without deduction.
- Default costs. The costs of the default are borne by the late-paying client, not by you. In Austria a dedicated regulation sets the maximum rates.
- You hand over individual cases under our terms. Acceptance requirements apply regardless of the claim amount.
- Timing. As soon as your client is in default you can submit. Your own reminder helps, but is not a precondition.
- Payout. After successful recovery we pay out. How long this takes depends on the debtor; you can follow the status in the customer portal.
Engagement under the terms, no minimum volume. No costs from incaseof.law, even if the debtor doesn’t pay. Court fees and, in Austria, MANZ transmission fees only arise once you approve court proceedings.
Costs and terms, as of August 2026
How much capital is tied up as open receivables in Austrian companies is shown by the incaseof.law study 2026 (n=149,916): around EUR 194.9 billion.
Further reading
- Debt collection costs in detailWhich costs arise, who bears them and what lands in your account.
- Unpaid invoiceThe route when an invoice stays open despite the deadline.
- Customer not payingWhat you can do from the first day of default.
- How debt collection works in AustriaWhat happens after the handover, step by step.
- Late payment interest in AustriaWhat you are entitled to when a client is in default, with a worked example.
- If a collection claim goes unpaidWhat happens on the debtor's side once the demand arrives.
Working in a different setting? incaseof.law also offers debt collection for SMEs, for law firms and for property managers, with an overview in the use case list. Related topics: customer not paying and unpaid invoice.
Real reviews
What clients write about working with us.
Very trustworthy partners who are a pleasure to work with. An absolute recommendation!
Extremely satisfied and very good support!
Named Rising Star at the EY Scale-up Award for the second year running, in the FinTech and InsurTech category. Read the blog article
Internal analysis by incaseof.law, as of 2026.
Law, money and peace of mind, from one source
One solution that secures three things: your rights, your money and your peace of mind.
incaseof.law is a debt collection institute licensed in Austria and registered in Germany. You hand over your open claim digitally, we get the money.
Law
Licence and registration
Licensed in Austria and registered in the German Legal Services Register. The terms set out the scope and conditions of an engagement.
Money
No success commission on recovered principal. Conditions and cost consequences under the terms apply.
We keep no share of your principal claim. What your client owes belongs in full in your account after successful collection.
Peace of mind
Digital, you take care of nothing
Upload the claim, we take over the rest. The entire collection runs through the connector and electronic legal communication.
Start now
Your fee belongs in your account. Let us get started.
Register to submit your claim, or contact us first if you have any questions.
Frequently asked
Questions from freelancers about unpaid fees.
From small amounts and the client relationship to private claims. Your question is not here? We answer personally.
Contact usPrepare the invoice, contract or order, evidence of performance, payment history and correspondence. The preparation section explains the industry-specific records.
For due, undisputed claims. If the debtor raises a substantiated objection, we can put you in touch with our partner lawyers on request. A blanket denial without reasons is not enough; we continue to pursue such claims. If the debtor raises a substantiated objection only during collection, we inform you and you decide how to proceed.
Each receivable must be identifiable. Agree the appropriate handover method; acceptance requirements apply to every case, including records in a batch submission.
Report the date, amount and allocation promptly through the platform. The terms govern allocation and obligations concerning assigned interest and collection costs.
Duration and outcome are not guaranteed. Evidence, objections, contactability and ability to pay affect the process. Court steps require separate assessment.
If fully recovered, principal is paid out without a success commission. Interest and collection costs remunerate the service under the terms. Court, legal and transmission costs, and obligations on direct payments or cancellation, need separate consideration. Payment or full reimbursement is not guaranteed.
From the guide
Knowledge that protects your liquidity.
Debt collection Vienna: the legal and digital way to get paid
Many companies either reach for the legal sledgehammer or do nothing at all. A digital debt collection institute solves the problem before it reaches court.
Read more
Receivables management: Austria and Germany compared
Regulatory frameworks and cost structures in receivables management, side by side for both markets, so you know what applies where.
Read more
What happens if a debt collection claim is not paid?
Consequences, deadlines and options for action, and why ignoring a claim is the worst choice for everyone involved.
Read moreSources and legal basis
- § 1333 ABGB (Austrian Civil Code), default interest
- Regulation on the maximum fees payable to debt collection institutes, BGBl. No. 141/1996
- § 118 GewO 1994 (Austrian Trade Act), debt collection institutes
- German Legal Services Register, BfJ, reg. no. 2024 0000 8388
- GISA, Austrian business register, GISA 32140156
- WKO, Association of Commercial Service Providers
Modern payment solutions for more liquidity.
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Liquidity trend
Example
Schematic illustration
rising