Licensed in Austria · Registered in Germany

Debt collection for trades. Hand over unpaid invoices with clear records.

Job completed, final invoice unpaid? Prepare the agreement, variations, evidence of performance and payment history together. Regular handover to incaseof.law requires a due, undisputed claim and evidence of default.

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For freelancers, SMEs, property managers, trades and law firms.

State-licensed debt collection institute

Registration

Your account for submitting claims.

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Connect the order, variations and stage payments

A final invoice does not always explain a long project on its own. Start with the accepted quotation and add variations with their date, scope and evidence of authorisation. Distinguish the agreement to additional work from proof that it was performed.

Match measurements, job records, delivery documents and handover or acceptance records to the relevant invoice items. The significance of acceptance and the requirements for payment becoming due depend on the contract and applicable law. Similar terminology does not make Austrian and German rules identical.

Account for stage payments once

The final invoice and payment list should show the same position. Stage payments, credit notes and direct payments must neither be claimed again nor deducted twice. Project allocation is particularly important if the same customer has several building projects.

How should you handle a defects complaint?

Pass on the objection together with your response and available evidence. Do not dismiss a complaint as a delaying tactic without assessment. While the claim is disputed, it does not fit a regular instruction for undisputed receivables. Case-specific assessment and any legal support need separate consideration.

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 client does not pay

The final invoice has been open for 90 days

The work is finished, the handover is done, and still no payment arrives. In the trades, an unpaid final invoice hits your business in three places at once.

Material and wages are long since paid

Pipes, tiles and the wages of your fitters left your account long ago. Every open item is money your business has advanced.

The main contractor passes the delay on

As a subcontractor you depend on the payment flow of the site. If the main contractor is waiting for money, 30 days turn into 90.

After the invoice comes the notice of defects

As long as there was nothing to pay, the work was fine. With the invoice come objections that were never an issue before.

In brief

Can a trade business hand an unpaid final invoice to a debt collection institute?

Basis: acceptance requirements and services under the terms.

How the handover works

Hand over in minutes, under our terms and without a sales call

If payment remains outstanding, check documents, the due date and default. Handing over an undisputed claim may then be the appropriate next step.

Upload the final invoice

Upload the unpaid final invoice together with the order confirmation, from your phone on site just as easily as from the office.

In about 3 minutes

Automatic analysis

Amount12,600 € Overdue90 days Clientidentified

We collect

We initially handle the accepted instruction out of court. Court proceedings, required representation and additional costs need separate clarification.

Checked in seconds Consistent escalation

Send

Payment requestdelivered

1st reminderdelivered

Final reminderdelivered

Money in 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+12,600 €

Submit your claim online in a few minutes and leave the rest to incaseof.law.

A case from the building trade

An example: a final invoice of 12,600 euros, third reminder ignored

A plumbing contractor completes the sanitary installation in a housing project, the work is signed off, and the final invoice for 12,600 euros goes to the main contractor. After the down payment the balance stays open, and even the third reminder goes unanswered. The business hands the claim to incaseof.law, which takes it through every stage, from the demand through the court title to enforcement.

No more chasing by phone between two building sites. incaseof.law collects your money.
No success commission on recovered principal. Conditions and cost consequences under the terms apply.
Against a main contractor as well. Companies and private customers take the same route.

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Case file · Illustrative example

Final invoice #S-2412

Overdue for 90 days · sanitary installation

12,600.00 €

Out-of-court demandOptional: Letter from the partner law firm with a payment deadline Active

Court titleAccelerated via electronic legal communication If needed

EnforcementFinal step, fully steered by incaseof.law If needed

Payout to your account

100% of the claim, without deductions for your business

+12,600.00 €

Illustrative example, as of 2026. A case typical of the building trade, not a real individual case.

Special cases in the trades

Notice of defects, part payment, retention money

Three constellations come up again and again with unpaid trade invoices. incaseof.law looks at every case individually before the claim goes into collection.

The notice of defects arrived only with the invoice

For due, undisputed claims. If the debtor raises a substantiated objection, we can put you in touch with our partner lawyers on request.

Only a part payment arrived

If the client pays the down payment only, you hand over the open balance. Part payments already made are credited cleanly.

Retention money is not payment default

Money retained with its own due date is not an overdue claim. incaseof.law only takes on the part of your invoice that is due.

Not sure whether your case belongs here? The most common starting point is simple: the customer does not pay, and the invoice is unpaid. Both take the same route at incaseof.law.

What it costs

What does debt collection cost a trade business?

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.

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.

How the debt collection costs are made up

The incaseof.law study for 2026 (n=149,916) shows how much capital is tied up as unpaid claims in Austrian companies: around 194.9 billion euros.

Law, money and peace of mind, from a single 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 collect 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.

Licence under GewO 1994

Electronic legal communication

Enforceable across Europe

Money

No success commission on recovered principal. Conditions and cost consequences under the terms apply.

incaseof.law keeps no share of your principal claim. What your customer owes belongs, after a successful collection, entirely in your account.

No success commission

No deduction from the principal claim

Default costs borne by the debtor

Peace of mind

Digital, you take care of nothing

Upload the claim, incaseof.law takes over the rest. The entire collection runs through the connector and electronic legal communication.

Status in the portal at any time

Deadlines and escalation through us

Out of court and in court

Start now

Your final invoice belongs in your account. Let us begin.

Frequently searched

What trade businesses want to know about an unpaid invoice

What happens if a trade invoice is not paid?

If a trade invoice stays unpaid, the client falls into payment default and owes default interest on top of the invoice amount. Against companies that is 9.2 percentage points above the base rate, so 10.73% per year as at 1 July 2026, and against private customers 4% per year; between businesses a flat fee of 40 euros per claim is added. If the client still does not pay, the business hands the final invoice to a licensed debt collection institute such as incaseof.law. The claim itself becomes time-barred in Austria after three years.

How much time is there to pay a trade invoice?

There is no general 30-day payment period for every Austrian trade invoice. Due date and default follow the contract and applicable rules; a unilateral term on an invoice does not replace an agreement. Document completion, invoicing and known objections. Austrian rules on default.

How can you put a customer into payment default?

Between companies in Austria the client puts himself into default: once the agreed payment term has passed, default runs automatically, even without a reminder. Against private customers a reminder is usually needed before default interest starts to run. No specific number of reminders is prescribed: you can hand a due final invoice to debt collection at any time.

Figures on payment default in Austria as of 2026; base rate 1.53% as at 1 July 2026 as published by the Austrian National Bank. Questions in the wording of the Google search results on trade invoices, retrieved in July 2026.

Frequently asked

Questions from the trades.

From the notice of defects through the main contractor to the retention money. Your question is not here? incaseof.law answers personally.

Which documents should I prepare?

Prepare the invoice, contract or order, evidence of performance, payment history and correspondence. The preparation section explains the industry-specific records.

Can I hand over a disputed claim?

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.

What if several invoices remain unpaid?

Each receivable must be identifiable. Agree the appropriate handover method; acceptance requirements apply to every case, including records in a batch submission.

What happens if the customer pays me directly?

Report the date, amount and allocation promptly through the platform. The terms govern allocation and obligations concerning assigned interest and collection costs.

How long does collection take?

Duration and outcome are not guaranteed. Evidence, objections, contactability and ability to pay affect the process. Court steps require separate assessment.

Which costs should I consider?

From the guide

Knowledge that protects your liquidity.

See all blog articles

A hand signing a printed document on a desk

General2 February 2026Austria

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