Your invoices, chased properly, without you lifting a finger.
This page walks through exactly what happens when you hand your invoice chasing to Duesworth. No mystery, no small print surprises. If you'd rather just talk it through, book a free call and I'll explain it over a cuppa.
The first week
Week one: Getting set up
- 1
The call.
Half an hour, free, no obligation. Who owes you what, your payment terms, how you like to sound, and who needs gentle handling.
- 2
Your chase plan.
I write up your personal playbook: the wording of every reminder, the timing ladder, and your protected-customer list. You read it and approve it before a single email goes out. Once it’s agreed, friendly nudges run to that plan without troubling you, and anything firmer still comes back for your yes.
- 3
The plumbing.
I connect to your invoicing (Xero, QuickBooks, or a simple weekly list if you use neither; a notebook genuinely works). You don't install or learn anything.
- 4
The first run, together.
For your first week, we're on the phone while the first reminders go out. You see exactly what your customers see, worded exactly as you approved. Nothing is ever sent that you haven't seen first.
Setup takes under a week from our call, usually two or three days.
Then, every week
What happens after that
I check your ledger against last week: who's paid, who's newly overdue, who's crossed a line.
Reminders go out, in your name, matched to your tone, at the right rung of the ladder.
Anything beyond a friendly nudge waits for your approval.
Monday morning, your text arrives: chased, collected, needs-your-eyes. Ten seconds to read.
The escalation ladder
Gentle first. Firm only if you say so.
Every unpaid invoice climbs the same steps, at a pace you set. The first two rungs run to the wording you approved at the start, so they never need chasing up with you. Anything firmer than that waits for a yes from you, every single time.
- 1
A few days over
A friendly nudge
“Just checking this one hasn’t slipped through the cracks.” Warm, brief, easy to reply to.
- 2
Around two weeks
A firmer reminder
Still warm, but clearer. Your statement is attached so there is nothing for them to look up.
- 3
Around a month
A formal reminder
References your payment terms and your right to late-payment interest. Sent only with your approval.
- 4
Six weeks or more
Over to you, with advice
I flag it with clear options and my honest view. What happens next is always your decision, and I will never push you toward heavy-handed steps.
The exact timings are yours to set. Some trades run patient ladders, some run tight ones. Your business, your rules.
Full transparency
What's included, and what's honestly not
Included
- Your weekly ledger check, every invoice, every customer
- Every reminder written and sent in your name
- Your personal chase plan, tuned to your tone
- The Monday text and the monthly one-page report
- Up to 40 live invoices at any one time
- Changes to your playbook whenever you like
- Me on the phone when you need me
Not included, on purpose
Disputed invoices
If a customer says the job wasn’t right, that’s a conversation for you, not a reminder from me. I flag it the moment dispute language appears and stop all chasing on it.
Debt collection or legal action
I’m the polite, persistent, professional layer. If something ever needs more than that, I’ll tell you straight and point you at the right next step. I don’t take a penny for referrals.
Anything that risks a protected relationship
Tell me who to handle gently and that instruction is never overridden.
40 live invoices is more than most small firms ever carry at once. If your ledger is bigger, see the questions below.
No risk to you
The guarantee, in full
If Duesworth doesn’t recover more than my fee in your first 60 days, those months cost you nothing. Not a credit, not a discount on future months. Nothing to pay. I can offer that because late payment is nearly always a chaos problem, not a can't-pay problem, and polite persistence works.
Before you ask
Questions people ask about this
What if I only send a few invoices a month?
Then you're exactly who this is for. Small ledgers hurt the most when one invoice goes unpaid.
What if I've got a big backlog? Fifty, sixty, seventy outstanding?
Then you need this more than anyone. £199 covers up to 40 live invoices at a time; above that we agree a fair fixed price on the call, and clearing the backlog usually becomes the first job. Owners with big backlogs tend to see the fastest results, because that's where the forgotten money lives.
What if a customer replies to a reminder?
Replies go to you, as normal, because the email came from your address. Most replies are “sorry, paying today.”
What if someone genuinely can't pay?
Then chasing harder won't help, and I'll say so. I'll flag it early with options: a payment plan reminder, a pause, or your decision on next steps.
Can I see everything you send?
Yes, always. Every reminder is logged, and you can ask for the full trail any time.
Book a free call and I'll tell you, honestly, whether this would pay for itself on your ledger.