The invoice
Keep waiting
Chase it yourself
Offer a settlement
Send to collections
What each path is worth
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| Path | Cash if paid | Odds | Worth |
|---|
← Invoice payment terms calculator
The due-date calculator prices an invoice that gets paid on terms. This one starts after that date has passed. Score the same overdue invoice four ways — keep waiting, chase it yourself, offer a settlement, or hand it to a collection agency — on the cash each is worth once you price the odds, the wait, and the hours chasing it costs you.
| Path | Cash if paid | Odds | Worth |
|---|
Chasing recovers the most cash of any path when it works — you give up no discount and no commission. What sinks it is that the hours are certain and the payment is not. On the defaults, three hours at $85 is $255 spent whether or not the client ever pays, which drops an 85% chance at $1,188.95 down to $755.61. A 10% settlement paid in five days at 80% odds is worth $861.16.
That is why the chase-hours break-even is the most useful number on the page. At these defaults it is about 1.8 hours: one focused call and a firm email is worth it, six weeks of polite follow-ups is not. If you can make the chase cheap — a scheduled reminder, a statement, one call — the arithmetic changes in its favour, and you can watch it change by typing fewer hours.
| Path | Cash if paid | Wait | Odds | Your time | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offer a settlement | $1,080.00 | 5 days | 80% | $0.00 | $861.16 |
| Keep waiting | $1,200.00 | 30 days | 70% | $0.00 | $823.43 |
| Chase it yourself | $1,200.00 | 14 days | 85% | $255.00 | $755.61 |
| Send to collections | $840.00 | 90 days | 45% | $0.00 | $355.63 |
The odds are your estimate of this client, not a prediction — the calculator has never met them. Carrying cost is the rate you type, not a late fee and not interest you can invoice; use the main calculator for late-fee scenarios. Whether a late fee is permitted, what a collection agency may do, and what a settlement means for a balance you still intend to pursue are legal questions that vary by jurisdiction and by the contract you signed. This page does not answer them, and it does not tell you to settle, escalate, or walk away.
It depends on how many of your own hours it takes, because those hours are spent whether or not you get paid. On the calculator defaults — a $1,200 invoice 15 days overdue, 85% odds of recovery, $85 an hour — chasing recovers the most cash of any path if it works, but three hours of your time costs $255 and drops it to $755.61. It only gets ahead of a 10% settlement if you can close it in under about 1.8 hours.
Commissions on small commercial invoices are commonly quoted in the 25-50% range, and the calculator defaults to 30% over 90 days at 45% odds. On a $1,200 invoice that is worth $355.63 — behind every other path. It gets more interesting on a large invoice from a payer unlikely to settle: at $20,000 with 55% odds, collections leads and stays ahead up to about a 65% commission. Enter the commission you were actually quoted.
The calculator prices it rather than recommending it. On the defaults a 10% settlement paid in 5 days at 80% odds is worth $861.16, which is $37.73 more than waiting. The break-even is about 13.9% — past that, waiting is worth more on these odds. This is arithmetic from numbers you type, not a recommendation to settle.