The situation
Overdue receivables from business customers
A Szczecin furniture manufacturer sells to retailers in Poland and Germany. Its credit controller has 23 invoices more than 30 days overdue, eight of them owed by a Berlin chain. The CFO wants firmer letters that state what the customer now owes in interest and recovery costs, without overstating it.
Both countries implement the EU late-payment rules, but the rate, the flat compensation and the point from which interest runs are set nationally. Getting each right, and writing a letter a customer’s finance team will take seriously, takes longer than a routine task should.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- The EU sets a minimum
- The Late Payment Directive gives a creditor statutory interest on late payment between businesses, at the central bank reference rate plus at least eight percentage points, and a fixed minimum of €40 as compensation for recovery costs.
- Germany: base rate plus nine points
- For debts between businesses, German default interest is nine percentage points above the base rate, plus a flat €40 for recovery costs. Without a calendar due date, a business customer is in default 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice, even without a reminder.
- Poland: reference rate plus a margin
- Polish law on late payment in commercial transactions sets statutory interest by reference to the NBP reference rate plus a margin, and a flat compensation for recovery costs set in euro, which depends on the size of the debt.
- The rate depends on the period
- The German base rate and the Polish reference rate change over time, and the interest rate follows them. The letter should apply the rate for each period of delay, not last year’s figure.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
German GmbH customer, invoice for €18,400 due on 15 August 2026, still unpaid. We are a Polish supplier and the contract is under German law. What default interest and recovery compensation can we claim, from what date, and what should the reminder state?
You start with
Overdue receivables from business customers
- 01
Upload the overdue list
Add the aged receivables export. azta reads it and refers back to the lines it relied on: invoice dates, due dates and amounts.
File upload· Pro - 02
Research what is owed
Ask about each country. azta cites the Late Payment Directive, the BGB and the Polish act on late payment in commercial transactions.
Cited research· Free - 03
Draft the letter
Ask for a firm, polite reminder in the customer’s language. Edit it in Canvas and select any passage to re-tone or translate it.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro - 04
Send it as Word
Export to Word, add the interest figure from your system and send it.
Word export· Pro You send
A reminder letter stating the statutory interest and recovery costs owed
What you get
A reminder letter stating the statutory interest and recovery costs owed
Reminder letter · draft
Overdue invoice FV/2026/0612
Our invoice FV/2026/0612 of 16 July 2026 for €18,400 was due on 15 August 2026 and remains unpaid. We would be grateful for payment within seven days of this letter.
Under the German rules on default between businesses, statutory interest has accrued since 16 August 2026 at nine percentage points above the base rate. We also claim the flat amount of €40 for recovery costs, to which we are entitled because payment is late.
If payment has crossed with this letter, please disregard it. Otherwise, please contact our credit controller, Ewa Nowak, so that we can agree how the balance will be settled before we take further steps.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
24 minutes a month
At €70 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 18
- Capacity at your rate
- €1,260
- More reminder letters a quarter
- 6
- Return on Pro
- 3.9×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
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- EUR-Lex · Curia
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- Dziennik Ustaw
What stays with you
- The amounts and the ledger they come from.
- The customer relationship and the tone of each letter.
- Deciding when to escalate to collection or court.
Frequently asked questions
- Does azta calculate the interest?
- No. It finds and cites the rule and the rate to apply. The calculation stays in your receivables system or spreadsheet.
- Can the letter go out in German or Polish?
- Yes. Draft it in English, then select the text in Canvas and translate it, or ask for the letter in the customer’s language.
- What if the customer is a consumer?
- Different rules apply to consumers. Say so in the question and azta researches the consumer rules instead.
