There's no universal law, but invoicing immediately after service/delivery (within days) is best practice for faster payment; waiting too long (weeks/months) risks clients forgetting the value, causing payment delays or disputes, though you can often chase payments for months, potentially up to years depending on local statutes of limitation (e.g., 2-6 years in the US), but it's better to set clear terms like Net 30 and follow up promptly.
Stick within the legal time limit for invoicing.
Although the legal time limits for invoicing are usually forgiving, you should send invoices within 30 days to maintain a steady cash flow. Electronic signatures can help you keep track of your invoices.
If that party has not provided you any work agreement, then trying to invoice you for 10 years would not be appropriate. Statutory limitations apply which means only six years of invoices can be claimed.
What is the correct time to issue an invoice? Put simply, you should issue the invoice as soon as the service is completed or the product is delivered. The sooner you issue the invoice, the more likely it will be on the customer's mind, and the quicker they'll pay the amount due.
On the other hand, there's usually no legal requirement that bills be sent out in a timely fashion—so businesses can absolutely bill your months or even years after the fact. If it's a medical debt, there's the added confusion of insurance coverage and the challenge of understanding the bill in the first place.
The general rule is that if it becomes necessary to issue legal proceedings to recover an unpaid invoice, then the creditor must do so within the statutory time limit of six years from when the clock starts to tick.
According to California Code of Civil Procedure § 337(1), the statute of limitations for a written contract is four years. Under § 339(1), the limit for an oral contract is two years.
Written Contracts: For debts involving written contracts, such as commercial agreements, promissory notes, or client service contracts, the statute of limitations extends to four years from the date of the breach.
If a customer asks for a tax invoice, you have 28 days to send it.
What to do if a customer doesn't pay
How long does an unpaid invoice remain valid for collection? Under the Limitation Act 1980, invoices remain valid for up to six years from the date the customer last acknowledged the debt or made a partial payment.
This limitation period starts the day after the due date mentioned on the invoice. As a general rule, this deadline is set at 30, 45 or 60 days after the issue of the invoice according to the legislation in force, depending on the creditor's sector of activity.
Backdating invoices isn't inherently illegal—but misusing it to manipulate revenue or tax periods risks serious penalties.
As of the latest update, any business with an annual turnover exceeding ₹5 Crore must follow e-invoicing norms. This rule applies if your turnover crossed this ₹5 Crore limit in any single financial year from 2017-18 onwards. It is mandatory for all your B2B supplies and for exports out of the country.
Under the Limitation Act 1980, invoices can be issued up to six years after the work was completed or the goods were delivered. While there is no legal restriction within this time frame, issuing invoices promptly is always best to avoid disputes or complications.
Generally speaking, contractors should collect payment for services within a reasonable amount of time, and this usually ranges from 30 to 90 days. In many states, payment is required within 30 days of the service being completed.
You must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, or longer if: they show a transaction that covers more than one of the company's accounting periods. the company has bought something that it expects to last more than 6 years, like equipment or machinery.
What Makes Invoices Legal? An invoice issued only becomes legal once both parties agree to it. It then becomes a legal debt and the customer is required to pay it. It's important to pay careful attention to all charges and wording on an invoice before agreeing to it.
If the invoice is issued after provision of service, it has to be done within the specified period of 30 days from the date of supply of service, as per invoice rules.
False invoicing may also be considered invoice fraud. This occurs when a business sends an invoice to a customer to pay for goods or services that the business is aware that the customer did not purchase.
Maybe you've just discovered an old invoice that slipped through the cracks, or maybe you've been chasing down a customer who seems to have completely disappeared. Either way, you're probably wondering, how long can I keep chasing after this money? The short answer is for most debts, that limit is 6 years.
You can't bill them for wasting your time, but you might be able to report them as spammers, violating the CAN-SPAM law in the US. This is usually difficult to enforce because the spammers are difficult to track down, but it sounds like you know who these people are.
If no agreed-upon payment date has been established, a customer must pay a company within 30 days of receiving an invoice or the goods or service.
It might surprise many companies that unpaid invoices, under a simple contract, can be legitimately chased for up to 6 years. Legal proceedings would need to be issued within 6 years of the date of the invoice to prevent any claim from being statute barred.