The customer isn’t paying the invoice
Most of the time the customer is not refusing to pay. Most of the time the invoice is with the wrong person, the approver is on holiday, or it was lost in an accounting system. The second most common reason is that you know all of this and still let it run for six weeks, because chasing feels awkward. Here is the sequence that fixes both. The deadlines and the amounts below are the Norwegian ones, under inkassoloven and forsinkelsesrenteloven.
Days 1–13: a reminder, not a confrontation
Send a short, friendly note with the invoice number, amount and due date, plus a line saying the payment may have crossed the message. No fees, no legal jargon. This step solves most cases because most cases are simple oversights. Consider calling instead—a quick call to the person who actually approves invoices is often faster than three emails to a shared inbox.
Day 14: purring or inkassovarsel, with a fee
Now you’re allowed to add the purregebyr, the 38 kroner reminder fee. You can send a purring – an ordinary payment reminder – or go straight to the inkassovarsel, the formal notice of debt collection. The purring is optional; the inkassovarsel is what the law requires before a claim can go to collection. If the customer is already well past due and you’ve chased verbally, the inkassovarsel is the right choice. It gives them 14 more days and a clear consequence.
Claim what you’re actually entitled to
Forsinkelsesrente, Norway’s statutory late-payment interest, starts on the due date with no prior agreement needed: 12.25% per year from 1 July 2026. If the customer is a business or a public body – never a consumer – you can also claim 430 kroner in standardkompensasjon, a flat compensation for recovery costs, without documenting any actual expense. On a 25 000 kr invoice that’s two months late, that’s roughly 930 kroner on top of the invoice amount: about 503 kroner in interest plus the 430 kroner compensation.
After the deadline: debt collection or forliksrådet
Once the inkassovarsel deadline has passed you can hand the claim to a debt-collection agency, send a betalingsoppfordring – your own formal payment demand – with a fee of 113 kroner, or take the case to forliksrådet, the conciliation board. Forliksrådet charges a court fee, doesn’t require a lawyer, and its decision can be enforced. For undisputed claims between businesses it’s often the fastest route to payment.
Don’t let it drag on for years
Ordinary monetary claims expire after three years (foreldelsesloven § 2, the Limitation Act). Long before that the customer has changed accountants, contacts, and maybe banks, and your evidence is scattered in old e-mails. The sooner you send something in writing, the easier everything becomes later—even if you decide to drop the claim.
About the awkward part
A purring is a normal part of doing business. Your customer receives them from several suppliers, probably this very week. What actually damages a customer relationship isn’t asking for the money—it’s leaving an unpaid invoice until it has to be collected with interest, costs, and a third party involved.
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Create the notice you keep putting offFAQ
How long should I wait before sending a purring?
Send a friendly reminder as soon as the due date has passed. Wait until day 14 if you want to include the 38 kroner purregebyr. Waiting any longer just makes things harder.
Can I stop working until the customer pays?
Often yes, but it depends on your agreement. If you have an ongoing delivery and the customer is substantially late, you usually have the right to withhold further work. Notify them in writing before you do.
Should I use a collection agency or forliksrådet?
If the claim is undisputed and the customer is a company with money, forliksrådet is cheap and effective. If the claim is small and you don’t want to spend time, a collection agency will handle it for a fee. If the claim is disputed, you’ll have to settle the disagreement either way.
What if the customer goes bankrupt?
You file the claim with the estate, and in practice unsecured creditors rarely get much. That’s exactly why it’s worth acting on day 14, not day 90—the ones who send a purring early get paid before the money runs out.
General information, not legal advice. Rates verified by FSA and updated.