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Once routine follow-up and a formal collection letter haven't produced payment, you're choosing between several concrete options — each with a real cost in time, money, or both. Knowing what each involves helps you pick the one that actually makes sense for the amount owed.
A direct final conversation
Before escalating to a third party, a direct phone call — not another email — sometimes succeeds where written follow-up hasn't, simply because it's harder to ignore and easier to negotiate on in real time. It's worth trying, and worth documenting afterward (what was said, what was agreed) even if it's your last attempt before escalating.
Offer a payment plan as a last resort
If the client's issue is genuinely an inability to pay the full amount rather than unwillingness to pay at all, a payment plan can recover most or all of what's owed in installments — often a better outcome than an escalation that recovers nothing, or a legal process that costs more than the debt itself for a small amount.
Collections agencies
Agencies typically take a percentage of whatever they recover (commonly 15–50%, depending on the debt's age and size), so this only makes sense once the amount owed clearly outweighs the cost. They tend to be more effective than continued efforts from you directly, since they specialize in it and the client knows they're a specialized party.
Small claims court
For amounts within your jurisdiction's small claims limit, this is often more accessible than it sounds — designed to be usable without a lawyer, with a relatively low filing cost. It's worth the effort for a well-documented, undisputed debt of meaningful size; less so for a small amount where the time cost alone exceeds the recovery.
Hiring a collections attorney
For larger amounts, or when the client is disputing the debt rather than simply not paying, a lawyer becomes worth the cost — particularly if legal action might be needed regardless and a formal letter from an attorney sometimes resolves things before it gets that far.
Deciding it's not worth pursuing further
For small amounts, weigh the actual recovery odds and the cost (in time as much as money) of any of the above against simply writing it off. See our guide on bad debt for how to do that cleanly, including any tax treatment that may apply.
What to have ready before escalating
Whichever route you choose, you'll want the same documentation: the original invoice, any signed agreement or accepted quote, and a full record of follow-up attempts and dates. Gathering this after you've decided to escalate wastes time you could have saved by keeping records as you went.
There's no single right answer here — the right choice depends entirely on the size of the debt relative to the cost and likelihood of actually recovering it.