Payment gridlock: how to recover money from a business partner in 2026

Unpaid invoices are the norm in Polish business, not the exception. For small companies, payment gridlock is a direct threat: no income blocks the payment of wages, contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and lease instalments.

In this article we go through the full procedure for recovering receivables: from the first telephone reminder, through a formal demand and entry in a debtors’ register, to court proceedings and bailiff enforcement. All with real costs and deadlines.

Stage 0: prevention, before you issue the invoice

The most effective debt collection is the kind you do not have to carry out. Before you issue an invoice to a new business partner, check:

1. The VAT white list: whether the business partner is an active taxpayer and has a registered account (details in a separate article)
2. The National Court Register (KRS): the company’s current data, debts in proceedings
3. KRD / BIG: whether the business partner appears in debtors’ registers (a free check of the basic status)
4. Ratings (optional): Bisnode, Creditreform, IndeksBIS, paid

If the business partner “smells of risk” (a short history, entries in registers, arrears with others), consider:

• An advance of 30–50% before delivery
• A short payment deadline (7–14 days instead of 30–60)
• A bank guarantee or a promissory note
• Declining to cooperate

Stage 1: day 0 to 30: soft debt collection

Day +1 (after the deadline)

An email reminder. Short, polite, with no threat. A mention of the specific invoice, the amount, and a new proposed deadline (7 days). Sometimes it is enough: the business partner forgot or had a break.

Day +5 to +7

A telephone call to the person responsible for payments at the business partner. The payment contact knows the cash flow situation of their company and usually gives reliable information (“we are paying on Friday”, “we have gridlock from our client”, “send it to the complaints department”).

Day +15

A second reminder by email. A more formal tone. Stating the amount, the deadline and the interest you are charging. Information about the further steps if payment does not arrive within 7 days.

Day +30

A demand for payment. A formal letter, sent by registered post with a return receipt or through ePUAP. It contains:

• The creditor’s and debtor’s details (in full)
• The invoice number, the amount, the original deadline
• The statutory interest charged (the calculation)
• The deadline for payment (usually 7 days)
• A warning of the consequences (debtors’ registers, court)
• The signature of an authorised person

A demand for payment alone does not interrupt the running of the limitation period. It is interrupted by an act before a court (a claim, a payment order, a summons to a settlement attempt) or by the debtor’s acknowledgement of the debt. The demand is the basis for a later claim.

Stage 2: statutory interest

From the first day after the payment deadline you charge statutory interest for delay in commercial transactions. Statutory interest for delay in commercial transactions is the NBP reference rate + 10 percentage points (where the debtor is a public healthcare entity, + 8 points). The level for each half-year is announced by the Minister of Finance in Monitor Polski (the Act of 8 March 2013 on counteracting excessive delays in commercial transactions).

Calculation

You calculate interest on the amount of the arrears for each day of delay:

Interest = amount of arrears × annual rate × (number of days of delay / 365)

In addition you are entitled to a lump-sum compensation for the costs of recovering receivables (Article 10 of the Act):

• A receivable up to PLN 5,000 → EUR 40 (about PLN 173 at a rate of 4.33)
• PLN 5,000–50,000 → EUR 70 (about PLN 303)

• PLN 50,000 → EUR 100 (about PLN 433)

You charge the compensation once for each unpaid invoice. It is lump-sum compensation: you do not have to prove the actual costs of debt collection.

Stage 3: entry in a debtors’ register

After 30 days of delay (if the demand has gone unanswered) you can enter the debtor with an economic information bureau. There are three main ones in Poland:

| Register | Reach | |---------|--------| | KRD BIG (krd.pl) | The largest | | BIG InfoMonitor (big.pl) | Second largest | | ERIF (erif.pl) | Smaller, sector-based |

Conditions for an entry

• A receivable ≥ PLN 200 (lower amounts cannot be registered)
• A delay of at least 30 days
• An earlier written demand with information about the planned entry (a 14-day deadline to pay before the entry)

The effect of an entry

• The debtor receives information about the entry, and often only this prompts them to pay
• Banks see the entry when granting loans (they often refuse or raise the margin)
• The debtor’s business partners see them as risky (loss of business partners)

After payment the entry is removed at your request within 7–14 days.

Stage 4: a court claim

If the entry in the register did not help, it is time for court. For commercial cases:

Types of proceedings

1. Order-for-payment proceedings (EPU): the e-court, up to PLN 100,000, online, the fastest (6–10 weeks)
2. Writ-of-payment proceedings: an ordinary court, a quick payment order, the debtor can object
3. Simplified proceedings: up to PLN 20,000, simplified procedures
4. Ordinary proceedings: above PLN 20,000, full formalities

For most cases we recommend electronic order-for-payment proceedings (EPU), the fastest and cheapest.

EPU costs

In electronic order-for-payment proceedings (EPU) the court fee is one quarter of the ordinary fee, that is 1.25% of the value of the claim.

Required documents

• The claim (a form or your own)
• A copy of the invoice
• Proof of delivery of the invoice
• The demand for payment
• Proof of delivery of the demand
• A calculation of interest and compensation

The process

1. Filing the claim (online through the e-Court portal portal.e-sady.gov.pl)
2. A payment order within 2 weeks
3. Delivery of the order to the debtor
4. The debtor has 14 days to object
5. If there is no objection, the order becomes an enforcement title
6. If there is an objection, the case moves to ordinary proceedings in the commercial court

Stage 5: bailiff enforcement

A payment order with no objection = an enforcement title. You send it to the bailiff.

Choosing a bailiff

In Poland bailiffs have territorial jurisdiction: usually the bailiff for monetary claims acts in the area of the debtor’s district court. In practice the creditor can choose any bailiff from the area of the appeal court district (the Act of 22 March 2018 on court bailiffs).

What the bailiff does

• Seizure of bank accounts
• Seizure of wages (for individuals)
• Seizure of movables (vehicles, equipment)
• Seizure of real estate (a house, a flat)
• Auction of the seized assets
• Searching for assets (ZUS, the tax office, the Central Register and Information on Business (CEIDG), KRS)

Time

• Simple enforcement (a bank account with funds): 2–6 weeks
• Difficult (movables, an auction): 6–12 months
• Extreme (real estate, no assets): 1–3 years

Restrictions

The bailiff cannot seize:

• An employee’s wages up to the level of the minimum net wage (after deducting contributions and the PIT advance; in 2026 about PLN 3,606 for a full-time job, without PPK, the Employee Capital Plans)
• Social benefits (800 plus, family benefits, maintenance)
• Personal clothing, basic household equipment
• Tools necessary to carry out a profession

Alternatives: factoring and assignment

Sometimes faster and cheaper than debt collection is an assignment of the receivable to a factoring or debt collection company. You sell the debt and receive cash at once, and the factoring company collects it itself. Details are in the article Factoring for a small company.

Action plan: step by step

1. Day +1: an email reminder
2. Day +7: a call to the person responsible
3. Day +15: a second email reminder
4. Day +30: a written demand for payment + interest charged
5. Day +45: entry in the KRD / BIG (after a prior demand with a warning)
6. Day +60: an EPU claim (if the scale justifies the cost)
7. Day +120: sending the title to the bailiff
8. Alternative: selling the receivable at any stage (usually after day +30)

Summary

Effective debt collection requires consistency and speed. The sooner you start the procedure, the greater the chance of recovering without going to court. At Profais, as part of full accounting, we monitor the inflow of clients’ receivables and remind them of arrears. Some clients stop using separate debt collection firms thanks to this service. If you have unpaid invoices and do not know how to act, write to us and we will take you through the process.

Sources: gov.pl/web/sprawiedliwosc, krd.pl, the Act of 8 March 2013 on counteracting excessive delays, Civil Code Articles 118, 481, the e-court portal.e-sady.gov.pl.