Client refusing to pay final invoice — contract has no late fee clause

Design studio owner here. Client owes $8,500 for completed website. It's been 90 days since invoice. They keep saying "check is coming" but nothing. My contract says "payment due within 30 days" but has no late fee or interest clause. What can I actually do?

Good news: you can still pursue the debt even without a late fee clause. They owe you the principal amount. Options in escalating order:

1. Formal demand letter (can write yourself or have lawyer send)
2. Small claims court (most states allow up to $10K, no lawyer needed)
3. Collection agency (they take 25-50% but you don't have to do anything)
4. Regular court with attorney (only worth it for larger amounts)

did you transfer ownership of the website files? if not, you might have leverage. "I'm happy to transfer all assets once the invoice is paid" is a powerful statement

Unfortunately I already deployed to their server and they have all the files. The site is live. I made that mistake early in my career and never learned...

Send a formal demand letter via certified mail. Include: amount owed, original due date, statement that you'll pursue legal action if not paid within 14 days. Something about certified mail makes people take it seriously.

For $8,500, small claims court is your best option. Filing fee is usually $30-100. You don't need a lawyer. Show up with: (1) signed contract, (2) proof of deliverables (emails, screenshots), (3) unpaid invoice, (4) evidence of payment attempts (emails). Judges see these cases all the time and are generally sympathetic to service providers.

been through this. the threat of small claims often works. when they get served with court papers, suddenly they find the budget. had a client pay same day after being served

UPDATE: Sent certified demand letter. They called within 3 days asking to "work something out." Ended up settling for $7,500 paid immediately. Took a $1K haircut but avoided court and got paid. Adding late fees and payment milestones to all future contracts.