Demand Letter for an Unpaid Invoice: Nigerian Template

If a customer has not paid your invoice after reminders, a demand letter is the formal next step: it states the invoice, the amount and a 14-day deadline before court action. Here is a template written for Nigerian businesses, and what to do if it is ignored.

Before you send it, have you done these?

• Sent the invoice to the right person, with clear payment terms and a due date.
• Followed up at least once in writing (e-mail or WhatsApp), so there is a record.
• Checked your contract or invoice terms for any agreed interest or late-payment charge.

What makes an invoice demand letter work?

• Name the invoice: its number, date, amount and what it was for.
• Show the paper trail: a delivery note, signed contract, purchase order, or the customer's own messages accepting the work.
• One clear amount and one clear deadline.
• Say plainly what happens next: court proceedings to recover the debt, with interest and costs.

Demand letter template for an unpaid invoice

A demand from a law firm often gets paid when reminders from your own team do not. Pandas LP sends a lawyer-signed letter from ₦10,000, reminds your customer on days 7, 10 and 14, and prepares the Small Claims forms if they still do not pay. Start here.

What if the customer still doesn't pay?

• Businesses in Lagos and Delta can usually take claims of up to ₦5,000,000 (excluding interest and costs) to the Small Claims Court, which is designed to be quick and does not require a lawyer in court (Lagos State Small Claims Court Practice Directions).
• Keep every document: the invoice, the delivery proof, the reminders and proof of when the demand letter was received.
• If you have many unpaid invoices, a business arrangement with a prepaid wallet is usually cheaper per account. See debt recovery for businesses.

For a general letter that is not tied to an invoice, use our letter of demand sample.