Getting paid on time

UPI links, automatic reminders, and the MSMED 45-day rule that gives registered suppliers statutory interest when an invoice goes past due.

Step by step

  1. Make paying trivial Send the invoice with a UPI link and a payment page. Every extra step between the decision to pay and the payment is a day of delay.
  2. Let the reminders run Retainer sends the follow-ups on schedule, so chasing is not a thing you have to feel awkward about doing.
  3. Know your position If you are Udyam-registered and the invoice is past the statutory window, interest accrues by law rather than by negotiation.

Late payment is rarely about the client being unwilling. It is about the invoice being one of forty things in someone's inbox, and paying it requiring a bank transfer nobody has time to set up. Most of the fix is friction removal, and the rest is a schedule you do not have to think about.

UPI, because it removes the excuse

Every Retainer invoice carries a UPI link and a payment page. On a phone that is two taps, and the "can you share your bank details" thread never happens. The invoice also stays viewable as a link, so a forwarded copy still works for whoever in their team actually pays it.

Reminders you do not have to send

Retainer sends payment reminders on a schedule as invoices approach and pass their due date. This is worth more than the time it saves: a reminder from a system is a routine process, and the same reminder typed by you at 11pm reads as a relationship problem. Removing the awkwardness is the point.

The 45-day rule most people have not priced in

Under the MSMED Act, 2006, payment to a registered micro or small enterprise is due within the agreed term, capped at 45 days from acceptance. A contract term longer than that is void to the extent it exceeds the cap. Past the appointed day, interest runs at three times the RBI bank rate, compounded monthly, and it is payable whether or not you asked for it.

Since April 2024, Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act has given this teeth in a way it previously lacked: a buyer cannot claim the deduction for an unpaid MSME supplier's invoice until it is actually paid. If you are Udyam-registered, a delayed payment is no longer only your cash-flow problem, it is their tax problem, and that changes the conversation.

Retainer computes MSMED interest from the invoice dates so you know the number before you decide whether to raise it. Whether to charge it is a commercial judgement about the relationship, and usually the useful part is knowing where you stand rather than the invoice you send.

What actually prevents the problem

An advance. A payment schedule written into the signed contract, with dates rather than milestones open to interpretation. And invoicing the day the milestone is met, not at month end, because the clock only starts when the invoice is issued.

Frequently asked

How quickly must a client pay a freelancer in India?
Within the agreed term. If you are a registered micro or small enterprise under the MSMED Act, 2006, that term is capped at 45 days from acceptance, and any longer contractual term is void beyond the cap.
Can I charge interest on a late payment?
If you are Udyam-registered, the MSMED Act provides for interest at three times the RBI bank rate, compounded monthly, from the appointed day. It applies by statute rather than needing a clause in your contract.
Does Retainer chase payments for me?
Yes. Reminders go out on a schedule as an invoice approaches and passes its due date, so the follow-up is not something you have to decide to do.
What is Section 43B(h)?
A provision in force since April 2024 under which a buyer cannot claim an income tax deduction for an unpaid MSME supplier's invoice until it is actually paid. It gives registered small suppliers real leverage on late payments.
Can my client pay by UPI?
Yes. Every invoice carries a UPI link alongside a payment page, so paying from a phone takes a couple of taps.

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