When to use it
Use it on an ongoing customer who keeps buying but stops paying. It is the most overlooked lever in B2B, and it works for a simple reason: reminders land with the accounts department, which does not feel the consequence. A suspension lands with operations, which does. Suddenly there is someone inside the organisation with a real interest in the invoice being paid today.
It has to be right
The wording is rarely the problem. It is the deadline, the fee and what the letter leaves out — and the mistake costs you the expenses, not the debtor.
- There must be a basis for suspending. If it is not in your terms of trade, you may end up in breach of your own agreement
- Give a deadline, and keep it. A notice that comes to nothing never works again
- Write to the person it hurts — purchasing or operations, not the accounts department
- If you suspend, you suspend. A half suspension is no suspension
How to fill it in
Most placeholders are trivial. These are not.
- The basis
- Check your terms of trade. If no right to suspend on payment default has been agreed, a suspension may be your own breach — and then you are suddenly the one who owes them something.
- The recipient
- Do not send it to the accounts payable inbox alone. Send it to purchasing, to the project manager, to whoever receives the goods. That is where the letter takes effect.
- [SUSPENSION DATE]
- A short deadline — and follow through on it. A notice you do not act on has taught the customer that you do not mean it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I simply suspend deliveries?
There must be a basis — either in the agreement or in the rules of Købeloven (the Danish Sale of Goods Act) on material breach. If the right to suspend on payment default is set out in your terms of trade, you are on safe ground.
Am I not risking losing the customer?
A customer who does not pay is not a customer — it is a loan. The question is not whether you risk losing them, but whether you can afford to keep them on those terms.
Legal disclaimer. The template is generic and free to use. It is not legal advice and does not take account of the circumstances of your particular case. Rates, deadlines and statutory references change — check them before you use the document. If the claim is large, disputed or heading for court, call us before you send anything.