Check who you actually invoiced before you chase a UK customer

Some UK invoices go unpaid for a reason that has nothing to do with the customer's cash: the invoice names the wrong company. A trading name, a sister company, an old name from before a rebrand. The payables team cannot match it to an order, so it sits.

This is a short check you can do before you send a first reminder. It is general guidance from a software company, not legal advice. For anything that matters, ask a solicitor.

Look up the company

Companies House has a free public search. For a limited company, search the name or the company number and read three things: the **registered name**, the **registered office address** and the **company status**. Compare them with the name and address on your invoice.

If they differ, the first thing to do is not a reminder. It is a short, friendly email: "We invoiced Smith Joinery. Our records show the registered company is Smith Joinery Contracts Ltd. Can you confirm which entity placed the order, so we can reissue the invoice correctly?"

Sole traders and partnerships

A sole trader does not appear on Companies House. The person and the business are the same legal person, so use their name and the trading name together. A partnership is trickier, so keep the paperwork that shows who agreed to the work.

Read the status

A company can be active, in liquidation, in administration, or dissolved. Check the status before you chase. If it is in an insolvency process, a reminder is the wrong tool and the owner should speak to the insolvency practitioner or a solicitor. If it is dissolved, tell the owner at once, because the options are limited and time matters.

Match the invoice to the order

For larger customers, add the purchase order number and the name of whoever placed the order. If you did not have one, ask for it now. Our post on chasing accounts payable at a large UK customer covers how to ask.

Fix the record once

When you find the correct name, update the customer record in your books so the next invoice is right. Keep the old name in a note so you can match older invoices. See UK invoice payment terms that make a late invoice easier to chase for what else belongs on the invoice.

Where Mugavi fits

Mugavi reads the customer name and email from your books and drafts reminders for what is overdue. It does not check Companies House, so this step stays with you. What it does do is let you add other people at a customer, such as accounts payable, who also get their reminders and statements, and it pauses an invoice when anyone replies. Nothing is sent until you approve it. Mugavi is for small businesses and the bookkeepers who work with them, in the US and the UK.