[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, if enterprises are unable to recover their accounts receivable, they should take measures in different stages, including negotiation for collection, sending lawyer's letters, litigation or arbitration, property preservation, and forced execution. According to Articles 577 and 579 of the Civil Code, if a party fails to perform a monetary obligation, the other party may request it to continue to perform and compensate for the losses; if there is no written contract but there are other evidences to prove the sales or contracting relationship, the party can still claim the price according to Articles 595 and 782, etc. After winning the lawsuit, the party can apply for forced execution in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, and can apply for trust-breaking and high-consumption restriction measures as appropriate. For more details, please refer to the following link:Legal services for corporate commercial and contract disputes.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The most common pain points for SMEs are that after delivering goods and completing tasks, they still can't get paid. Typical scenarios include: customers delay payments on the grounds of inspection objections or quality defects, and the payment period is indefinitely extended; transactions are completed solely through WeChat, purchase orders, and delivery notes, without signing formal contracts, making it difficult to prove the amount of the debt in litigation; the debtors transfer assets or liquidate their original companies to establish new entities to evade debts; and when the other party goes bankrupt or loses contact, the accounts receivable become bad debts. If such problems are not intervened in at an early stage, they will often be completely unsuccessful as the debtor's repayment ability deteriorates. Recovery of payments and enforcement can be combinedCreditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesSystem advancement.

II. Key points of contention

  • The amount of the debt and the determination of the relationship: When there is no written contract, it is necessary to form an evidence chain with delivery notes, reconciliation statements, WeChat confirmations, etc. to prove the sales or contracting relationship and the specific amount of the debt.
  • Quality defense: The debtor often refuses to pay on the grounds of unqualified quality, and the claimant should prepare the acceptance certificate, standard agreement, and performance record to separate the quality dispute from the payment obligation.
  • Subject and asset tracking: If the other party deregisters, changes its name, or transfers assets, it is necessary to investigate and identify the responsible subject and the executable assets. Otherwise, the judgment may easily become a dead letter.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Based on the practical observations of handling similar cases, enterprises often encounter difficulties in collecting accounts receivable, which are mainly due to three factors: lack of standardized contracts, absence of evidence of contract performance, and failure to intervene early. In a typical service contract dispute, after the client completed the work and received multiple confirmations from the other party, the other party refused to pay the remaining balance on the grounds of unmet quality standards. After taking over the case, the lawyer compared the contract terms with the confirmation records item by item, proving that each step had been inspected and accepted by the other party, and that the delay was caused by the other party's repeated modifications. In the end, the client successfully claimed back the contract payments through arbitration and received support for legal defense costs. The judgment in this case reflects that written confirmations and acceptance records are the core factors determining payment responsibilities. If the other party uses vague quality objections as a defense, they must provide evidence themselves. For intellectual property outcomes, reference can be made to similar cases.Intellectual property protection and corporate legal servicesThe approach to obtaining evidence.

IV. Practical Suggestions and Legal Basis

At the legal basis level, Article 577 of the Civil Code (effective January 1, 2021) defines the liability for breach of contract, and Article 579 clarifies that monetary debts can be requested to be performed; Articles 595 and 598 stipulate the seller's delivery and the buyer's right to demand payment in sales contracts; Article 782 regulates the payment of remuneration in contracting contracts; Articles 626 and 628 specify the buyer's obligation to inspect and pay. At the procedural level, Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Law (amended on September 1, 2023) and other provisions stipulate the application for enforcement and measures. At the practical advice level: establish contract templates and credit approval, conduct credit investigations for large-scale transactions; adhere to a closed-loop process of delivery, acceptance, and account reconciliation during performance; immediately send letters of demand and evaluate litigation when overdue, and simultaneously investigate property clues; and secure assets for clients with deteriorating repayment capabilities as soon as possible. For cross-border or complex transactions, recovering payments can be assisted byFinancial capital and cross-border services involving foreign affairs.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

Receivables management is the lifeline of an enterprise's cash flow. It is most important to prioritize transactions over leaving no trace and delaying collection. Establishing a closed-loop process for contracts, acceptance, and reconciliation, and initiating written reminders once payments are overdue, is the most cost-effective risk control measure. Once the other party shows signs of deteriorating repayment ability, it is necessary to quickly assess litigation and preservation measures to avoid missing the enforcement window. Henglue Law Firm has accumulated systematic experience in collecting contractual debts and handling enforcement cases, and can assist enterprises in handling the entire process from securing evidence to collecting payments. For cases involving special asset tracking, clients are also welcome to pay attention to our services.Special services and other case services.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If a customer refuses to pay their debts, what legal methods can a company use to collect outstanding receivables?

Legal methods can be divided into five stages: First, internal collection, where the finance or business departments regularly reconcile accounts, send collection letters, and keep proof of delivery; Second, collection by lawyer's letter, where lawyers are entrusted to send letters clarifying the amount of the debt and legal consequences, which often leads to settlement; Third, litigation or arbitration, where lawsuits are filed according to contractual provisions or statutory jurisdiction to request payment of the price and overdue interest; Fourth, property preservation, where applications are made before or during litigation to seize the other party's accounts, real estate, and equity to prevent transfer; Fifth, forced execution, where after winning the lawsuit, applications are made to the court for seizure, attachment, freezing, and deduction, and if necessary, the other party is added to the list of dishonest people and subject to restrictions on high-consumption activities. The choice of path should be based on the amount of the debt, the other party's repayment ability, and the completeness of evidence, to avoid blind litigation or waiting passively.

Q2: If there's no written contract, only WeChat messages and delivery notes, can I sue to recover the payment?

Yes. A written contract is not the only proof for recovering the payment. According to Article 469 of the Civil Code, a contract can be in written, oral, or other forms. If the evidence chain formed by WeChat chats, purchase orders, delivery notes, reconciliation statements, invoices, and payment records is sufficient to prove the existence of the sales relationship and the amount of the outstanding debt, the court will recognize it. In practice, the key is to ensure that the evidence corroborates each other: the WeChat records reflect the subject matter, quantity, and price agreed upon, the delivery notes prove the delivery, and the reconciliation statements or collection responses confirm the outstanding debt. It is recommended to systematically export and fix all communication records before suing, and if necessary, apply for witness or appraisal reinforcement to increase the chances of winning the case.

Q3: If the debtor refuses to pay due to quality issues, how should the enterprise respond to this?

The key to dealing with this issue lies in distinguishing quality disputes from payment obligations and countering them with evidence. First, check the contractual provisions regarding quality standards, acceptance deadlines, and objection periods. If the other party fails to raise written objections within the specified timeframe, the subject matter can be deemed to comply with the contractual requirements according to Article 621 of the Civil Code. Second, present documents such as acceptance certificates, stage confirmation emails, and account statements to prove that the company has fulfilled its obligations and the other party has accepted the goods. Third, if there are genuine quality disputes, it is necessary to distinguish between partial defects and fundamental breaches of contract. In the case of partial defects, payment obligations are not automatically waived, and the parties can negotiate price reductions or repairs separately. If the other party delays payment by raising oral quality objections, the company can send a letter to fix the amount of the outstanding debt and proceed with litigation, thereby shifting the burden of proof for quality defects to the other party and preventing the company from being subject to indefinite payment delays.

Q4: If the other company has no money or assets, and I win the lawsuit but still can't get the money, what should I do?

The judgment is not the end, but the enforcement is. If the other party truly has no assets, you can apply to the court to list them as dishonest debtors, restrict their high-consumption behavior, and impose credit and travel pressure on them. If you continue to provide new clues to the debtor's assets, the court can resume enforcement at any time. More importantly, pre-litigation prevention is essential: when suing, apply for property preservation at the same time, seize their accounts, real estate, vehicles, equity, and accounts receivable to prevent the transfer of assets before winning the lawsuit. For malicious transfer of assets, you can exercise the creditor's right of revocation in accordance with Articles 538 and 539 of the Civil Code to revoke the disposition of assets at no cost or at a clearly unreasonable price; if you find that the debtor has withdrawn his investment or the property of a one-person company has been mixed, you can claim the joint and several liability of the shareholders. Therefore, the key to recovering the money lies in early preservation, thorough investigation of assets, and pursuing the shareholders.

Q5: The statute of limitations for accounts receivable is about to expire. How can we interrupt the statute of limitations to protect our rights?

The statute of limitations can be interrupted and recalculated for legal reasons. According to Article 195 of the Civil Code, the statute of limitations is interrupted when the right holder submits a performance request to the obligee, the obligee agrees to perform the obligation, the right holder files a lawsuit or applies for arbitration. Enterprises can take the following actions: send a collection letter or a lawyer's letter to the debtor and obtain a receipt or mailing proof; explicitly remind the debtor to pay through WeChat or email, and obtain a reply confirming the debt; sign a repayment agreement or a statement of account with the debtor to indicate their consent to perform the obligation; or directly file a lawsuit or apply for arbitration. It is important to retain the delivery evidence and time stamps of each reminder, so as to prove that the right holder asserted their rights within the statute of limitations, thereby interrupting and recalculating the three-year statute of limitations and preserving the right to win the case.

This article is written based on the common judicial interpretations in the Beijing area. If the case occurs in other regions, it is recommended to consult local lawyers to verify the regional differences.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence, to avoid missing the statutory time limit.Corporate commercial legal services·Beijing Henglue Law Firm