Quick answer
Give the lawyer a compact file that proves five things: who contracted, what was agreed, what your business supplied, how the balance was calculated and what happened after payment became due. Include the contract or accepted quote, purchase orders, invoices, performance records, a reconciled ledger and the complete debtor correspondence. Add company-registration details and any suretyship rather than assuming a director is personally responsible.
How to use this guide
Arrange the file chronologically and keep original digital records unchanged. A neat folder is valuable only if it preserves context; an isolated message or retyped statement can hide the sender, date or surrounding negotiation. Create a working index for annotations while retaining a read-only source copy.
Start with party and authority documents
Collect the registered name and number of your business and the customer entity, together with the trading names used on orders or invoices. Save the credit application, onboarding form and proof showing who accepted the terms. If an employee placed the order, include material supporting that person's actual or apparent authority.
Where a claim has been ceded or assigned, add the cession agreement and relevant notice. Place a suretyship in its own section and verify its formal validity before citing a director or another person. Do not mix balances owed by related companies unless the legal agreements support that treatment.
Show how the contract was formed
Include signed agreements, quotations, purchase orders, terms incorporated by reference and the communications that record acceptance or changes. Preserve email headers, full WhatsApp exports where available and the original files attached to messages. Electronic evidence can be admissible under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, but reliability, integrity and origin remain important.
If the parties changed price, scope, delivery dates or payment terms, put each variation behind the original agreement with a short index note. Oral changes should be recorded as a factual chronology with the people present and later conduct that may confirm them; do not create a false written agreement after the dispute starts.
Prove delivery or performance
For goods, gather delivery notes, tracking, collection records, signed receipts, serial numbers, return documents and photographs where relevant. For services, use timesheets, completion certificates, milestone approvals, access logs, submitted work and messages acknowledging progress. A recurring-service claim should show the period covered and the contractual basis for renewal or continued billing.
Keep complaints, rejection notices and remedial work in the same evidence section. Removing negative records makes it harder to assess whether the customer has a defence, counterclaim or set-off. Explain what your business did after each complaint and whether a credit note or revised performance was agreed.
Reconcile the account independently of the invoices
Create a ledger listing the invoice date, due date, principal, tax where applicable, payments, credits, returns and net balance. Attach bank statements or remittance advices that prove receipts without exposing unrelated transactions unnecessarily. Separate contractual interest and permitted costs from principal, and provide the clause relied on for each additional amount.
Include every acknowledgement, payment proposal, part-payment and settlement discussion in date order. Some conduct may affect prescription, but the legal consequence depends on its content and context. A lawyer should see the actual words rather than a summary saying the debtor “admitted everything”.
Add the deadline and process folder
Prepare a chronology from the date each debt became due through demands and any served process. Keep sheriff documents, summonses, notices, judgments or rescission papers if litigation already exists. Negotiation does not automatically stop a court clock, so put the deadline printed on any official document at the front of the pack.
If the dispute may produce a claim for damages against a qualifying organ of state, include material needed to test whether the defined “debt” and notice regime in Act 40 of 2002 apply. The regime does not attach to an ordinary invoice-price claim merely because the customer is an organ of state. If Small Claims Court is being considered, record whether the claimant is a natural person or juristic person because companies cannot institute claims there. Do not rely on a remembered monetary threshold; current jurisdiction and process must be checked at action time.
Consultation pack checklist
- Registered party details, credit application and proof of contracting authority
- Contract, accepted quotation, purchase orders, terms and variations
- All invoices, statements, credit notes and a transparent balance reconciliation
- Delivery notes, service records, approvals and complaint-resolution evidence
- Complete email and messaging threads stored in original form
- Bank or remittance proof for every payment or credit claimed
- Suretyship, security, dispute-resolution and jurisdiction documents
- Prescription chronology, demand history and every court or sheriff record
Questions to attach to the index
- Which document best proves the customer's obligation rather than only the invoice?
- Is any part of the claim disputed, uncertain or owed by a different entity?
- What date made the debt due for prescription analysis?
- Are interest, fees and legal costs supported by contract or legislation?
- Does a special notice, jurisdiction or representation rule change the forum?
- What work will the lawyer perform first, and what is excluded from the quoted fee?
Important limitation
This checklist does not prove liability and cannot replace legal assessment of the documents. Sensitive personal and commercial information should be shared securely and only where relevant. Use the current court, notice and prescription rules, and obtain urgent advice if formal process has already been served.
FAQs
Should I send every email to the lawyer?
Send the complete relevant threads, including complaints and variations, while keeping unrelated sensitive information out of the pack.
Why is a reconciled ledger needed if I have invoices?
The ledger shows payments, credits, returns and additions so another person can reproduce the amount claimed.
Should my family or staff rewrite old records?
No. Preserve originals and distinguish verified records from a factual chronology based on memory.
What if court papers have already been served?
Put the full served pack and deadline at the front and obtain prompt advice; negotiations do not automatically pause procedure.
Related Lexuno paths
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Source notes
- Prescription Act 68 of 1969
- Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1944
- Rules Regulating the Conduct of the Proceedings of the Magistrates’ Courts of South Africa
- Rules Board Government Gazette Notices
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975
- Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984
- Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002
- Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
- Companies Act 71 of 2008
- General Law Amendment Act 50 of 1956
Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.