Unpaid Invoice? Organising Chat Evidence for a Small Claim
When a client or supplier has not paid, the key facts (what was agreed, what was delivered, when you asked for payment) are often spread across chat threads. This page covers organising them; it does not advise on your claim.
Not legal advice. This page is general information. Whether a court admits or relies on a chat is for the court; convokeep does not promise admission or any outcome. Ask a qualified lawyer or a local advice service about your case.
What chats should I gather?
Quotes and agreements, delivery or completion confirmations, the invoice being sent, payment promises and reminders. Keep invoices, contracts and delivery notes in the same folder as the chat export.
How do I put them in order?
Export each chat (see how to export a WhatsApp chat), keep the original file unedited, then choose the date range in convokeep to make a dated, searchable PDF. If you use only part of a thread, include the lines before and after so the context is fair (share part of a chat fairly).
Where do official claim steps live?
In England and Wales the government's page on making a court claim for money explains that a claim is made to a county court online or by post (GOV.UK, opened 2026-10-30; the page does not set out evidence rules or claim limits). Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. In the US, small claims rules are set by each state, so check your state court's self-help pages. See also the small claims checklist.
Should I include informal or heated messages?
Leaving out unhelpful lines can change how a thread reads. If you exclude anything, note that you did.
Does a chat PDF prove the debt?
No. It is an organised record of what was said. Whether it is accepted or what weight it carries is for the court, and convokeep promises no outcome. A SHA-256 hash only shows the file has not changed since export, not that nothing was deleted before it.
Privacy
The file is read and converted only inside this browser. It is not sent to a server, there are no accounts, and the hash is computed on your device. See the privacy policy and the disclaimer.
Sources (checked 2026-10-30)
- GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money (opened 2026-10-30; no evidence or limits stated on that page)
- CPR Part 27 (england/wales small claims) as cited in the existing checklist page (opened 2026-10-29)
- All examples are synthetic.
- Sources marked "not opened" were not opened while writing; check the current text yourself.
Related guides
- Small claims evidence checklist
- WhatsApp evidence for small claims
- Share part of a chat fairly
- What a SHA-256 hash proves
- Prepare chat evidence for your lawyer
Ready to try it?
Drop your exported chat file on the convokeep app for a free preview. The first 3 pages are free (watermarked, no integrity page); saving the full PDF is a one-time paid feature. No chat or attachment is uploaded: the file is read in your browser. To check later that a file is unchanged, use the hash checker.
This document was generated locally in the user's browser; no content was uploaded.