Collect the Running Balance with an Orlando Open Account Attorney
An open account is an unpaid, running balance built from ongoing invoices with no single signed contract; an account statedis a balance the customer already agreed to owe. As an Orlando, Florida open account and accounts stated attorney, Keough Law sues on both to recover what your ledger shows you're owed.
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No contract? You still get paid
Most B2B relationships never run through a single signed contract. You open an account, ship product or deliver services on credit, and send statements. When the balance stops getting paid, customers often assume that a missing contract means you have no case. In Florida, they're wrong.
Open account and account stated are the exact claims built for this situation—they let you recover on the strength of your invoices, statements, and course of dealing. This page is one piece of our nonpayment & collections practice.
- Unpaid invoices on a customer credit account.
- A statement was sent and never disputed.
- Payments stopped but the deliveries continued.
- No formal contract—just a long course of dealing.
What we have to prove
Open account and account stated are close cousins. We usually plead both, because the record that proves one tends to prove the other—and the customer can only defend so many fronts at once.
A running account
An ongoing series of transactions—deliveries, services, or purchases—handled on credit rather than paid in full each time.
An itemized statement
A statement of account showing the charges, credits, and the balance due, rendered to the customer in the ordinary course.
A balance owed
A sum that remains due and unpaid after applying every payment and credit the customer is entitled to.
Agreement or acquiescence
For an account stated: the customer agreed to the balance—often simply by receiving the statement and not objecting within a reasonable time.
What the debtor will try—and how we answer
A customer who owes money rarely says so outright. Instead they raise a defense to stall or shave the balance. The good news: on a well-kept account, most of these are answered by the paperwork you already have.
We anticipate the defense before we file, so it becomes a speed bump—not a detour.
The stall
- "We already paid"
- "The goods were defective"
- "We never agreed to that balance"
- "The claim is too old"
The record
- Payment ledger applied to the penny
- No timely written objection to the goods
- Statement rendered and not disputed
- Claim filed inside the limitations window
When an invoice becomes a judgment
Keough Law turns unpaid accounts into enforceable judgments—starting with a clean, itemized statement and an attorney demand, then suing on open account and account stated when a customer won't settle. The goal is simple: collect the balance with the least cost and delay. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
“5 stars is not enough! Shaun successfully went after a company that owed my company thousands of dollars for product they received and never paid for. He was very responsive to emails and phone calls and kept costs low. Highly recommend!”
Sean Hynds
Unpaid Account
More than the balance due
An open account recovery is rarely just the face amount of the invoices. Depending on your paperwork, several categories stack on top.
Unpaid balance
The full principal your itemized statement shows as due and owing.
Interest & finance charges
Prejudgment interest, plus contractual finance charges where your terms provide for them.
Attorney’s fees
Where a credit application, invoice terms, or contract include a fee provision, we pursue your fees from the debtor.
Costs
Court costs and recoverable expenses of pursuing the claim to judgment.
From ledger to recovery
Reconcile the account
We assemble the invoices, statements, and payment history into a clean, itemized balance that will hold up in court.
Render & demand
We send a statement and an attorney-signed demand—which, on an account stated, also strengthens the claim if it goes unanswered.
File the right count
We plead open account, account stated, and breach of contract in the alternative so a technical defense to one does not sink the case.
Judgment & collection
We press to judgment, then collect—garnishment, liens, and enforcement so the balance becomes money in your account.
Start with a flat-fee demand
Many accounts are collected with a flat-fee demand letter and a rendered statement—a known, modest first step that often gets you paid without a lawsuit. If we have to sue, we scope the work to the balance at stake and, where your terms allow, pursue your attorney's fees from the debtor.
We'll give you a straight read on whether the account is worth chasing during your free consultation.
A litigator who collects
You work directly with Shaun Keough, not a call center. Open account claims sit inside our business litigation practice, so when the same balance also supports a promissory note or unjust enrichment claim, you already have the right lawyer.
Open account questions
What is the difference between an open account and an account stated?
An open account is a running, unsettled balance built from ongoing transactions on credit—each invoice adds to the total. An account stated is a step further: the parties have agreed (expressly or by the customer’s failure to object) on a specific final balance owed. Account stated is often easier to prove because agreement on the number is already established.
Do I need a signed contract to sue on an open account in Florida?
No. Open account and account stated are designed for exactly the situation where there is no single signed contract—just a course of dealing, invoices, and statements. What matters is the itemized record of what was delivered, what was charged, what was paid, and what remains due.
What makes an "account stated" claim so effective?
Under Florida law, when you render a statement to a customer and they keep it without objecting within a reasonable time, that silence can be treated as agreement that the balance is correct. That shifts the fight from “how much is owed” to simply “was it paid,” which is a much easier case to win.
How long do I have to sue on an open account in Florida?
Generally four years for an open account or an account not founded on a written instrument, and five years where the debt rests on a written contract, measured from when the balance became due. The windows can be shorter than owners expect, so it is best to act before the account ages and the debtor moves money.
Can I recover interest and attorney’s fees too?
Often, yes. Florida allows prejudgment interest on a liquidated balance, and where your invoices, credit application, or a governing contract provide for finance charges and attorney’s fees, we pursue those as well. We review your paperwork up front to capture every category of recovery available.
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what you've built?
Schedule a free, confidential consultation. We'll talk through your situation and figure out the right next step together.