Is payment legal when demand for payment is not done by invoice?

Full question:

If a service provider submits a dated document to a customer which states the name of the company providing the service, a detailed description of the services provided, the total amount due for the services specifying that it is an annual payment, and it is signed by a legal representative of the company providing the service, can Accounts Payable legally generate payment for the service even if the word 'INVOICE' is not on the document?

• Category: Contracts
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

An account can be due and payable without using the word "invoice" on the document that makes the claims for payment. Collecting a payment for services rendered assumes there has been a contract established between the parties.

A contract means a promise, or sets of promises, the performance of which the law recognizes to be a duty and for the breach of which the law confers a remedy. A contract may be either written or oral, unless the contract is required to be written by law. An oral agreement is just as binding and effectual as an agreement in writing.

In Texas, the elements that are generally required to create an enforceable contract:

(1) An offer;

(2) Acceptance in strict compliance with terms of the offer;
(3) A meeting of the minds with respect to both the subject matter of the agreement and all of its essential terms;
(4) A communication that each party has consented to the terms of the agreement;
(5) For a written contract, execution and delivery of the contract with an intent that it become mutual and binding on both parties; and
(6) Consideration.

In Texas, collection for services rendered under a contract must be done in compliance with the state's debt collection law as well as the federl Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please see the links below for detailed explanations of how each law operates and affects the ability of creditors to collect payments.