Supplier or Distributor Owed $100K+ in Unpaid Invoices? Your Options

If you supply materials, equipment, or wholesale goods to other businesses, one customer that stops paying can put $100,000 or more of your money at risk. The goods are delivered, the invoices are aging, and the customer is either disputing the bill, stalling, or quietly running out of cash.

Darkwell Capital helps suppliers and distributors pursue large unpaid invoice claims without draining their own working capital. Our commercial funding focuses on claims of $100,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team.

Owed $100,000 or more for goods you delivered, and legal costs are the holdup? Request a free claim review.

Where recovery can come from

• The buyer. A breach of contract claim for the unpaid price. For sales of goods, most states follow Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which lets a seller recover the price of goods the buyer accepted (UCC § 2-709).
• A personal guaranty. Many credit applications include a guaranty signed by an owner. If it’s valid, the guarantor can be liable along with the business. A promise to pay another’s debt generally has to be in writing, so find the signed document.
• Construction supply rights. Suppliers to construction projects may have lien rights on private jobs and bond rights on public jobs. See construction bond claims.
• Your own paperwork. Credit terms, invoices, and a credit application may include interest, attorney fee, venue, or guaranty terms that change the value of the claim.

Deadlines to know

Under UCC § 2-725, as adopted in most states, a claim for breach of a contract for the sale of goods must be brought within four years after it accrues, and the parties can shorten that period by agreement to as little as one year. Check your terms and conditions and the buyer’s purchase order for a shorter period. Construction lien and bond deadlines are much shorter and vary by state.

Personal guaranties: what to look for

• Who signed, and whether they signed personally or only as an officer of the company.
• Whether the guaranty is continuing, capped, or limited to certain orders.
• Whether it survives a change in ownership or a new entity.
• What notice, if any, it requires before you can collect from the guarantor.

Guaranty enforceability depends on the wording and your state’s law. Your attorney can tell you whether it holds up.

Factoring won’t touch a disputed invoice

Factoring companies generally buy clean, undisputed receivables. Once a customer disputes an invoice or stops paying, it’s usually a legal claim, not a receivable. Read why factoring won’t buy a disputed invoice.

Why the cost of the fight stops good claims

A customer that owes you six figures and won’t pay may be betting you won’t spend the money to make it pay. Lawyers who handle contract matters bill an average of $373 an hour, and corporate litigation averages $461 an hour, according to Clio’s Legal Trends data (2025 figures). In federal court, the median time from filing to a civil trial was 33.7 months for the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, per the U.S. Courts caseload profile. A National Center for State Courts study reported a median cost of $91,000 to take a contract case through trial, based on a 2012 survey of trial lawyers.

For the full breakdown, read How much does it cost to sue a business for breach of contract?

How Darkwell helps

Litigation costs are substantial, and they land on your business while it’s still waiting to be paid. Darkwell helps carry them. For suppliers, that means your credit line stays focused on inventory and payroll instead of legal bills.

• We help carry the cost. Darkwell funding helps pay for the case, so your operating cash stays in your business.
• We bring attorneys we know. Darkwell has a network of attorneys we know. They help keep costs down while still pursuing the claim. The claim moves forward with an attorney from our network, or your current attorney where it fits.
• Your attorney handles the law. We don’t run your case or choose your legal strategy. Your attorney does that.
• You make a clear decision. The goal is to take the stress out of the fight and make the smart financial decision about your claim.

What to send for a claim review

• The credit application, terms and conditions, and any signed guaranty.
• Purchase orders, delivery receipts, and proof of acceptance.
• Invoices, statements, and an aging report for the account.
• Emails where the customer acknowledged the debt, promised payment, or raised a dispute.
• The customer’s full legal name and state, and what you know about its assets.
• Your attorney’s name, if you already have one.

How we get paid

Our fee comes out of the recovery, not your pocket. If there’s no recovery, you don’t repay our funding. Your written agreement sets the exact terms.

Where we work and claim size

Darkwell works in select states where our model is allowed, including Colorado, Wyoming, Florida, and California.

Commercial funding focuses on larger claims of $100,000 or more. Across all our work, we review claims of $10,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team.

Darkwell does not buy or collect consumer debt in states that require a collection license, including Colorado.

Common questions

Do I have to use an attorney from your network? No. The claim can move forward with an attorney from our network, or your current attorney where it fits.

The customer says the goods were defective. Can you still help? Possibly. A dispute doesn’t end a claim. We look at the documents, the acceptance record, and what the customer said and when.

What size claims do you fund? Commercial funding focuses on larger claims of $100,000 or more. Across all our work, we review claims of $10,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team.

What does a claim review cost? Nothing. The claim review is free.

Owed $100,000 or more for goods you delivered? Request a free claim review. Send what you have, and you’ll get a response from our team.

Related reading: Commercial Claim Funding · Subcontractor vs GC Claims · Construction Bond Claims · Can’t Afford to Sue a Company? · Cost to Sue for Breach of Contract · Factoring vs Claim Funding