Mississippi’s Open Account Statute: How Businesses Can Recover Attorney Fees on Unpaid Invoices

A customer may keep using the goods, labor, or services your company already delivered while treating your invoices as optional. Meanwhile, the unpaid balance ties up cash you need for payroll, materials, equipment, and new work. The Mississippi open account statute may give your company a practical way to pursue the balance without allowing attorney fees to consume much of the recovery.

For more than 100 years, companies in Biloxi, Ocean Springs, and surrounding communities have trusted Rushing & Guice, PLLC to protect their financial interests. We can determine whether the account qualifies, identify gaps in the supporting records, prepare a legally sufficient demand, and pursue payment through negotiation or litigation when necessary

An open account generally involves ongoing credit transactions that remain open because the parties expect to continue doing business.

A common local example is a seafood distributor that makes weekly deliveries to a restaurant on Howard Avenue in Biloxi. The distributor sends an invoice after each delivery, applies the restaurant’s payments and credits to the account, and carries any unpaid balance forward as new orders are placed. Because the businesses expect the deliveries to continue, the account remains open rather than closing after each transaction.

Yes. A business may recover reasonable attorney fees after winning a qualifying open account claim and satisfying the statute’s demand requirements.

Mississippi Code requires several steps:

• The debt must qualify as an open account. The company must prove more than the existence of an unpaid bill.
• The debtor must receive a written demand. Informal phone calls and routine past-due notices may not satisfy the requirements of the statute.
• The demand must state the correct balance. It should reflect payments, credits, returns, discounts, and other adjustments.
• The demand must include an itemized account statement. The debtor must be able to identify the transactions supporting the claimed balance.
• The account must remain unpaid for 30 days after receipt. The statutory period runs from receipt of the proper demand, not simply the date printed on it.
• The creditor must obtain a judgment. The judge then determines a reasonable attorney fee for prosecuting and collecting the claim.

The statute can therefore create an exception to Mississippi’s usual rule that each side pays its own legal expenses. That exception is significant because it can make pursuing a moderate commercial balance economically reasonable.

The written demand serves as the foundation for the attorney fee request, and Mississippi courts strictly enforce the statutory requirements.

The amount demanded must be accurate. A careful demand should identify:

• The debtor and the correct legal entity;
• Each unpaid invoice;
• The date, description, and amount of each charge;
• All payments and credits;
• The total balance due;
• The deadline for payment; and
• The creditor’s intention to pursue available legal remedies.

Your company should also preserve evidence showing when the debtor received the demand. A traceable delivery method can prevent a later dispute over whether the 30-day period began. The current statute also permits courts, in limited circumstances, to consider documented but unsuccessful delivery attempts when delivery was impossible, and sufficient diligence was shown.

Yes. The statute also allows a debtor who successfully defeats an open account lawsuit to seek reasonable attorney fees.

That provision makes an accurate pre-suit review essential. A creditor should confirm that it sued the correct business or individual, properly calculated the account, and has evidence establishing an open account before filing.

The ability to recover attorney fees on an unpaid invoice in Mississippi can improve the value of a valid collection claim. An unsupported claim, however, may expose the creditor to the other side’s fees.  

Mississippi generally gives three years (or, in certain circumstances, six years for the sale of goods) for a Mississippi business to file an open account lawsuit. The date that marks the start of the three-year period depends on whether the account has charges on only one side or on both.

Your business should therefore review the oldest unpaid invoice first. A newer invoice does not automatically preserve older charges, and the 30-day attorney fee demand does not extend the filing deadline.

Most Open Accounts: Each Invoice Has Its Own Deadline

When one business provides goods or services, and the customer’s obligation is to pay, the clock generally starts separately for each charge when it becomes due.

A later invoice does not automatically extend the deadline for an earlier one. This means some charges on the same customer account may become too old to pursue while newer charges remain enforceable.

Mutual Accounts: The Last Transaction May Control

A mutual account is a true two-way business account. Both companies provide goods, services, or other value to each other, and charges from both sides are recorded in the same running account.

For example, a marine supplier may sell equipment to a repair company, which then performs maintenance work for the supplier. Instead of paying each invoice separately, businesses apply their charges to each other and keep a running balance.

For this type of account, Mississippi generally starts the deadline from the date of the last proven item on the account. In practical terms, the account is treated as one continuing financial relationship rather than a collection of separate, one-way invoices.

A valid invoice, a well-maintained ledger, and a properly prepared demand can turn a lingering receivable into an enforceable claim that includes reasonable attorney fees.  

At Rushing & Guice, the attorney who meets with you remains directly involved in your matter. We build strategies around the company’s business goals and bottom line rather than treating every collection dispute as a reason for prolonged litigation. Our smaller firm structure allows us to provide personal attention while drawing on our commercial litigation experience and resources required to negotiate, file suit, and pursue a judgment.

Contact Rushing & Guice to have us review your invoices, account history, and prior collection efforts. We can determine whether the Mississippi open account statute applies and help your company pursue a cost-effective path toward payment.

To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:​

• Miss. Code Ann. § 11-53-81.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-29.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-31.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 75-2-725.