Order canceled — the remuneration you are still owed under § 648 BGB
Project stopped, invoice unpaid? If the client terminates a contract for work (Werkvertrag) without good cause, you do not lose your fee.
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Deadline at a glance
No statutory deadline
§ 648 BGB
The claim is generally time-barred after three years (§§ 195, 199 BGB). Still, respond promptly: the later you object, the harder it is to correct an incorrect classification as termination for good cause.
It is an AI, not a person: nobody looks at your individual case, and we do not know who signs up or for what reason. That is why we give pointers, but no legal advice on the individual case. Guidelines and playbooks in the platform are only guardrails: the AI relies on the available sources and your information. AI can make mistakes — check important results, and if in doubt, ask a lawyer.
What we pay special attention to
Curated from real cases. The AI review flags exactly these points in your document.
The cancellation is written off as a loss, although § 648 Satz 2 BGB expressly preserves the claim to remuneration.
The client claims termination for good cause (§ 648a BGB) — then it only owes the work already performed. The burden of proof for this lies with the client, not with you.
Confusing a contract for work with a service contract: § 648 BGB only applies to a contract for work; otherwise §§ 615, 621, 627 BGB apply with quite different consequences.
A cancellation clause in the client's standard terms that completely excludes § 648 Satz 2 BGB — as a standard term regularly invalid (§ 307 BGB).
An invoice that does not separately state the part performed, the expenses saved and other earnings — the claim then does not fall due.
The 5 percent presumption in § 648 Satz 3 BGB is misunderstood as a ceiling; it is a rebuttable minimum.
Installments already paid are refunded too hastily instead of being set off.
No evidence that the freed-up capacity was not paid for elsewhere — exactly what the client will dispute.
What you can do here in 5 minutes
Many self-employed people write off a cancellation as a loss. Under a contract for work (Werkvertrag) that is wrong: the customer may terminate at any time (§ 648 Satz 1 BGB), but still owes the agreed remuneration — he may only deduct what you have actually saved as a result, and what you have earned elsewhere with the time freed up. In practice the claim almost never fails on the law, but on an invoice that does not separate these items cleanly.
Upload the contract and the termination letter — we classify the type of contract and the type of termination, separate the part of the work performed from the part not performed, and build a verifiable invoice from it, together with a demand for payment.
Results in three steps
Upload contract and termination
Quote, order confirmation and the termination letter.
Classification
Contract for work or contract for services, termination at will or for good cause.
Invoice framework
Agreed remuneration, part performed, saved expenses — each separately.
- Upload contract and termination – Quote, order confirmation and the termination letter.
- Classification – Contract for work or contract for services, termination at will or for good cause.
- Invoice framework – Agreed remuneration, part performed, saved expenses — each separately.
- No quantification of your saved expenses — only you know them; we provide the calculation structure.
- No assessment of evidence as to whether an alleged good cause actually holds.
- No tax advice on VAT on the termination portion.
FAQ
Common questions about this case
Transparency
What the AI checks — and what only a lawyer can decide
An AI is only as good as the question. We show openly where your answer is reliable and where you should speak with a lawyer.
If the client alleges defective performance and relies on § 648a BGB, if the order value exceeds roughly €25,000, or if you have to sue, you should involve a contract law lawyer.
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