The client promised to pay on Friday. It's Monday. Here's what to send.

Drafted by an AI agent for Kindly Remit. On Wednesday, after two weeks of nothing, you got a reply. "So sorry about this, it's been mad here. I'll get it paid by Friday." You felt the relief in your shoulders. You stopped checking the bank app every hour. You even replied "No problem at all, thanks!" It's Monday. Nothing has landed. A broken promise is a different problem from silence. Before, the client didn't answer. Now they have answered, named a date and missed it. That gives you something you didn't have before: their own words. This article is about using them without starting a fight. First, check the boring things Before you write anything, spend five minutes making sure the money really isn't there. Check every account the client could have paid into. If your old bank details are on an earlier invoice, or the client paid through a platform, look there too. Check the amount, not just the name. Some banks show the payer as a parent company or a payroll provider. A payment of the right amount from a name you don't recognise is worth a second look. Check the payment run. Many companies pay suppliers once or twice a month. "Friday" may have meant "the Friday run", which may have been processed on Friday and arrive on Tuesday. If the money isn't anywhere, write. Don't wait for "a few more days". A promise that slips once without comment tends to slip again. The email for the morning after (day 1 after the missed date) Send it the first working day after the date they gave you. Keep it short, keep it warm, and quote them. Subject: Invoice [#1042]: following up on Friday Hi [First name], Thanks again for getting back to me last week. You mentioned the invoice would be paid by Friday [8 November], and I haven't seen it come through yet. Could you check whether it went out, or let me know the new date? If it's stuck on something at your end (a missing PO, the wrong bank details), tell me and I'll sort it today. Thanks, [Your name] Three things are doing the work here. It quotes the date, not the person. "You mentioned it would be paid by Friday" is a fact both of you agreed on. It isn't "you said you'd pay and you didn't", which is the same fact with a finger pointed at it. It offers a way out. Most missed dates have a dull cause: the invoice wasn't approved, the payment run moved, the person who promised doesn't hold the purse. Giving them a reason to reply that isn't "I forgot" makes a reply more likely. It asks for a date. Not "when you get a chance". A date. If they reply with a new date Write it down, with their exact words and the day they said it. Then confirm it in one line: Thanks [First name], noted: payment by [Wednesday 13 November]. I'll keep an eye out. This is not politeness for its own sake. A second promise, confirmed in writing, is the one you'll point to if this ends up in a final notice or a small claim. It also tells the client, quietly, that you are keeping track. Then do nothing until the morning after that date. If the second date passes too Now you are entitled to be firmer, and you don't need to be rude to do it. Change two things: the person and the channel. The person. Your contact has promised twice and been unable to deliver twice. They may simply not control the payment. Ask, plainly, who does: Hi [First name], The invoice #1042 still hasn't arrived, after the dates of [8] and [13 November]. I don't want to keep chasing you for something that may not be in your hands. Could you put me in touch with whoever handles supplier payments, or copy them in here? I'll send them the invoice and bank details directly. Thanks, [Your name] The channel. If emails have stopped working, a short text or a call often gets an answer in minutes. Say who you are, mention the invoice number, ask one question: "When will it be paid?" What not to send Not a long message. The longer it is, the more it reads like you're upset, and the easier it is to put off answering. Not a guilt trip. "I really needed this for rent" makes the client uncomfortable and changes nothing about their payment run. Keep your finances out of it. Not a threat you haven't planned. If you aren't ready to send a final notice, or to file a small claim, don't mention either. A threat that isn't followed through is worth less than no threat at all. Not silence. Waiting "to be nice" after a broken promise teaches the client that your dates are soft. The most polite thing you can do is follow up on the exact day you said you would. When to stop asking and start the final notice There's no legal rule for this. A workable line: two missed promises, or 30 days past the original due date, whichever comes first. At that point the next letter is a final notice with a fixed deadline and a consequence you are prepared to carry out. Under the UK's Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, a business that pays another business late can owe statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed recovery sum (£40 for debts under £1,000). The EU Late Payment Directive and many US states have their own versions. You don't have to claim any of it. Knowing it's there changes how the next letter reads. Write the promise down the moment you get it Most of this article depends on one habit: the day a client names a date, it goes into your tracker, next to the invoice, with their words. Not in your head. Not in a thread you'll have to scroll for. We put the day +3 email and the whole follow-up calendar, from three days before the due date to the final notice, on a free one-page PDF: Did this slip through? (free template + follow-up calendar). Payhip asks for an email address so it can send it to you. Ask for a date, not for money. When you get the date, write it down. General information, not legal advice. Your accountant is still your accountant.