Unpaid client recovery
Find your exact situation
Every page below covers one specific way a client stops paying, with the message to send, the follow-up timing, and the point where chasing should stop. The examples are generated by the free tool, not written by a marketer.
Invoice 30 days overdue
At 30 days overdue, stop sending casual check-ins and send one short written follow-up that restates the amount, names the original due date, and asks for either payment today or one exact payment date.
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Invoice 60 days overdue
At 60 days overdue with no reply, casual follow-ups have stopped working.
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Invoice 90 days overdue
At 90 days overdue, sending another follow-up rarely changes the outcome on its own.
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Client ghosted after I sent the final files
Once you have delivered the final files, silence costs the client nothing, so waiting rarely helps.
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Client keeps saying they will pay but never does
A promise without a date is not a payment plan, it is a delay.
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Client wants to pay an invoice in installments
Agreeing to installments is usually better than a standoff, because a paying client is worth more than a principled dispute.
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Client approved the work then refused to pay
When quality concerns appear only after an invoice goes out, and never during the approval stage, they are usually about payment rather than the work.
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Client not paying and I have no contract
No signed contract does not mean no agreement.
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Client paid the deposit but not the balance
A paid deposit works in your favour: it shows the client accepted the engagement and its terms, which makes disputing the remaining balance much harder for them.
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Client says cash flow is tight and cannot pay
Cash flow trouble is often genuine, but next month is not a date and cannot be tracked.
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Client says they never received my invoice
This is sometimes genuine and sometimes a reset button that restarts your payment clock.
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Client says they will pay when their client pays them
Unless you explicitly agreed to a pay-when-paid arrangement in writing, their client's payment schedule is not your problem and does not change your due date.
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Prefer longer explanations? Read the guides on late payment.