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My client cancelled the project halfway. Do I still get paid?

The short answer

Yes. You can bill for the work done up to the day they cancelled, and stage invoices already sent stay due, with interest at 8% on top of the Bank of England base rate5. For the part not yet done, you are usually owed only what your contract provides, or a loss you can show. A business client has no cooling-off right: the right to cancel2 belongs to consumers1.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 9 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

What you can add

A £9,000 project, cancelled at stage 3

Say a studio agreed a £9,000 project in three stages of £3,000. Stage 1 is paid. Stage 2 was invoiced, due on Monday 14 September 2026, and is still unpaid. On Wednesday 23 September the client cancels by email, with stage 3 about 40% done. The contract says: work done to the date, plus 20% of the part not yet earned. On Wednesday 28 October 2026, 44 days after stage 2 fell due, the studio works out the total. Stage 2 went late on 15 September, so the rate is 8% above7 the 3.75% Bank Rate on 30 June 20268: 11.75%.

Stage 2 invoice, already sent and unpaid£3,000.00
Work done on stage 3 (40% of £3,000)£1,200.00
Cancellation fee: 20% of the £1,800 not yet earned£360.00
Interest on stage 2: £3,000 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 44 days5£42.49
Fixed sum on stage 2 (invoices from £1,000 to £9,999.99)6£70.00
Owed on 28 October 2026£4,672.49

Stage 2 grows by £0.97 a day until it is paid. The new invoice has its own due date. If it comes to a claim, £4,672.49 costs a £205 court fee9.

The road ahead

Six steps. Free until the court fee.

Step 1: Get the cancellation in writing
Note the date, who cancelled and how. If they only said 'on hold', ask: 'Could you confirm in writing whether the project is paused or cancelled?' Until they answer, you do not know what you can bill.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 2: Stop work and list what is done
Write down what was finished and what was part-done up to the cancellation date, from your timesheets, drafts and emails. Keep the proof of the work with the list.
Cost: FreeTime: 1 hour
Step 3: Read your contract's cancellation terms
Look for a clause on cancelling or ending the contract, a notice period, a cancellation fee (people call it a kill fee) and what happens to the deposit. A fee is owed only if it was agreed before the work, so do not add one now.
If the client's own terms say they can cancel at any time, whether that holds can turn on reasonableness4. That one is for a solicitor who does commercial contracts, and so is a cancellation fee that looks large next to what you lost.
Cost: FreeTime: 20 minutes
Step 4: Bill the work done on a separate invoice
Invoice the part-finished work at the stage prices or rates in your contract, with the work log attached. If no price was ever agreed, the law implies a reasonable charge3. If a stage price was agreed and the contract is silent on a stage cut short, bill a fair share by the work log, and expect that line to be argued.
Leave invoices already sent as they are. Each keeps its own interest5 and fixed sum6, counted from its own due date.
Cost: FreeTime: 1 hour
Step 5: Send the letter and set a pay-by date
Email the letter below with the new invoice and work log. A company has 14 days to reply10; a sole trader must get 30 days11, by post, with the pack in the letter before action page.
Say what they receive once it is paid. Who owns the work until then and whether you can hold files back are separate questions.
Cost: FreeTime: 14 or 30 days
Step 6: Still unpaid? Start a claim
If the pay-by date passes, you can claim stage 2 in the County Court, for a court fee of £2059. You have six years12 to start a claim on an unpaid invoice.
Chase the new invoice on the usual reminder days, counted from its own due date. Or wait and make one claim for both: £4,672.49 has the same fee.
Cost: £205 court feeTime: Same day

A letter you can copy

Letter sending the cancellation invoice

Send it once the client has cancelled and you have your list of the work done.

New email

SubjectCancellation of the project: invoice

Dear , Thank you for your email of cancelling the project. I stopped work that day. Please find attached invoice , with a log of the work, for what was completed on stage 3 up to that date: . It is due on . Clause of the contract provides for a cancellation fee. The fee is and is shown on the invoice as a separate line. Invoice , due on , is also unpaid. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, I have added interest of to date and a fixed sum of . This is separate from the new invoice. Please pay invoice , with that interest and fixed sum, in all, by , to the account shown on the invoices. Once both invoices are paid, I will send the files for the work paid for. If you believe any of this is wrong, please tell me before that date and say why. If invoice is not paid by then, I will start a claim in the County Court without further notice. Kind regards,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Send it by email so it is dated. Attach both invoices and the work log, and keep a copy. No cancellation fee in your contract? Delete the paragraph that begins 'Clause' and leave the fee off the invoice. Do not add one now. Sole trader client? Delete the sentence about a court claim. Before any claim, post them a letter before action with the pack the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims asks for, and give 30 days.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

They're a consumer, not a business. A consumer1 can have a right to cancel2 that a business client does not. Their rules are different, and these pages do not cover them.
The work done is small and the client is a good one. Bill it with a short note and move on. A dispute would cost more than the invoice.
Your contract lets them cancel without paying. Read the clause before you chase. If it is clear, a claim will meet it, and a solicitor who does commercial contracts can say whether it holds.
The project had not started and there is no deposit clause. There is no work to bill and no fee agreed, so any claim would be for a loss you would have to prove. For a small job that is rarely worth a court fee.
The client is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The courts and claim routes differ there, and this page covers England and Wales only.

The Wolf's note

Invoices already sent are debts. The rest is a claim, and a claim is only as strong as the clause and the work log behind it. Keep them on separate invoices, so a dispute over the second leaves the first standing.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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