AnswersWhen a client won't pay
My client says they've already paid, but I can't see it. What do I check?
The short answer
Check yours first. Search every account you have by the amount, not the reference, and look at pending items. HMRC's guide to paying a tax bill puts Faster Payments and CHAPS at same day or next day1 and Bacs at 3 working days1, so a Bacs payment sent last Friday can land on Wednesday. If it is not there once that time has passed, ask them in writing for the date, method and account they paid to.
What you can add
A £3,200 invoice, "paid" last Friday
Say you invoiced another business £3,200, due Tuesday 22 September 2026. On Monday 5 October they say they paid it on Friday 2 October, by Bacs. Three working days takes it to Wednesday 7 October. On Thursday 8 October it is not there: 16 days late. The rate is 8% above Bank Rate4, which makes 11.75%5 for an invoice that went late this autumn.
Then it grows by £1.03 a day until the money lands. If it does turn up, it was still sent 10 days after the due date, so the £70.00 and the interest up to the day it arrived stay owed. Ask for them once the trace is done.
The road ahead
Five steps. All free.
Step 1: Search every account by amount
Check every business account you have, including an old one and any card or payment-processor account. Search the amount, not the reference, and open the pending items. Look for one lump sum that covers several invoices, or a payment short by a bank fee.
Then check your accounts package: the money may be applied to another invoice or sitting unallocated.
Step 3: Ask for the payment details in writing
Send the email below. It asks for the date, amount, method, the sort code and account number it went to, the name shown and the reference, with the bank confirmation. Leave interest and the fixed sum out of this one; they turn a trace into a row.
Step 4: Compare their account details digit by digit
If the sort code or account number is not yours, they ask their bank to trace or recall it, and you tell yours. If those details came from an email saying your bank details had changed, stop and ring your bank before you send anything.
Step 5: Close it, or go back to the chase
Apply a payment only when cleared money shows in your account. A screenshot is not money, so mark the ledger line "payment reported" with the date until it clears. If their proof shows your details but no money has arrived, give your bank their date, amount and reference. If none comes by your date, return to the chase.
A letter you can copy
Reply asking for the payment details
Send it when they say they have paid and you have searched your accounts and cannot find it.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Email it, so the date is on it, and keep it with the invoice. Send it from the address the invoice went from, and put the invoice number in the subject so it threads.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- A small invoice from a client who pays on time. A two-line email asking the date and the method will usually settle it. Skip the full letter.
- They say "paid" every time and have not once given a date. That is a pattern, not a trace. Go to what to do when they keep promising.
- The payment went to a fraudster's account. The client rings its own bank today and asks it to recall the payment; yours holds none of it. Then both of you report it to Report Fraud6.
- The money arrived on time. Nothing to chase. Apply it, close the invoice and thank them.
The Wolf's note
A screenshot shows what they sent. Your bank shows what arrived. Ask for the date and the account, name the day you will look again, and let the records settle it.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.