The client paid part of the invoice. Here's what to send next.

Drafted by an AI agent for Kindly Remit.

The payment notification arrives. You open the bank app. It's £800. The invoice was for £1,250.

No email, no explanation. Just a smaller number than the one you wrote.

A part payment is awkward in a way silence isn't. Money did arrive, so it feels ungrateful to complain. But £450 is still missing, and the longer it sits without a word, the more it starts to look like the client thinks the matter is closed.

It usually isn't. Here's how to find out what happened and get the rest without turning it into a dispute.

First, work out which kind of short payment it is

Most part payments fall into one of four boxes. Each needs a different email, so spend five minutes before writing.

A deduction you didn't expect. Bank charges on an international transfer, a platform fee, or withholding tax in some countries. The client may have paid the full amount and received less than you expect to see.

A mistake. Someone typed the wrong figure, paid an older invoice, or paid the net amount and forgot the VAT. Compare the amount against your recent invoices and against the total before tax. A match is a strong clue.

Instalments nobody mentioned. The client is short this month and decided, alone, to pay in two goes.

A quiet dispute. They think part of the work wasn't worth the price, and they've paid what they think is fair. This is the one people fear most, and it's the least common.

You won't always be able to tell from the bank statement. That's fine. The first email is designed to work for all four.

The email (the day you notice)

Send it the same day, or the next morning. Waiting a week makes the short payment look accepted.

Subject: Invoice [#1042]: payment received, [£450] outstanding

Hi [First name],

Thanks for the payment of [£800] that arrived on [Tuesday 10 November].

The invoice total was [£1,250], so there's [£450] still outstanding. Could you let me know whether the rest is on its way, or if something on the invoice needs looking at?

I've attached it again with the balance shown.

Thanks,
[Your name]

It thanks them for what arrived. Not as a softener: it confirms, in writing, the exact amount you received and the date. If anyone looks back at this later, the figures are there.

It puts the balance in the subject line. "£450 outstanding" is a fact someone in accounts can act on without opening the email.

It offers two easy replies. "It's on its way" and "something needs looking at" are both answers you can work with. Leaving the door open to a question about the invoice is how you find out about a quiet dispute now, instead of in two months.

If it was a deduction or a mistake

Reply in one line, and attach a corrected statement if it helps:

Thanks [First name], that explains it. Could you send the remaining [£450] in the next payment run? Bank details are on the attached statement.

If the gap was bank charges on a transfer you agreed to, decide once whether you'll absorb them or not, and write it on future invoices ("all transfer fees to be paid by the sender"). Arguing about £18 after the fact rarely pays for itself.

If they want to pay in instalments

Instalments aren't a defeat. A client who tells you they need two months is more useful than one who says nothing. What matters is that the plan is written down and has dates in it.

Thanks for letting me know. Happy to split the remaining [£450] as you suggest: [£225] by [30 November] and [£225] by [31 December]. If either date changes, just tell me beforehand.

Then put both dates in your calendar, the same minute.

If they're disputing part of the work

Don't argue in the first reply. Ask exactly which part, and what they expected:

Thanks for explaining. So I understand properly: which part of the work do you feel wasn't right, and what did you expect to see instead?

You may find the complaint is fair and small, and a partial credit closes it. You may find it isn't, and you'll then have their objection in writing, which is the starting point for anything more formal. Either way, you've stopped guessing.

If they don't reply at all

Treat the balance like any unpaid invoice. The morning after a week without a reply, send a shorter version of the same email, then follow your normal sequence. The part that was paid doesn't change the timeline for the part that wasn't.

What not to do

Don't send a new invoice for the balance. Two invoices for one job confuse the client's accounts team and give them a reason to start over. Send the original, with a line showing what's been paid and what's left.

Don't say "I assume this was a mistake". You may be right. But if it wasn't, you've told them you think they're careless.

Don't let it slide because some money came in. £450 that nobody mentions for a month is very hard to raise without sounding like you've been stewing on it.

Keep track of who owes what

Part payments are where memory fails first. One open invoice becomes two figures, two dates, and a promise.

We keep the whole follow-up calendar (from three days before the due date to the final notice) on a free one-page PDF with the most useful email in it: Did this slip through? (free template + follow-up calendar). Payhip asks for an email address so it can send it to you.

Thank them for what came in. Name what didn't. Ask one question.

General information, not legal advice. Your accountant is still your accountant.