When a client keeps promising to pay, ask for a specific amount and date, confirm it in writing with a payment link, and follow up on the next working day if the money hasn't arrived. If a second promise slips, ask what's holding it up and offer something they can keep, such as part payment now or an instalment plan. Decide in advance what happens if that's missed too, so the next step doesn't depend on another promise.
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The short version
- Ask for an amount and a date, not just a promise.
- Confirm it in writing the same day with a payment link.
- Follow up the working day after a missed date.
- After a second miss, ask what's holding it up and offer a plan they can keep.
- Decide in advance what happens if the plan is missed too.
Why promises to pay slip
Many clients who promise to pay mean it when they say it. The promise tends to slip because the person you're speaking to doesn't release the money, because the invoice is waiting for an approval you can't see, or because cash is tight and other suppliers are being paid first. "I'll get it sorted this week" fits all three, and it's easy to give and easy to miss.
A first promise still tells you something useful. The client accepts the debt and intends to pay, so you're no longer dealing with a dispute. You just don't know yet when the money will come, how much of it, or who has to act for it to happen.
In Adfin's payment data, the longer an invoice stays unpaid, the less likely it is to be paid at all. About 94% of invoices still unpaid on their due date were eventually paid, against about 69% of those still unpaid 30 days later. Some of that gap will be invoices paid another way and never marked as paid.
Turn a promise into a date you can check
When a client says they'll pay, ask two questions before you end the call: how much, and on what date. "By Friday" is a date you can check. "Soon" isn't. If they can only pay part of it, agree the amount and the date for the rest.
Then send a short email the same day with the invoice number, the amount and the date they gave you, for example: "Thanks for confirming you'll pay £2,400 against invoice 1086 by Friday 13 November." Add your payment link underneath, so there's nothing for them to look up. The email also gives you a record of what was agreed if you need it later.
Put the date in your diary or your credit control system and check on the next working day. If nothing has arrived, follow up that morning and refer back to what was agreed. You can ask them to check where the payment has got to without repeating the whole history. Leaving it a week to see if it turns up can make the date feel optional to the client.
If you use Adfin, you can pause the automatic reminders for that one client while you wait for the date they gave you, so they aren't sent a chase that contradicts your agreement, then switch them back on if it passes. Every message carries a payment link, and the payment is matched to the invoice as soon as it lands.
When the second promise slips
A second missed date usually points to something other than a forgotten payment. Ask plainly, and without blame, whether the invoice is waiting on someone else or whether it's a question of timing on their side.
If it's an approval, ask who signs it off and whether you can send the invoice straight to them. If it's cash, a smaller commitment they can keep is likely to be worth more than a larger one they can't. You could take a part payment today and agree a date for the balance, or split what's owed into instalments collected automatically, so neither of you has to remember each one.
Adfin lets you set up an instalment plan on an invoice, or accept part payments, with each payment matched to the invoice as it arrives.
When to stop accepting promises
Before you agree a plan, decide what you'll do if it's missed as well, and tell the client when you agree it, for example that a missed instalment will move the debt to a formal letter. Only name a step you'd be comfortable taking, otherwise the next deadline carries less weight.
It also helps to write the rule into your credit control policy, so nobody has to decide it on the spot. For example, a missed date could get a follow-up the next working day, a second missed date a call and a plan, and a missed plan a move to formal recovery. Applying the same rule to everyone is fairer to the clients who pay on time, and it takes the awkwardness out of each decision.
Common questions
What do I say when a client keeps promising to pay but doesn't? Ask for a specific amount and date, confirm it in writing with a payment link, and follow up on the next working day if it doesn't arrive.
Should I accept a promise to pay? Yes, as long as it comes with an amount and a date you can check. A promise without either is hard to follow up.
How many broken promises should I accept? That's your call, but deciding in advance helps. One approach is to follow up the first missed date the next working day, offer a plan after the second, and move to formal recovery if the plan is missed.
Should I offer a payment plan to a client who keeps missing dates? If the problem is cash, it can help. Smaller instalments on fixed dates give the client something they can keep, and collecting them automatically means nobody has to remember.
Should I stop the automatic reminders once a client promises to pay? You can pause them for that client until the agreed date, so they aren't chased for something you've agreed, then switch them back on if the date passes.
What if the client stops replying altogether? Treat it as a missed promise and move to the next step in your policy. A short written note setting out the amount, the missed dates and what happens next gives them a clear chance to respond.
Sources
- Adfin Help Centre - Create and manage instalment plans (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15379042-create-and-manage-instalment-plans
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
