Should you accept part payment?

Usually yes, in writing, with the remainder on named dates — money now beats principle later.

The instinct is to refuse because accepting feels like rewarding bad behaviour. Commercially that instinct is usually wrong: a part payment reduces your exposure immediately and, crucially, it is an admission that the debt is owed, which matters if you ever need to escalate.

Conditions: get the schedule in writing, name the dates, and state that the agreement does not waive your right to the full amount. And stop further work until the balance clears.

Usually yes, and quickly

Part of the money now beats all of it hypothetically. A customer offering half is usually telling you something true about their finances, and refusing on principle converts a slow payment into a bad debt.

The exception is where partial payment is being used to close out a dispute — "here's half, let's call it settled". That is a settlement offer, not a part payment, and accepting it can be taken as agreement. If that is what is happening, say explicitly that you are accepting it on account and the balance remains due.

Part payment as a diagnostic

Where part of the work is genuinely disputed, ask them to pay the undisputed portion now and hold the rest. You get most of the money, and you learn a great deal: someone who pays 80% has a real problem with the 20%, while someone who refuses to pay any of it never had a scope dispute at all. When a client refuses to pay covers reading that signal.

Record it against the invoice, not separately

This is where part payments go wrong administratively. The payment must attach to the invoice so that the balance due updates everywhere — on the invoice, in your outstanding total, in the client's record. Otherwise you have a £2,400 invoice sitting unpaid in your list and £1,200 in the bank that appears to relate to nothing.

The practical consequence is reminders. An invoice that does not know it has been half paid will chase for the full amount, which is a bad message to send someone who has just paid you.

Do not reissue the invoice for the balance

The original invoice stands at its original value. The payment is recorded against it. Issuing a second invoice for £1,200 creates two documents for one job, doubles the apparent revenue in your records, and if you are tax-registered will double-count the tax. Record the payment; do not rewrite the document.

Structuring a payment plan

If someone cannot pay in full, a plan is usually better than a slow drift. Keep it short and specific: an amount, dates, and a written confirmation. Three instalments over six weeks is a plan. "Whenever you can" is not.

Put it in writing, even informally by message. It converts a vague expectation into a schedule, and a missed instalment becomes something you can point at rather than something you have to interpret.

Tax does not wait

In accrual systems the tax on an invoice is due for the period the invoice was issued, regardless of how much of it has been paid. So a large part-paid invoice can leave you remitting tax on money you have not received. Cash-accounting schemes exist in several countries specifically to address this, and if you routinely carry large receivables it is worth asking your accountant whether you qualify.

EstimateBill tracks what is unpaid, reminds you on the due date, and writes the follow-up message for you in three tones. See how the reminders work.