Customer says they never got the invoice, or disputes it

Sooner or later a client's customer will say one of two things. "I never got that invoice." Or "I am not paying that, it is wrong." Both stop a payment, and both are often handled badly because the person chasing is guessing. This post gives you a short process for each, and wording you can copy.

The rule underneath all of it: do not argue about who is right until you have the facts. Often the customer is neither lying nor careless. The invoice went to the wrong person, or the job was not what they expected.

When the customer says they never got the invoice

Step 1: Check where it went

Before replying, look at what the books show.

• **The email address on the customer record.** A typo, an old address, or a person who has left the company are the usual causes.
• **Whether the invoice was marked as sent.** In QuickBooks Online an invoice can be saved but never emailed. In Xero it can sit as approved and never sent. Both look fine at a quick glance.
• **Whether anyone else should have received it.** Many businesses want the invoice sent to an accounts payable address, not to the person who placed the order.

If you can see the email went out, say so politely, with the date. Do not say it as a gotcha.

Step 2: Resend it, and ask where it should go

Send it again straight away. Do not wait for the question of fault to resolve. The goal is to get the invoice in front of the right person, not to prove it was sent.

**Subject:** Invoice [invoice number] from [client business], resent

Hi [customer first name],

Thanks for letting me know. I have attached invoice [invoice number] for [amount], dated [invoice date], due [due date]. Payment details are below.

[payment link or bank details]

Could you tell me the best email address for invoices at [customer business]? I will update our records so future ones reach the right person.

Thanks, [your name], for [client business]

Step 3: Decide about the due date, with the client

If the customer genuinely never received it, ask the client whether to move the due date. Some clients will hold to the original terms. Others will give a few days. That is their decision, not yours. Whatever they decide, write it down and tell the customer the date plainly.

Step 4: Fix the cause

Update the email address in the books. Add the accounts payable contact if there is one. If the invoice was never sent, tell the client so they can catch it next time. This step is the one that stops the same call happening again.

When the customer disputes the invoice

A dispute is a different thing. The customer has the invoice and says it is wrong. Treat it as a question to answer, not a refusal to resist.

Step 1: Pause the chasing

Stop all reminders on that invoice at once. Nothing makes a dispute worse than a firm "overdue" email arriving the day after the customer explained their problem. If your reminders run automatically, this is the first thing to switch off.

Step 2: Find out exactly what is disputed

Customers often dispute part of an invoice, not all of it. Ask for specifics.

**Subject:** Re: Invoice [invoice number]

Hi [customer first name],

Thanks for telling me. I have paused any reminders on this invoice while we look at it.

Could you tell me which part is the problem? For example, the amount, a line item, the quantity, or the date of the work. If you have a purchase order or a quote that shows something different, please send it.

I will take it to [client first name] and come back to you by [date].

Thanks, [your name], for [client business]

Notice what this email does not do. It does not agree the customer is right. It does not say they are wrong. It promises a reply on a date, and you must keep that date.

Step 3: Take it to the client with the facts

Send the client a short note, not a forwarded argument.

• The invoice number, amount and date.
• What the customer says is wrong, in the customer's words.
• What the books show.
• What you suggest: stand by it, issue a credit note, or correct and reissue.

The client decides. You record what they decided.

Step 4: Ask for the undisputed part

If only one line is disputed, ask the customer to pay the rest now. It keeps cash moving and shows good faith. Some clients will want a credit note for the disputed line and a fresh invoice for the remainder. Do whatever the client agrees to, and keep the paperwork in the books.

Step 5: Close it clearly

When it is settled, tell the customer in one line.

**Subject:** Invoice [invoice number] resolved

Hi [customer first name],

Thanks for your patience. Following our conversation, [client business] has [issued a credit note for [amount] / confirmed the invoice stands / sent a corrected invoice, number [new invoice number]]. The amount now due is [amount], by [date].

Payment details: [payment link or bank details]

Thanks, [your name], for [client business]

What to write down

For every dispute, keep a short log in the customer's record or your own notes.

• The date the customer raised it, and how.
• What they said was wrong.
• What you checked.
• What the client decided, and the date.
• The date reminders were paused, and the date they restarted.

This is not paperwork for its own sake. If the same customer disputes the next invoice, you will want to know what happened last time.

What not to do

• Do not send a late fee notice while a dispute is open. Whether a fee is fair is the client's call and depends on their contract.
• Do not promise a credit note yourself. Only the client can agree to give up money.
• Do not tell the customer they are wrong based on the books alone. The books can be wrong too.
• Do not let a dispute sit. Set a date and keep it. Silence is how a small dispute turns into a lost customer and a write-off.

Before the next one

Many of these calls trace back to the same few causes: the wrong email address, a missing purchase order number, and invoices that did not match what was agreed. A short check for each client at the start, covering who receives invoices and whether customers need a purchase order, removes a lot of them. Our page for bookkeepers describes how we think about running that across many books.

If you would rather a customer did not have to write an email to dispute something, a payment page with a "something is not right" button gives them another way. Mugavi has one: pressing it stops reminders and tells the owner. It has not been tested with a real customer yet. The QuickBooks connection is in beta, late fees are not written back to QuickBooks, and there is no read-only team role. Even without any tool, the process above holds.

For wording on the gentler end of the same problem, see the dunning templates post.