The client paid less than the invoice. How should the project respond?
Unresolved payment discrepancyCoordinate with finance to distinguish timing, deduction, dispute, and error. Preserve the delivery and acceptance evidence while authorized commercial staff resolve the receivable.
What to do now
- Confirm the received amount and reference
- Identify the reason for the difference
- Provide relevant project evidence
- Track the agreed resolution with finance
When to escalate
Escalate when
The shortfall is material or requires a contractual remedy.
Who decides
The budget owner and authorized finance representative
Example
A partial payment is linked to a disputed deliverable and reviewed against its acceptance evidence.
Mistake to avoid
Editing the original invoice informally to match the payment.
Prevent a repeat
Review remaining cost and commitments, not only money already spent; reconcile with the authorized finance source.
Related cases
- A milestone is complete but cannot be invoiced. What should we check?Delivery-to-billing gap
- The supplier invoice exceeds the purchase order. What should happen?Unreconciled supplier charge
- The vendor wants full payment before handover. What should we review?Payment-handover misalignment
- The client says an excluded item was always included. How should we respond?Scope interpretation dispute