The client says they’ll pay me when their customer pays them. What should I ask?

You delivered your work to an agency. Your invoice is outstanding, and the reply says, “We're waiting for our client to pay us.” You now need to establish whether that describes their cash-flow problem or a condition in your agreement.

Start with the document and the payment history. Avoid jumping straight from a sympathetic explanation to accepting an indefinite new deadline.

Map the payment chain

In a fictional arrangement, a retailer hires an agency, and the agency hires you to write campaign copy. There are two payment relationships: retailer to agency, and agency to you. Your first question is which agreement makes you dependent on the other relationship, if any.

Gather your accepted scope, payment terms, invoice, delivery evidence and any approval messages. Note who hired you and who your invoice names. If the documents conflict about the contracting party, resolve that before treating every person copied into an email as responsible for payment.

Read the trigger and the deadline separately

Compare these fictional examples as reading exercises, not clauses to copy into a new contract:

Look beyond the phrase “pay when paid.” Definitions, acceptance requirements, invoice procedures and schedules may affect the answer. Do not assume that every provision with that label has the same legal effect.

A clause's wording also does not settle enforceability. Location and industry matter, including sector-specific payment rules. For a UK reference point, government guidance on late commercial payments explains payment periods and when a payment becomes late. It is not a ruling on your particular clause or a global rule.

Ask what happens in three awkward cases

Work through a late payment, a dispute and a non-payment. For each, ask who carries the delay and whether your payment has a final date.

If the agency's customer disputes a different part of a large project, does that affect your completed work? If the agency accepts a discounted settlement, does it claim that changes your fee? If it never receives funds, what does it say happens to your invoice?

Also ask whether an undisputed portion can be paid now. You are trying to turn “soon” into an amount, a date and an explanation tied to the agreement.

Reply without silently agreeing to new terms

Adapt this fictional message:

Thanks for the update. My invoice [reference] for [amount] was submitted on [date], and the agreed payment term is [wording or section]. Could you confirm the payment date? If you believe payment depends on your customer's payment, please identify the relevant provision and explain the final deadline if their payment is delayed or disputed. Please also confirm whether the undisputed amount can be paid now.

If the client requests an extension, decide whether you are willing to grant one and record the actual arrangement. Consider the amount, instalment dates and what happens to future work. Do not write a friendly acceptance of a payment plan you cannot afford just to make the email feel less awkward.

Keep future work and the overdue invoice distinct

Before stopping work or withholding a deliverable, check the suspension, notice and termination terms and any applicable rules. An overdue invoice does not make every possible response automatically available.

For a new project, you can discuss staged payments or a fixed latest payment date before accepting. Explain the business reason: you need a payment schedule that lets you plan your own work, rather than taking an open-ended dependency you cannot manage.

If the amount is significant or the position is disputed, a focused local review can assess the clause and options. Bring the timeline and documents. The short lawyer-call brief helps organise that material.

Contracts.money can review your supplied PDF or DOCX and email AI analysis with the payment issue in context. It does not collect the debt, contact the client or establish what their customer has paid. For a related problem, see charging for extra client work.