If you haven't heard from the client, it might be that they haven't heard from you. Perhaps your invoice is still in drafts or the invoicing software you regularly use experienced a glitch. Check on this before you contact the client as they might not be at fault.

You could send the client a contentious email but as you might be reliant on the client for your income, you don't want to say anything that could deter them from doing business with you again. Therefore, send your client a friendly reminder and let them know the invoice is overdue. It might be that the invoice has gone into their spam folder, so this will give them an opportunity to check. Or it might simply be that the client has forgotten to pay you. Hopefully, you will hear back from the client within a day or two with the payment that you requested. 

If you don't receive an email from your client within a few days, send them another email or give them a ring. Within your communication, ask if there are any issues. It might be they didn't like the work you did for them, which is why they are withholding the money. Or it might be that they are short of funds and need to delay the payment. Admittedly, they should have let you know about such issues in advance. But if they haven't, it's better that you get in touch to get to the bottom of things if any issues exist. If you learn of any issues, you can then take the next best step. If they tell you there is a problem with the work you have done for them, you can either argue your case that it's acceptable or make amends by carrying out the work again. If the client tells you they are short on funds, it's better to agree on a new payment date instead of insisting they pay, especially if they have been reliable in paying your invoices before. And if there are any other issues, try to come to a peaceful resolution if possible, or take the following steps if you don't get the answers you are looking for. 

If the client doesn't have a valid excuse for not paying you or if you still haven't heard from them, you can re-send them the contract to remind them of their obligations. If they then get in touch and tell you they haven't been able to pay you because of a shortfall in funds, you could do as we suggested before and ask for a new payment date. This isn't ideal but so long as the client isn't taking you for a fool, it's a sensible thing to do if you want to keep doing business with them. If you aren't happy with their excuse, you can insist they pay you, with the threat of legal or debt action if they continue to deny you the money owed. If you don't have a contract, it is likely that there has been an exchange of emails between you and the client, so you can refer to the discussions you have had when trying to get the money owed to you. However, we do recommend that you create a contract if you haven't yet done so, as this might prevent a non-paying client problem from happening again. 

If the client doesn't contact you or if they have no valid excuse for not paying you the money owed, you have the right to take action against them. As mentioned above, you can do this in two ways. You can speak to a debt collection company and ask them to retrieve the funds for you. Or you can take legal action and take the client to court. If you don't want to take either of these steps, perhaps because the amount owed to you isn't a substantial amount, you could move on from the client with the decision never to work for them again. But if you are owed a lot of money or if you refuse to admit defeat, then chase that money until you get what is rightfully yours. 

These are just a few of the things you can try if your client doesn't pay you the money that they owe. Hopefully, you will never have to worry about such a situation but if you do, consider our suggestions and seek advice from people you know who may have been in a similar predicament.