An overseas client has not paid: prepare your extension evidence

Build an outstanding-invoice record with collection efforts, partial receipts and a realistic next action.

An unpaid invoice needs both a collection record and a clear bank-facing explanation. These serve different purposes. Keep a realistic account of what the buyer has said, what you have received and what remains outstanding rather than using a promised payment as if it were already in the bank.

Create an outstanding-balance summary

Start with the original invoice currency and value. Add actual receipts and supported adjustments, then identify the remaining amount. Retain the contract, payment terms and dated collection correspondence. Distinguish a disputed amount from an ordinary delay. If the buyer has proposed a new payment plan, preserve the proposal in its original form.

Ask about the appropriate next step

Explain the current status and request the bank’s process for the relevant extension or other treatment. Include the evidence it asks for through a verified channel. Keep a follow-up owner and date. If the customer later pays, link the receipt back to this record and ask what confirmation is needed to update the outstanding status.

Build an evidence-based collection summary

Keep the contract, invoice, agreed customer due date, actual receipts and dated collection efforts together. Summarise what the customer has said, distinguishing a firm documented proposal from a vague expectation. If the amount is disputed, describe the dispute and evidence instead of presenting it as an ordinary processing delay.

Record who is responsible for contacting the buyer and who handles the bank enquiry. The two tasks can proceed together but should not be confused. A customer promising payment does not grant regulatory extra time, and a bank considering an extension does not guarantee collection. Keeping those roles distinct helps the team take meaningful action without treating one conversation as a solution to both problems.

Calculate a transparent outstanding amount

Start with the original currency and gross invoice value. Add actual receipt allocations and identify any supported credit note or proposed adjustment separately. Keep unapplied receipts or unresolved fees visible. An overdue balance should not be reduced by money merely expected next week. The bank-facing summary should explain how the stated amount was derived.

For multiple invoices, keep each reference and age visible instead of sending one unexplained total. If the buyer proposes instalments, record the proposal as a future schedule alongside the actual receipts. Update it when payments occur. Do not delete missed promises from the chronology; they may help explain why your expected receipt date changed and what collection steps you have taken.

Prepare an extension enquiry with a realistic next step

Identify the relevant invoice dates, existing bank references and earlier decisions. Explain the delay, collection efforts and proposed next action with supporting documents. Ask the bank which process and evidence it requires for your case. State a requested date as a proposal subject to assessment, not an entitlement or an approval already obtained.

After sending, track the decision and its conditions. If the buyer pays or materially changes its proposal, update the handling institution as appropriate and preserve the new evidence. Keep internal accounting treatment, customer collection status and official record status separately understandable. A clean balance sheet entry does not itself prove a foreign-exchange monitoring entry has been updated or closed.

A fictional example

A EUR 2,000 invoice has EUR 500 received and EUR 1,500 still outstanding. The customer proposes two later instalments. The working summary shows actual receipts separately from those promises and supports the enquiry with the customer’s correspondence.

Preparation checklist

Record promises separately from payments.
Keep collection attempts dated.
Update the bank when the facts materially change.

Can the calculator approve extra time?

No. Its result is illustrative. Only the appropriate bank or authority can decide and confirm an extension.

FICTIONAL WALKTHROUGH

A buyer misses its proposed instalment date

A fictional EUR 4,000 invoice has EUR 1,000 received. The customer proposes two later instalments, but the first does not arrive. The exporter keeps EUR 3,000 as the actual outstanding amount and records the missed proposal without treating it as a receipt.
The collection summary includes dated reminders, the customer’s explanation and the revised proposal. The bank enquiry identifies the original invoice and any earlier extension reference. It asks what action and evidence the bank requires rather than assuming a new customer promise changes the official timeline.
When a later EUR 500 payment arrives, it is allocated to the invoice and linked to the transfer evidence. The summary is updated transparently, retaining the earlier correspondence and the bank’s actual response or pending status.

Your next step

Prepare an extension enquiry

Sources and scope

Sources reviewed 9 October 2026. The routines and fictional examples are editorial preparation suggestions. They do not confirm your bank’s acceptance, classification or transaction status.