2 min read
When a client won't sign off on completed work
Sometimes a client won't confirm that work is finished, even when it clearly is. Here's what protects you while you wait, and how to move things forward without burning the relationship.
It's an awkward, fairly common situation. The work is done, it matches what was agreed, but the client is slow to confirm practical completion, sometimes because they're still checking things over, sometimes because they're using the lack of sign off as informal leverage over a final payment or an outstanding query, and sometimes just because life gets in the way and it's not a priority for them the way it is for you.
Whatever the reason, an unconfirmed completion date creates real problems. It affects when the defects liability period starts, when retention becomes due, and when final payment is contractually owed. Without a clear practical completion date, all three of those become arguable, and an argumentative client has every incentive to leave things vague for as long as possible.
The way to move this forward without escalating unnecessarily is to put the ball back in their court, in writing, with a clear record behind it. A message or letter stating that the works are complete in accordance with the agreed specification, listing what's been done, referencing photos or a walkthrough if one's taken place, and giving a reasonable deadline for the client to raise any specific outstanding items, starts a clock even if the client doesn't respond. Silence after a clear, documented notice like this carries far less weight against you than silence with nothing on record at all.
If a genuine dispute does follow, this is exactly the kind of situation adjudicators see often: a contractor asserting completion, a client disputing it without specifics. The contractor who can point to a dated, detailed completion notice, ideally with photographic evidence of the finished work, is in a far stronger position than one who's been waiting patiently for a reply that never comes.
This doesn't need to feel confrontational. Most clients aren't deliberately stalling, they're just busy, and a clear, professional notice often prompts the sign off you've been waiting for because it makes clear that a response is now expected. Having the photos and record ready to attach to that notice, rather than having to go and find them, makes sending it far less of a hurdle in the moment it's needed.