The government offices often take services from private firms. These include a wide variety of areas including interior decoration services for government offices, construction services, office furniture and equipment procurement, catering services, etc. Mostly some initial payment is made with the remaining amount to be paid after the completion of the project.

The rates, time frame of payment, and other details are already settled between the two parties. Sometimes even after the completion of the projects, some payment is outstanding. To recover this outstanding payment, sometimes a payment request letter is written. These are also called outstanding payment recovery letters.

The purpose of these letters is to communicate the amount still due, decide upon a payment plan and decide its terms. The exact contents of the letter would vary from case to case but a general outline would be like this:

1. Greeting: The letter would begin with a greeting. Since it is being written to a government official it would be addressed to the official title.
2. Introduction: Next the writer should give his/ her introduction which should include their name and designation and the company name on whose behalf they are writing.
3. Background information:  In clear and concise terms, the issue would be described by giving all the basic facts of the matter. The following information must be mentioned in the letter to ensure maximum clarity:
   
   >The date when the contract was signed
   >Date of completion of the project
   >Receipts of any payments made to date
   >Original due date decided for the outstanding payments
   >Remaining outstanding amount
   
4. Repayment plan: The next step would be to describe what needs to be done now. This would include:
   
   >Expected timeframe for the return of the remaining payment.
   >Detailed contact information of the person to be contacted to discuss the payment plan.
   >Preferred mode of payment and account details.
   
5. Closing statement: The letter should end on a positive note expressing the wish that the payment would be made soon and the issue would be resolved timely.
6. Ending: The letter would end with the sender’s signatures and their complete details like designation, contact number, and email address.

Proofread the letter thoroughly before sending it. It is important that the letter has no grammatical or spelling mistakes as that would reduce the impact of the letter and leave a bad impression. This letter would be written on the company letterhead to give it the formal and professional look the occasion demands.

Sample Letter

Subject: Payment Request to Government Office

Respected Sir/Madam.

My name is [name] and I am the [designation] at the [company name]. I am writing to bring to your notice the matter of outstanding payment for the renovation project we did for you. Our firm was assigned the task of renovating the government guestrooms in [location]. This included painting the indoors and landscaping the garden. It also involved the procurement of new furniture and décor items.

An initial payment of [amount] was made. The remaining amount was to be paid within two months after the completion of the project. The project was completed and handed over on [date] but we still have not received the remaining amount. Our office contacted you on multiple occasions to clarify this issue but we did not get any satisfactory response.

Please repay the amount due to us by [date] as we have to pay our suppliers and the late payment is resulting in fines. We are attaching a copy of the contract and the receipt of the payment made till now. We are also attaching an invoice for the outstanding amount. Please investigate this matter at the earliest.

In case of any queries, please contact Mr. [name] from our HR department. his email address is [email address] or you can call him at [phone number].

Looking forward to a positive response from your side.

See also:

• Apology Letter after Resignation
• Apology Letter for Late Submission of Assignment
• Letter of Intent to Run for HOA Board
• Excuse Letter of Absence due to Family Together
• Authorization Letter for Salary Deduction
• Excuse Letter for Being Absent from Work due to Wedding
• Excuse Letter for Being Late to School for Late Wakeup
• Hostile Work Environment Complaint Letter to Boss
• Acknowledgment Letter for Lending Money
• Greeting Email (letter) to New Business Partner