"The price is wrong"

The scenario

The customer queries your invoice: "This isn't the price we agreed — it's too high." They may be right, they may be misremembering, or they may be trying to renegotiate after the work is done. The invoice reflects what your system holds; their recollection differs. Until you compare both to the agreed paperwork, neither view is decisive.

Pricing disputes are usually resolvable because price is something people write down. The quote, the accepted order, the rate card, or an email confirmation almost always exists somewhere, and the answer is in it.

What's really going on

There are three real possibilities. First, a genuine error: you billed at the wrong rate, applied the wrong quantity, missed an agreed discount, or fat-fingered a figure. Second, a misunderstanding: the customer remembers a verbal indication, an old price, or a quote that excluded items the final invoice includes. Third, a renegotiation: nothing was wrong, but they are using the invoice as a lever to push the price down after delivery.

The way to tell them apart is to anchor on the agreed document. A genuine error or misunderstanding is resolved by comparing the invoice to the quote. A renegotiation reveals itself when the invoice matches the agreement and the customer still pushes — at that point the conversation is not about a mistake, it is about wanting a better deal after the fact.

Your options

Your options follow from what the paperwork shows:

• Correct a genuine overcharge. If you billed wrongly, issue a credit note for the difference and a corrected invoice — quickly and without quibble.
• Show the agreed price. Where the invoice matches the quote or order, send that document and let it speak.
• Explain the difference. If the gap is extra items, variations, or out-of-scope additions, itemise exactly what drove the figure beyond the original quote.
• Hold the line. If the price is correct and agreed, decline to discount and ask for payment of the proper amount.

Recommended approach

Go to the record first: "Let me check this against what we agreed." Pull the quote or accepted order and compare it to the invoice line by line. If you find an error, lead with it honestly — "You're right, we billed the wrong rate; here's a credit and a corrected invoice." Owning a real mistake protects the relationship and your credibility.

If the invoice matches the agreement, present the document plainly: "Here's the quote you accepted on [date] — the invoice reflects exactly that." If the difference is variations or extras, itemise them so the customer can see the figure is built from what they ordered. Where it's a renegotiation, be courteous but firm: the agreed price stands. Clear quotes prevent most of this — our guidance on preventing invoice disputes shows how to confirm pricing up front.

What to avoid

Don't discount reflexively to keep the peace — if the price is right and agreed, conceding rewards the push and erodes your margin. Don't argue from memory; "we definitely said that" is no stronger than the customer's recollection. The agreed document is your anchor, so reach for it before you reach for an opinion. And don't bury a genuine error in defensiveness — if you overbilled, fix it fast; the goodwill from a clean correction outlasts the few dollars at stake.