A payment arrives while your lawyer is preparing a statutory demand

The account changes while the document is prepared

A hypothetical supplier instructs a lawyer about a statutory demand against a builder. Before the proposed demand is served, accounts identifies a payment against the debt. Tell the lawyer immediately and verify the transaction. An instruction based on yesterday's balance needs review when material information changes; a nearly finished document is not a reason to ignore the receipt.

Confirm what arrived

Record the actual bank receipt, payer, reference and any accompanying message. Distinguish a remittance advice from money received. If the allocation is unclear, preserve that uncertainty rather than assigning the payment to whichever invoice supports the preferred action. Ask accounts and the lawyer how the payment should be treated in the circumstances.

Have the proposed process reassessed

The Federal Court's statutory demand guidance explains that the formal demand concerns a debt due and payable and sets out requirements for the process. Give the lawyer the changed account and ask what it means for the proposed step. This article does not calculate a qualifying balance or decide whether an amended demand should proceed.

Source: Federal Court: Statutory demands and winding up

Send a clear update to the person acting

In the hypothetical example, email the transaction evidence and revised reconciliation through the lawyer's agreed channel, then confirm that the update has been received. State whether service is understood to be pending or already completed, and ask for verification. Do not assume an accounts note in an internal system will reach the person arranging service.

Keep the previous instruction traceable

Retain the original statement and the revised version with an explanation of the difference. Do not replace the old record without preserving why it changed. If the document has already been served, obtain prompt advice about that actual situation rather than attempting to fix it by sending an informal corrected balance yourself.

Use a final factual check

Agree who will report further receipts, credits or correspondence while the lawyer assesses the matter. CRP can help organise the account history. The useful control is a reliable route for changed facts to reach the decision-maker before action, so the recovery process reflects the current evidence rather than a superseded ledger snapshot.