What to Do When a Client Delays Feedback on an Active Project

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SOLOHATCH FIELD GUIDE · SOLO WORKFLOWS

When client feedback is late, identify the exact input or decision you need, who owns it and which work depends on it. Check the review process already agreed, send a clear request, and show what can continue and which dates need reassessment.

This guide concerns an active project. If the client is still considering an unconfirmed proposal, use the proposal follow-up examples. The decision and commitments are different once delivery is underway.

Name the missing item before sending another reminder

“Waiting for the client” is too broad to plan around. Write the missing item in terms another person could recognise: an approved service description, a choice between two layouts, or one consolidated list of comments on a named version.

Then check the project record. Who was expected to respond? Was a review date agreed? Could the contact access the file, and did your message explain the decision needed? A missing link or an unclear question may need correcting before another reminder is useful.

• Missing input: identify the material, its owner and the work that needs it.
• Missing decision: identify the available options and who can decide.
• Conflicting feedback: ask for a consolidated direction instead of choosing a stakeholder’s comment silently.
• Additional work: assess a changed deliverable through the scope-change route.

A late response alone does not tell you why it is late. Record any reason the client supplies; otherwise keep the cause unknown. An unavailable approver, a confusing request and a changed priority call for different next actions.

Separate dependent work from work that can continue

A task dependency connects work to information or output it needs from another task, as described in Atlassian’s project dependencies guide. For a small service project, a simple list can make that relationship visible.

For each unfinished task, ask what would happen if you proceeded now. Checking already-approved contact details may remain useful. Completing a final layout around unapproved text may create rework. Identify the particular affected stage rather than assuming the whole project must stop.

MISSING INPUT / DECISION:
Owner or approver:
Document and version being reviewed:
Agreed review date, if any:
Last request and actual response:

WORK DEPENDENT ON THIS:
What cannot start or finish:
What can safely continue:
Dates or effort that need reassessment:
Specific next action, owner and review point:

Use the agreed scope outline to check the dependency. If ownership was never recorded, the intake template can help identify that missing detail for the next project.

Send one message with a specific next action

State the missing item, where to find the current version, and what depends on the response. Include an agreed review date when one exists. If you need to propose a new review point, label it as a request for confirmation.

Subject: [Project] — [input or decision] needed for [stage]

Hi [Name],

For [project / scope version], I am waiting for
[specific input or decision].

The current file is [version / accessible location].
Could you [specific action], or let me know who should decide?

I can continue [unaffected work].
[Dependent work] is waiting for this response.
Once it is confirmed, I will reassess [affected timing] with you.

[If useful: Would a review by DATE be workable?
Please confirm or suggest a suitable point.]

Best,
[Name]

Remove statements that do not apply. If the original file was inaccessible, provide the corrected route. If your review question was vague, replace it with the actual decision instead of sending the same request again.

Do not add an automatic late fee, new acceptance rule or unilateral deadline change to a reminder. Use the arrangements actually agreed and resolve any new commercial or scheduling decision through the appropriate project conversation.

Filled example: a workshop email waiting for a confirmed time

Illustrative example: a freelance email marketer is preparing workshop invitations for a training provider. The course description is approved, but the event start time still needs confirmation. These are fictional project notes.

PROJECT: Workshop invitation emails / scope v2
MISSING: Confirmed event start time and time zone
OWNER: Training provider's event coordinator
REVIEW VERSION: invitation-copy-v2
AGREED REVIEW POINT: Tuesday; no response received
CAUSE: Unknown

DEPENDENT WORK:
Finalise the date-and-time lines and prepare the send schedule.

CAN CONTINUE:
Check the approved course description and registration links.
Review subject lines and the email layout using a marked time placeholder.

NEXT REQUEST:
Ask the coordinator to confirm the start time or name who can decide.
Explain that the send schedule will be reviewed after confirmation.

CURRENT STATUS:
Time is unconfirmed; the emails are not ready to schedule.

The marketer keeps the placeholder visible in the review copy. They can improve the approved parts without treating the event time as settled. If the event itself is postponed, the next conversation concerns the revised campaign plan.

Update the plan after the client’s actual response

When feedback arrives, record what it resolves. Confirm which version now forms the working baseline and whether any question remains. Review the calendar and existing commitments before offering a revised sequence.

The weekly client capacity worksheet helps check whether the remaining work fits. A project that waited this week may need production and review time next week; the original slot should not be assumed available indefinitely.

• Input confirmed: check its completeness, then plan the dependent stage.
• More detail needed: ask the smallest question that changes the next action.
• Priority or scope changed: record the effect before revising commitments.
• No response: keep the input open and follow the agreed communication route; record a next check rather than an invented reason.

Choose one next action you can verify

Complete one dependency log for the current project. Send a message only after you can name the decision it requests. Continue unaffected work where that remains useful; defer dependent work that would rely on an unconfirmed assumption.

At the next weekly review, check whether the missing item became clearer and whether the record reflects the client’s actual response. Use that evidence to improve one input-owner or review question. Explore Solo Workflows for the surrounding delivery steps.

This guide was developed with AI assistance for SoloHatch, operated by My Target Limited. Examples are illustrative, and planning templates should be adapted to your project. About SoloHatch.