---
id: KB-PS-023
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/getting-started/when-do-you-need-it-by
idioma: en
categoria: primeros-pasos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es, de, zh, fr, pt]
relacionados: [KB-PR-028, KB-TL-004, KB-PS-021]
citadoPor: [KB-PS-018]
---

# When do you need it by?

_If the request does not say, ask. A specific date is the only thing that turns «whenever» into something that gets done._

**Responde a:** when do i have to send the paperwork · the request has no deadline · how long do i have to reply · is this document request urgent

**If no date comes with it, ask — and if you are the one asking, always give one.** A request with no date reads as «whenever», and «whenever» competes on anybody's list against things that do have a day.

## Why the date is missing so often

| Reason | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| It seemed obvious to the requester | Ask: the answer will be specific |
| There is no real deadline yet | Agree one anyway. Undated things do not happen |
| There is a deadline but it is a third party's | Ask for that one: it is the real driver |
| A template was copied without adjusting | Very common. Asking fixes it |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Asking for the date is not a formality: it is what prevents the reminder two weeks from now.** And if it turns out they need it tomorrow, better to know today — the most expensive moment to discover an urgency is once it has passed. The question costs one line and changes your week in either scenario.

## If you are not going to make it

1. **Say so before the date, not after** — The difference between re-planning and looking bad.
2. **Give a specific date of your own** — «Tuesday» works; «as soon as I can» is not plannable.
3. **And send what you do have meanwhile** — It usually unblocks half of it for them.

> [!WARNING]
> What lies behind almost every outside rush: **whoever is asking usually has a deadline they did not set either**. An audit, a client of theirs, an onboarding date. Asking «what is that date driven by?» helps both sides: sometimes you discover there is real slack, and sometimes you discover there is none at all and they were asking far too gently.

**Can I ask for more time?**

Nearly always, if you ask before it lapses and offer an alternative date.

**What if they never give me a date?**

Set one yourself and say it. Nobody will argue.

**Do reminders mean I am late?**

Not necessarily. They mean the request is still open.

## Ejemplos

**A request arrives with no date and sits at the bottom of the list for three weeks.**

- Asks for the date on receipt and notes it down

→ The request enters the list with a day instead of competing against things that have one.

**You are not going to make the agreed date and say so the day after it passed.**

- Flags it before it lapses and proposes a specific date

→ The other side re-plans instead of discovering the delay with no slack left.

**The request says «whenever you can» and nobody prioritises it.**

- Puts a specific date in the request itself

→ It enters the other side's list with a day attached.

**Something is requested for «this week» without naming a day.**

- Writes the full date rather than a relative reference

→ There are no two readings of the same phrase.

**The supplier delivers late and says they did not know it was urgent.**

- Explains in the notice what depends on that date

→ The urgency is understood without a phone call.

**Nobody knows which requests fall due this week.**

- Checks what is due and acts beforehand

→ Warning happens before the deadline rather than after.

**A date is agreed by phone and later the two versions differ.**

- Records the date in the file

→ What was agreed stops depending on two memories.