Unreliable Redux
Yep, still sporting a bit of a head of steam over the nonpayment from a select few clients. For the record, I have a number of current clients who pay me on time and who get the best I can give them every time because of it. I have one client with whom I’m ghostwriting a book. He’s terrific. Very on-the-ball, very much fun to work with and he’s paid invoices on time and without complaint. I’m his biggest fan next to his family. Another client is a magazine that gives me tons of work and pays me within two weeks of my handing in the assignments, despite their contention that they pay on publication. Another company is patient with me as I slog through more work than either of us had expected their project to be, but they paid my first two invoices very promptly and they’re easygoing and they communicate well with me. Amen.
Then there are those others. After years of being burned, I’ve modified both my contracts and invoices to reflect exactly what’s expected – payment within 15 days to avoid late fees. And late fees get tacked on. Not that I’ve ever had anyone pay a late fee – those who ignore your bill also ignore the late fees – but it’s there should it come down to litigation. And I’m related to an attorney, so I’ve been tutored on what needs to be done and when.
It’s through my experience that I hope all of you reading will learn. Here’s the system I have in place – I have an airtight contract spelling out payment terms (thanks to the last project that went on for eleven months without payment). I have an invoice that reminds the recipients of when the money is due, when the late fee will be assessed and how to pay me online should they want to. I also follow up. I check in after 30 days to make sure they’ve received the invoice and I resend a new one with late fees added on. After three months, we mention litigation. After four, we litigate. Luckily, the mere threat of it has sent folks for the checkbooks, but if you’re in business, you have to get tough with non-payers. It’s been a tough lesson for me (what after that six-month fiasco a few years back). I’m normally a bit more passive than that, but I started thinking of this in terms of property of mine in someone else’s possession.
So, I say to you that if you adopt a system of collection early, you’ll be much better off in the long run. No, I doubt any of this will prevent the non-payers from ignoring you, but if you put steps in place now, you come off as more professional and folks might be less likely to ignore your invoices in the future if they see what a hassle it is to do so. Also, leaving a consistent paper trail helps immensely if you’re ever faced with filing suit against someone. I hope you never have to.
Hi Lori,
Thanks for sharing your system, especially since it has been honed by hard-won experience.
Have a great weekend!
Andrew
Very sound advice, Lori. I’m fortunate to have lost very little in terms of income owed me over the years. That’s probably because almost from the get-go, I refused to be a shrinking violet and allow clients to walk all over me. It’s very true in the freelancing world that the squeaky wheel gets the grease…and I’m never afraid to do all the squeaking that’s necessary. What I’ve found, however, is that the mention of litigation isn’t quite as scary to deadbeats as promises that you’ll spread their name and your story to as many people you can reach. If they can’t afford to pay you on time, they probably can’t afford to settle a lawsuit down the line. Either way, it buys them more time. But when their personal reputation is on the line, things start happening real quick!