Clients Paying
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- kote
having issues with the same people again. I am making a pact not to work again without a stricter contract.
what to do when you have bills to pay and invoices that are 30 days due form clients? I have 3 outstanding, and no ne seems able to pay...my landlord isnt wanting to hear it.
advice?
- unknown0
going through that over here. I'm owed a lot of cash. No checks yet. Multinational corporations you know...
- SLAZ0
i have gone thourhg this numerous times, but honestly, there is really no way to make sure that clients pay within 30 days. Especially larger companies...just the way they work.
What you could do is overcharge or overbid 10 percent, but on the invoice note you will give a 10 percent discount is invoice is paid within 15 or so days. This is something I do with certain companies all they always seem to pay a little faster.
- BonSeff0
ouch. never had the landlord come down on me, but when the credit card and student loan calls come in I say, ain't nobody gettin paid til Robbie get paid. after that they ask when i can send a chec, that's when i fill up a tall glas of water and walk to the toilet and slowly pour it in the bowl while they talk. one the glass is finished I flush and they dont want to talk no mo. its a fun trick to play on the phone jockeys.
- gravityroom0
I've thought about trying the 10% discount thing...
I estimate how long the job will take and divide the payments up into 1 per month and charge that way.
I've found they almost always take a long time to pay and it works best if I can find a way to get that invoice to them as soon as I can... before I'm broke. Doesn't always work, but when I get on track it goes more smoothly.
Freelancing's tough.
- cesar0
One that works for me about 38% of the time.
I put a clause in my contract stating when the full amount is due, and if not paid on that date, a Late Fee is added. (thank Blockbuster for the inspiration) The late fees usualy help me pay my late rent.
what am I doing home on friday on NT???
- cesar0
The other thing I do is if they are big company, I get in touch with their accounting dept. and set up a Purchase Order Account. That means that money is allocated prompltyl as soon as the purchase order is made. I get paid a little faster that way.
- unknown0
I am working for a client of Microsoft, working on their VOYAGER site. I think MS will pay up, hee, hee! ;)
- unknown0
report them the Better Business Bureau
- iFDL0
Its a tricky one. Here's what you do from now on. Build into your contract a 30 day pay period with a 5% increase in fees for every 15 days that the account goes past due. Make them sign to it, and show ACTUAL price increases so they can see how much more they pay if they're late. Your credit card company has late charges... so should you.
Next, another option is to get 3 checks on the onset. Have them post date the checks to 30 days past preset milestones. That way, you're paid... but you can't cash them until you would have been paid anyway.
Finally... stop working with that client. I give all clients 2 chances. Past that... its 100% upfront, or no work.
Happy new year.
- Danski0
I put a 10% surcharge per 5 working days if payment is late. And a 10% discount per 5 working days that i'm late. Most see this as being fair.
- snowtrooper0
most clients end up paying within 90days - not many of my clients EVER pay within the 30days stipulated.
you get used to it after a while (my partner is pulling her hair out over this same problem)
- jawbreaker0
why do you provide "terms" to large companies?
I think the best way to deal with this is "payment on delivery"
no checky no design :>
- mrdobolina0
jawbreaker, thats what I always do too, I am not a huge agency that can afford to go unpaid.
- kodap0
opt for terrorist behavior in last resort
- mrdobolina0
project mayhem
- magicroni0
first of all im wodering what kinds of clients youre working with. so i know what type to avoid. secondly, you should hook up with a collections agency. they'll handle getting your money back, or at least a percentage of it.
- monkeyshine0
Do you guys get any cash up front? My way is to get 1/2 up front and then the completion upon delivery. I'm just too small and poor to wait for 90 days for someone to decide to pay me...or not. I had one client recently bulk at this so I said, well you can pay me 1/3 up front and then another 1/3 at the first design review....that made them rethink it. :)
- SLAZ0
i totally believe in putting the percentage clause on the bottom of the invoice for all late payments to have an increase on the bill,
but lets face it. A lot of companies dont pay it, and are you seriously going to nag after them for an additional 10 percent after they pay you the amount late?
collecting is always to toughest part of freelancing...
1/2 up front should always be the way to go also. I only waive this for customers who I have been doing work for and getting paid from consistenly. And if you are working with PO#'s...send the bill out early, this way when completetion is verified, payment usually processes a little faster.
- kinetic0
i know this doesn't help but im going through the same shit...ive had a client owing me $500 for 9 months now
and i just found out he has a brain tumor
i feel bad for the guy but im still pissed because he could have paid atleast some effort to pay in the months where he wasn't sick
- magicroni0
take them to small claims court. it's super cheap. just the threat and embarrassment of it might make them pay. and if you have any type of contract, you'll without a doubt collect.