Recently, the president of Freelancers Union said that one of the biggest challenges for freelancers is “getting paid on time, if not getting paid at all,” noting that the majority of freelancers get stiffed by their clients from time to time!
That was me once, but let’s cut to the happy ending because I don’t recall the last time I didn’t get paid or received payment more than a week late. Here are the payment terms and phrasing I use now. I haven’t changed it in years because it has been so effective.
I extend credit to all clients on the simple agreement that they pay on time. I bill once a month, with payment due in 15 days of billing (checks, credit card, or PayPal accepted). I allow for late payment once. After that I require payment in advance for all work.
Here’s what else I’ve learned:
Set your terms. Even as a solo freelancer, you’re running a business, so act like one and set your payment terms.
Be flexible. Your clients are also businesses with their own terms. Advocate for yourself, practice negotiating, but also think win-win.
Get it in writing. You don’t always need a formal contract, but don’t start work until you have payment amount and terms somewhere in writing. An email works fine.
Put a due date on your invoice. You may not have thought of this. Not everyone drops what they are doing to pay instantly, and many people need a due date to post on a follow-up calendar.
Remind them. Let a client know two to three days ahead of time that their due date is coming up so that they can stick the check in the mail immediately. I also remind them that I accept PayPal or can take their credit card information over the phone.
Ask for it. Amazingly, most small businesses who hire lawyers to collect delinquent invoices have not even once asked their client for payment!
Ask immediately. Ask the day after the due date when you do not have cash in hand. Email is fine.
Ask for it again. Get comfortable asking multiple times. If your first request was by email, make the second a phone call.
Secure a commitment. Don’t end the call until you know when the money will arrive and in what format. If it doesn’t arrive when they said it would, call back immediately.
Accept multiple forms of payment. This is for their convenience and yours. PayPal. Venmo. Zelle. Square. Checks. Credit cards. Give them options to make payment easier.
Engage the truth. You are not their bank. You have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Don’t be afraid to rely on bluntness, vulnerability, tugging at heartstrings, and simple human decency. Do not give them a reason to believe you can be the one postponed when money is thin.
Engage the law or collection agency. Don’t be afraid to consult higher authorities if you have asked multiple times and months have passed and/or large sums of money are involved.
Have a never-again list. Never again. There are 31 million small businesses, plus countless large companies and their divisions, and millions and millions of human individuals who could be your potential clients. When a business has not paid or has created great difficulty for you in the process of payment, put them behind you and move on to other customers.
Choose the right clients and be the right provider. The Tao of Negotiation suggests that if you follow only one rule in business, it should be this: Deal with honest people. I’ll add: Be honest yourself. Work for those who act in good faith and demonstrate honorable business practices.
Treat your clients well and do outstanding work for them so that you can build a sustainable business on reliable relationships with people who happily pay you on time.
BIO – Sharon Woodhouse is the owner of Conspire Creative—coaching, consulting, conflict management, project management, book publishing, and editorial services for solo pros, creatives, authors, small businesses, and multipreneurs. Follow her writing on Medium.com @slowcharacter.
I like the idea of this very much. I have just retired and together with a few ‘short stories,’ have shown a fondness for Short Short fiction.
I have not tried to publish in any manner, and would love to stick my toe into that wetness called the ‘world of writers.’
I am so broke I can’t even afford to train, or I would have to have gone for Copywriting — which I would not enjoy much for obvious reasons.
I write to you because I am hoping you might be kind enough to refer me to some sources, or ways to get published or paid. I would sincerely appreciate your suggestions and thank you for being there.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Cosgrove (paddycosgrove@gmail.com)
Patrick –
This is the most common request we receive – how to write/publish that first book and how to get someone to pay for it. I’m sorry, but we know of no resource that pays for someone’s first book. There is very much a “paying your dues” sort of thing in this profession like most professions. And if it’s a hobby for you, just understand that there aren’t grant providers that want to pay for hobbies. As we’ve covered before, writing the book is the easy part.