Anyone know what I should do if I still haven't been paid an invoice that was sent nearly a month ago and that I've already chased up?
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- In your original invoice, did you add in a late-fee charge in the terms and conditions? It's one of the better ways to ensure clients keep to payment deadlines if you are freelance
- Thanks to everyone who replied. I’ve now got this sorted!
- Agree with many of the points below: following up with a phone call if you've only chased via email, cc-ing someone else you know. Just don't be afraid to keep asking! People get busy and it's probably not something personal. If you have another contact at the place you're chasing then definitely use them to help you out. And if it seems appropriate, why not send a nudge on socials like Twitter or LinkedIn just to make sure they've received it?
- I wouldn't escalate it too much.Again talking from personal experience.My accountant has found out that some invoices haven't been paid for a year. Yes it is my fault that I haven't checked and that I do accounting once a year. And yes I haven't followed up. Same time I do believe that my task is to do creative work and client task is to make sure that I will get paid. Still escalating things is not good idea. Lets be reasonable if they don't pay you nothing happens so your invoice priority is pretty low actually. Most people are just busy and they forget to forward invoice to accounting or just forget to pay as they want to pay multiple invoices together and save time.So my first advice is to make yourself heard. Contact again and ask that you noticed that invoice hasn't been paid. Ask did they receive it and was everything ok?If they don't reply or pay within 3-5 working days do it again. In a nice way. If you work with this client and you trust them I wouldn't stop any work but remind them. By the way I noticed that invoice hasn't been paid. If they are client who is not so frequent remind them next time they ask something. And later case don't do any work.Second is try to figure out why your invoice hasn't been paid. And try to put yourself into your customer shoes.A) Lasyness or priorities. Basically what I described before. Some people are like this. As a freelancer or small business owner I suggest you learn how to deal with them. As an example if you do web stuff and timeline is not so urgent ask them to pay before you put things online. Don't make it sound personal.B) Communication issues. Some companies have weird structure and things are just messed up. Again push your contact person. Play on their heart. Say that it actually is important to you that you get paid fast and ask that if there were any problems with the invoice. Try them to push it. If you ask nicelly they most probably will push accounting a bit or just check about it.C) Problems. Was your job accepted? Were they happy? Maybe your contact person F€€€€ up? Tough case. Again first I would try with nice approach. Communicate find out whats the problem. It is better to know if their ideology is that they don't plan on paying at all. You can start the fight and continue with more serious tone.D) They have money issues. Can be even bigger problem at this point. Most companies do ok however some have been hit. In this case I would still continue with nice tone. Try to come up with a deal. Explain that you understand their situation and try to be flexible. Offer that it would be really nice gesture if they could pay 30% or 50% and then divide following ammount up. You should get paid 100% of your invoice. I don't say that take 30% and be happy. I say 30% now is better than 0% never.Also I think legally if they have started paying your invoice it means that they have accepted it. They can't say that they haven't seen it or they haven't agreed that job is done.E) Final suggestion. Change your business model. Work with clients who you can trust and with who you don't have similar problems. With new clients bring risks down. Ask that they pay infront or pay part of it infront or divide project into smaller milestones.
- Hey Faith,I’ve been in this position many times before.I’ve found the first part is escalation, which can either work with cc-ing in someone senior if you know them.Or, what I had to do pre-Xmas was letting them know that if you don’t receive it by X date, you’ll charge interest as it’s past the 30 day period.You can work it out here: https://www.smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk/deal-with-an-unpaid-invoice/how-to-chase-an-unpaid-invoice/interest-calculator/Then, when they pay, send the interest as a separate invoice.It’s up to your discretion if they come back and pay whether you want to do it, but someone told me that if you say you’re going to do it, stick to your word.Hope that helps!
- Hi, Faith -- Did you sign an agreement or perhaps exchange emails with the client or company in which they explicitly laid out their payment terms (e.g., that they pay within X days of completion of the assignment or submission of an invoice)?Most of the agreements I've seen in recent years stipulate that the client will pay within 30 days of receiving an invoice -- which strikes me as reasonable, if somewhat annoying. I've also seen Net 60 and even Net 90 agreements, as well, but I usually try to negotiate those down to 30 days (or fewer) or just walk away from the project. I can't wait three months for payment, and I don't have any interest in working with clients who believe I *should* wait three months for payment.Also, as Matthias mentions, a phone call can sometimes work wonders.Good luck! B
- If you chased them up in an email, it might be worth trying a phone call
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