Being a freelancer, your income is going to be very sporadic and you cannot rely on it. You may have come from a job where you pay was put into your bank account every month on the same day. You would have a predetermined amount of money and then your bills will come out.
Not so with freelancing, I am afraid. Every month your income will vary and you may be paid several times during that month – or not at all. You need to be prepared for all eventualities. However having an idea of when your invoices will be paid is a great start towards having a little control.
So how do you make sure that your client pays your invoices when you expect them and what can you do to prevent them being avoided or worse still, ignored?
Start with the right intentions
Before you even agree to do any work for your client, you need to tell them what your terms are and how soon after you deliver the work you expect to be paid. Most clients are happy to pay their invoices within a day or two of the work arriving in their inbox. Others may have a monthly payment structure or a policy of only paying once the article has been published.
Whatever the payment system, you need to know in advance what it is. This way you can work around it and you both know what to expect.
In my opinion, work should be paid for within one week – but you will have your own expectations.
Be professional
Make sure that you actually send an invoice. A casual email telling them what they owe you is not enough. You need to show that you are a serious business, so take the time to create an invoice which includes your details, your clients details, a list of all the work delivered to them and the total amount owed. Your invoice should also tell your client when you expect payment.
A business-like approach is always going to be treated with more respect than a relaxed and informal attitude. When it comes to money, nothing should be off the cuff.
Don’t wait
Always send your invoice on the same day or preferably with the completed work. Unless you have an agreement with your client to invoice them monthly or weekly, you should invoice as soon as you can.
This helps you to keep track of what work has been invoiced and it allows your client to put the invoice together with the work. They will be more likely to pay it quickly if they can track it back to the work you did.
Give thanks
If your invoice is paid promptly, you need to knowledge it. Once the money has entered your bank account, you should send an email confirming you have received it and thanking them for paying so quickly. This is just nice to do and will encourage them to pay quickly next time as well.
Chase up
Never leave an unpaid invoice longer than one day over the agreed time. In my case, I always send a follow up email exactly one week after the invoice has been sent. My terms are seven days, so I am justified in doing this.
I am very polite and just remind them of the invoice and give a time limit on when I want it paid by. By doing this you are then allowed to follow it up once more and more forcefully if it is not paid by the time specified.
Don’t use guilt tactics such as telling them your mortgage needs to be paid. Being made to feel guilty will not encourage them to pay it any quicker – especially if it is a genuine mistake.
If after three emails your money still not arrived, you need to get on the phone. This usually works pretty well.
What if…
If your invoice has not been paid two months after you expected it and you cannot get any response from your client, you have some big decisions to make.
If it is a relatively small amount you may just decide to chalk it up to experience, vow never to work with that client again and learn from any mistakes you made. You may decide to take a deposit in the future.
For larger amounts you could decide to take it through the civil courts. For a small cost you can attempt to recover your invoiced amount. For some clients the threat of legal action is enough to get them to cough up, but still never work with that client again. (my guess is that this goes without saying!)
In three years as a freelance writer I have to say that I have never had a client not pay me what I was owed. I have certainly had to do quite a bit of chasing – some people are just a little disorganised when it comes to paying their bills. I am always nice about it and it has never been enough of a problem to make me not want to work with that client again.
For the most part, as long as you develop a good relationship with your cleint, ensure you know all their details and you produce work which is to the standard they expect, you will be paid.