Late Payment From Clients
Discussion
Hi,
I've been in business now for about 18 months and up until now, I haven't had any problems with late payments from clients.
However, just recently a couple of clients have taken the piss and have not paid me within the time stated on the invoice. One was a new client and the other an existing one.
My invoices state clearly:
"Payment to be received within 30 days"
Which I think is more than enough time to pay for the work completed.
What I was wondering was what sort of extra information can I put on invoices to encourage clients to pay on time? Certain terminology? Also, what amount of interest can I charge on late payments? Is there a standard rate?
Cheers,
Rich
I've been in business now for about 18 months and up until now, I haven't had any problems with late payments from clients.
However, just recently a couple of clients have taken the piss and have not paid me within the time stated on the invoice. One was a new client and the other an existing one.
My invoices state clearly:
"Payment to be received within 30 days"
Which I think is more than enough time to pay for the work completed.
What I was wondering was what sort of extra information can I put on invoices to encourage clients to pay on time? Certain terminology? Also, what amount of interest can I charge on late payments? Is there a standard rate?
Cheers,
Rich
Thanks for the replies.
I think like Ted said, a bit of persistence goes a long way. I think companies are more likely to pay you if you keep at them. I don't have any problems asking for money that I'm owed, no, it's not the greatest of experiences but I always feel better when the bank balance goes up. I would imagine that if I never said anything to my clients about late payments, even if it was just by a few days, they would start to think "well, if he's not going to ask, I'm not going to worry about it". This has been the case for me with late payments, that I mentioned in my first post. Both clients paid up eventually but it was the result of many phone calls and emails directly to the MD's of both companies.
The problem with some of my clients, is that there is a total lack of urgency in setting up their websites. Maybe it's just a characteristic of the web design industry but the process of consultation to completion can be very long, as they delay providing correct info, images etc. Therefore, it can take a number of weeks to be paid for work already completed but has been drawnout through lack of urgency from the client. I was talking to one potential customer last week who was adament that "this whole Internet thing, well, it's just a phase, isn't it". Twat!! That's the type of bollocks that I come into contact a lot of the time.
Cheers,
Rich
>> Edited by richmartin on Monday 12th January 22:36
I think like Ted said, a bit of persistence goes a long way. I think companies are more likely to pay you if you keep at them. I don't have any problems asking for money that I'm owed, no, it's not the greatest of experiences but I always feel better when the bank balance goes up. I would imagine that if I never said anything to my clients about late payments, even if it was just by a few days, they would start to think "well, if he's not going to ask, I'm not going to worry about it". This has been the case for me with late payments, that I mentioned in my first post. Both clients paid up eventually but it was the result of many phone calls and emails directly to the MD's of both companies.
The problem with some of my clients, is that there is a total lack of urgency in setting up their websites. Maybe it's just a characteristic of the web design industry but the process of consultation to completion can be very long, as they delay providing correct info, images etc. Therefore, it can take a number of weeks to be paid for work already completed but has been drawnout through lack of urgency from the client. I was talking to one potential customer last week who was adament that "this whole Internet thing, well, it's just a phase, isn't it". Twat!! That's the type of bollocks that I come into contact a lot of the time.
Cheers,
Rich
>> Edited by richmartin on Monday 12th January 22:36
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff