Follow-up with Slow Paying Clients
Just like most freelance writers I have clients that pay on time as well as those that wait for weeks on end before they finally get around to it. While it would be nice for every client to pay when they receive an invoice, this is not the way the industry works and probably never will be. As a freelance writer it can be difficult to deal with slow paying clients. This is particularly true if you are relying on the money to pay bills, buy new equipment, etc.
It is very important that you have a system for following up with slow paying clients. If you don’t you may find yourself waiting many months for a payment. Even worse, if you don’t follow-up some clients will forget to pay you altogether. Do you really want to miss out on getting paid for the work that you put so much time into?
I don’t like to follow-up with clients right away. In other words, I want to give them a chance to show that they will pay on time without being asked. That being said, after a week or two I usually send a quick email inquiring about the invoice. Does this always work? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Most clients that don’t pay on time usually fall behind because they got busy and simply forgot. But this is not always the case. There are also those that are totally aware of what they owe but don’t care to pay on time.Â
While you don’t want to become the annoying freelance writer who bugs clients day after day, you do deserve to receive payment in a timely manner. There are times when following up with a slowing paying client is very important. Don’t give up until you get paid. You provided a service and deserve to receive the agreed upon payment.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:58 am
I am waiting so very impatiently for a response to a column proposal I sent in to a fairly new and busy mag. It has been taking a lot to not a. badger editor and b. start a blog for the column.
Luckily, no one is ever more than a few days late to pay me. Not that “a little late” is okay.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:29 am
I wait 8 weeks after I invoice before I send a reminder. In my writing field payments can take that long because there are multiple levels of bureaucracy in large corporations.
I also keep detailed records of each project that includes when I requested payment and when the payment was received.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:16 am
I’ve been struggling with this recently. One of my most consistent clients is months behind in paying. I’ll occasionally send a follow-up email after the net-45 period has passed, and after that typically one of my checks will come through about a month later.
But it’s like pulling teeth. They keep telling me they’re behind in receiving their receivables so they can’t pay me yet. But this is a pretty big publisher!
I’m never sure what to do because I don’t want to get too demanding, since they are one of my biggest clients. But at the same time, I hesitate to take on more writing assignments when they haven’t paid me for the last five yet.