If you are an entrepreneur working from home or a freelancer, you will know that the most important part of your job is the part where you are paid. However, as an independent individual, being paid can be hard. Not everybody pays on time, and other people flat out refuse to pay up at all.
In today’s economy, there are more than 50 million Americans dependent on freelance and solopreneur work according to https://www.forbes.com. If they are not paid on time, it has enormous ramifications for their families, communities, and businesses. So how do you make sure that you are paid on time?
Establish a Payment Policy from the Outset
Clients should be in absolutely no doubt about your payment process from the outset. Not only will this help your business look professional, but it will also remove any ambiguity from the process.
Top companies spell out exactly when invoices will be sent, how often they issue invoices, how long people have to pay, and which payment methods are preferred.
Raise Prices to Avoid “Volume”
If you are a freelancer, the last thing that you want is a client who is looking for a “bargain.” Many of these people do not understand that if they want to have good work done, then they have to pay for it. Instead, they are just interested in squeezing as much time and quality out of you for as little money as possible.
Freelancers do not help themselves in these situations. Some believe that they can lower their prices, increase their volume and make more money, but this rarely works out the way that they want in practice. Thus, charging premium rates are often a good way to attract premium, well-organized clients who pay on time.
Automate Your Billing
According to the website https://www.dataserv.com/solutions/ar-software, customers are often picky about how they are invoiced. What they want more than anything is a convenient, easy-to-understand payment method with as few barriers as possible. Thus, it’s a good idea to automate invoices and
Don’t Accept Clients Who Don’t Understand Your Services
Sometimes, you will get a customer who says that they don’t understand your services or “don’t get what you do,” but believe that they need to use your services anyway because somebody told them that they did. Should you take on clients like this?
Experts say “no.” Why? The reason is that they probably don’t believe that your services are necessary. Moreover, if they do not think your services are required, then they are less likely to pay in the future.
Credit Check Major Clients
Finally, you might not be paid because your customer has no money. Freelancers imagine that the companies they do business with have excellent cash flow and can always pay. However, the truth of the matter is that many businesses are in the red and slowly sinking.
If you land a big contract, make sure you do a credit check on the firm before signing anything. The last thing you want to do is complete a big project, only to find out you are never going to be paid because the client has gone out of business.