One of the worst things about working from home is non-payment. It does not happen a lot, but it’s also much more common than many of you reading this might think.
When you’ve worked hard for a client, putting your heart and soul into the project, only for them to ignore your invoices and leave you with nothing to show for your efforts, it can be soul destroying to say the least. If you plan to work as a freelancer, you need to know how to make problem clients pay up. Here are some tips to help you with that:
Keep Calling
Sometimes, all it takes to get a deadbeat client to pay up is to keep calling them, Call their office, leave voicemails, email them, talk to the CEO if they are not the one responsible for paying you, and eventually, a lot of the time, they will simply give in and pay you.
Offer a Discount
Sometimes, offering a non-payer a discount if they settle early will persuade them to get moving and actually pay you because few people in business want to create a poor image or turn relationships bad – a little incentive is often all it takes.
Give them Options
If a client is avoiding payment, it might not be that they are a bad person; they might just be facing financial problems of their own. If this is the case, ask them if a payment plan would help or offer to take a check to be cashed later. If you do not have time to get to the bank, you might be able to find some place to cash your check closer at 24hourcheckcashingstores and it has to be better than not being paid at all. If they decline these offers, then chances are they are not planning to pay you at all, which brings me to…
Threaten Legal Action
Having an attorney write a letter to your client requesting payment and threatening future legal action might not be something you really want to do, but if you are not getting anywhere, it might be necessary. Usually, such a letter will provoke a pretty speedy response from that non-payer.
Think About Debt Collection
You can find a number of debt collection agencies at consumeraffairs.com. If you still have not been paid after doing all of the above, it might be worth getting in touch with them to see how much they charge for recovery. Then, ask yourself whether it is worth it. If you are still going to end up with a decent amount of money after their fees have been taken, set them to work. It will; save you the heartache and wasted time that comes with chasing up debts yourself.
Cut Your Losses
As hard as it might be, sometimes it really is better to cut your losses. If the cost of collection is going to be too much and if you seem to be spending more time chasing payment than you are working, then it makes sense to give up, write it up to experience and move on.