When to ask for pay from the client?

[peerless2acme]

Since, I began writing for various clients across the world, one thing which kept haunting me time and again, was when to ask the client for the payment. For instance, if I wrote a project and it was decided that I would be paid instantly after the completion of the project but the client failed to pay for the next two days, then when is the right time to ask for the payment.

There are some clients who take it personally and react very rudely in case you are asking them to pay. Then, there are others who starting thinking that you are needy or you are pissing them. What to do? I am muddled whenever I come across such clients.

 

[midnight_focus]

Get your money before you start on any project

 

[dw_n_cinti]

Hmm,

Interesting delimma. That is one of the nice things about using one of the online sites that put buyers and sellers together.

The buyer puts the money into escrow account to be paid to the seller of services upon completion and satisfaction.

In your situation, I would write up a bill, and send it to them via email. Follow up every week until he pays. If you want to build a legal case you must give 30 day notice of complaint sent registered mail, then after 30 days, give 10 days notice of default, then after 10 days give 3 days notice of estoppel. Then file a civil case against him. If you are outside his state of residence, file in federal district court. If inside his state file in state court. If outside the country, not sure, maybe international court.

If he does not pay find out where he hangs out on the net by searching for his handle. Many people use the same handle everywhere. You can make life miserable for him if he does not pay.

DW

P.S.: Registered mails get to be expensive. But they are necessary for court.

 

[peerless2acme]

Get your money before you start on any project

But don't you think client won't feel bad about it? As in, he would feel that we are doubting him/her in case we ask for upfront pay because I have had bad experiences in the past. What is your say on this?

 

[llamallama]

I like to get half up front and half upon completion. Do not feel bad about asking for money. If you do the work then you deserve to get paid PERIOD. Don't let them make you feel lame for asking cause you can bet your a$$ when someone owes them money they are gonna ask for it.

 

[peerless2acme]

Hmm,

Interesting delimma. That is one of the nice things about using one of the online sites that put buyers and sellers together.

The buyer puts the money into escrow account to be paid to the seller of services upon completion and satisfaction.

In your situation, I would write up a bill, and send it to them via email. Follow up every week until he pays. If you want to build a legal case you must give 30 day notice of complaint sent registered mail, then after 30 days, give 10 days notice of default, then after 10 days give 3 days notice of estoppel. Then file a civil case against him. If you are outside his state of residence, file in federal district court. If inside his state file in state court. If outside the country, not sure, maybe international court.

If he does not pay find out where he hangs out on the net by searching for his handle. Many people use the same handle everywhere. You can make life miserable for him if he does not pay.

DW

P.S.: Registered mails get to be expensive. But they are necessary for court.

Thanks for your valuable comments. But don't you think its easier said than done. I kept sending mails to one of my clients when he did not pay me $150 but after sometime he became furious and blasted on me. I am quoting his words " Do whatever you want. My clout in the market is far more than yours and I will easily prove that your services were below par and thereby not pay". Such a thing was very depressing. This is one of the reasons why I am apprehensive when it comes to huge credits.

 

[hispdcha]

You need a portfolio to show potential clients. If they are happy with your portfolio, then they should have no problem hiring you. The reason for the portfolio is to give the client assurance of your quality of work. If they agree your quality of work is acceptable, and they hire you, then you absolutely need to get the money upfront.

NEVER work for ANYONE without getting payment upfront of some sort. Your time is valuable, if you don't value your time, why would someone else? You have to be confident in your work, expect clients to treat you fairly, and let them know you are a valuable part of their business.

You sound desperate in your comments for money, which makes this tactic hard to do. However, you will find better clients, and more respectable people if you respect yourself and your work. Don't let people know you are so desperate for money you will work upfront without any guarantee of payment, you will only get burned. Best of luck!

 

[thetvnun]

if you are doing $150.00 worth up front then some type of deposit must be put down, actually i'm not sure i would do more than one piece up front as a free sample, and after that they must pay in advance. there is no enforceable recourse.

 

[BENNY8877]

I would usually tell them that I need to withdraw the money from Paypal into my bank account in order to pay some bills on-time.

I have only once had a problem with a client. She kept telling me that she would take care of it, but time and time again I didn't receive anything. I finally got fed up, did a copyscape of the article I gave her, and found it on eHow (she was getting three times the amount of money that she paid me for it). I again emailed her and mentioned finding the article on eHow and she paid immediately.

 

[peerless2acme]

You need a portfolio to show potential clients. If they are happy with your portfolio, then they should have no problem hiring you. The reason for the portfolio is to give the client assurance of your quality of work. If they agree your quality of work is acceptable, and they hire you, then you absolutely need to get the money upfront.

NEVER work for ANYONE without getting payment upfront of some sort. Your time is valuable, if you don't value your time, why would someone else? You have to be confident in your work, expect clients to treat you fairly, and let them know you are a valuable part of their business.

You sound desperate in your comments for money, which makes this tactic hard to do. However, you will find better clients, and more respectable people if you respect yourself and your work. Don't let people know you are so desperate for money you will work upfront without any guarantee of payment, you will only get burned. Best of luck!

Desperation is all together a different scenario. If you focus on it then, you are sidelining the core issue. I have many well-paid clients but there are those rare ones who are always on the run and have the habit of cheating people. I don't want to lose my hard earned money, and I suppose no one would wish to. If you say I am desperate then I say yes I am desperate but only for recovering money. I second most of the members who commented on this post that writers need to ask for upfront pay. So, you mean to say if the client refuses to pay upfront, then a writer must not work for him.

 

[peerless2acme]

I like to get half up front and half upon completion. Do not feel bad about asking for money. If you do the work then you deserve to get paid PERIOD. Don't let them make you feel lame for asking cause you can bet your a$$ when someone owes them money they are gonna ask for it.

Would you ask for an upfront even if client has paid you once and a sort of trust has been developed. How about that? In such a case, when you know the client has paid once and he says to pay weekly, then what would be your stand. Generally, I agree to the clients word and give them credit for a week. What would you do, if you were at my place?

 

[Gollie]

For some clients, if you never ask for the money, they will never pay you. Rude, terrible, insensitive etc, this is just the way business is. Clients in today's world get busy and if you are afraid to ask for your due wage for the work you have done, you will lose money constantly behind late/non-payment.

 

[courier]

You should probably come to terms with your payment before you start the job. If it's a bigger job than I'd say to have them pay half up front. I haven't written anything for pay yet, so this is just my opinion on what you should do, not what would work haha. Good luck though.

 

[adbot]

There's an old saying that goes something like this... "Fuck You! Pay Me!".

Always get paid up front.

 

[kristian1111]

If somebody has great feedback then take the work on with payment after.

If somebody has great feedback but only a couple then take the work on at 50% upfront.

If they have no feedback and you have no feedback then 50%

If they have no feedback and you have a lot of good feedback then 100% upfront

 

[peerless2acme]

There's an old saying that goes something like this... "Fuck You! Pay Me!".

Always get paid up front.

Yo mate!! That's some tough words . All these days I was thinking of a possible solution and i seriously believe that upfront payment is the only solution. Though there are some hitches but we have to deal with them.

 

[peerless2acme]

For some clients, if you never ask for the money, they will never pay you. Rude, terrible, insensitive etc, this is just the way business is. Clients in today's world get busy and if you are afraid to ask for your due wage for the work you have done, you will lose money constantly behind late/non-payment.

You are absolutely right mate. This is the stark reality of this industry but we can't just let these cheaters get away because if we let them off then they would cheat someone else who is innocent. Therefore, asking for an upfront is the only way out it seems. By doing so, we can know what's going in the person's mind. I am still unsure about it.

 

[Anotherdesignteam]

I always ask payment upfront with PayPal. And if the client doesn't like this I ask for half up front, half after work is done.

 

[peerless2acme]

If somebody has great feedback then take the work on with payment after.

If somebody has great feedback but only a couple then take the work on at 50% upfront.

If they have no feedback and you have no feedback then 50%

If they have no feedback and you have a lot of good feedback then 100% upfront

That resembles like my grandma's instructions but yeah what you said can come handy in most of the cases. However, there are some cases where these Golden rules may not help and these cases can be turn out to be the ones where we may get cheated. I am thinking of making some principles and then comply them seriously.

 

[extremephp]

Most of my suppliers never piss me off asking payments. For the first few times, I used to pay them on time, but later, they now know me well, and they just know that they will get their money one day or the other. All people in IM keeps the money rolling, Both the sellers and buyers should understand that