Rant: Found out late fees on net-30 terms are basically a myth in most states

Last week I was digging through my state's commerce rules because a contractor in Ohio still owes me $4,800 from a job I finished in March. I always assumed charging 1.5% monthly after 30 days was standard. Turns out, unless you wrote a specific late fee clause into the original contract, most states won't back you up, and even then the max is capped way lower than I thought. Meanwhile the other side of my brain says hey, chasing late fees just burns bridges, especially with repeat customers who pay eventually. I've had two slow payers completely ghost me after I tacked on a penalty, but I've also got a guy who treats my invoice like a suggestion until I threaten collections. So which is it, do you push the legal late fee angle hard, or do you eat the delay and keep the relationship? Has anyone actually collected a late fee without losing the customer over it?

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