Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals

c/chasing-invoices

23

max_schmidt77•5h ago

Got called out by a client for my follow-up emails sounding like boilerplate

A small business owner in Denver told me my late payment reminders were too robotic and made him feel like a number. I switched to a more personal tone with a quick check-in about their business first, and now I get paid within 48 hours instead of 2 weeks. Has anyone else found that being less formal actually speeds things up?

32

oliver_baker49•7h ago

Vent: Paid $200 for a "late payment" tracking app and it did nothing

I bought this app called PayFlow that was supposed to auto-send reminders and track overdue invoices. Spent $200 on the yearly plan and used it for 3 months. Clients just ignored the automated emails anyway and I still had to call them myself. Has anyone else wasted money on a tool that promised to fix late payments but didn't help at all?

21

fisher.jessica•23h ago

Just realized my polite payment reminders were doing more harm than good

I used to send super friendly 'no rush but just checking' messages when invoices were late, and my clients in Austin would take 45 days on average to pay. Then I got a blunt email from a small business owner saying my soft touch made it feel optional and they prioritized pushier vendors. Has anyone else tested being more direct and seen faster payments, or did it backfire on you?

24

rowan_ross•1d ago

Took a client's angry voicemail about my late fee policy seriously

A customer called me last month screaming about how I charged a 5% late fee on a 60 day overdue invoice. Said it was 'punishing small businesses for being broke.' That stung cause I used to be the one paying late too. So I switched my terms to offer a 2% early payment discount if they pay within 10 days instead of the late fee. So far 3 out of 5 new clients have taken it. Has anyone else tried the carrot over the stick approach?

9

kevinw94•1d ago

The moment I switched from 'net 30' to 'net 15' for new clients

For two years I did net 30 for everyone and chased payments like crazy. Then I tried net 15 on three new clients in January, a small electrician and two landscapers in Cleveland. Every single one paid within 10 days, one even sent me a check in 5. Has anyone else found a shorter term makes people pay faster, or is it just the type of client I landed?

3

pat_harris•3d ago

Got paid in pennies after a 4-month battle with a bakery in Cleveland

I did some website work for a small bakery in Cleveland back in March. After 4 months of excuses, the owner finally handed me a check, but it bounced. So I drove over there and stood in the shop while she counted out $350 in coins from the register, mostly pennies and nickels. It took me 20 minutes to haul them all to my car, and I'm still finding pennies in my floor mats. Has anyone else gotten a weird payment like that and just had to laugh it off?

14

blair_torres70•3d ago

Hit $4,200 in overdue invoices cleared in one day and it shocked me

I had a client who owed me $4,200 for 6 months after a big landscaping job in Austin. I tried everything from nagging emails to late fees, but finally sat down with them face to face and offered a 10% discount if they paid that day. Has anyone else found that a small break on price actually gets people to pay faster than threats?

24

lucashenderson•4d ago

Pro tip: that client who said 'check is in the mail' 3 weeks ago still hasn't paid

Small job for a local restaurant in Portland, $850, they kept saying the check was coming last week and now they're ghosting my texts. Anybody got a trick for getting through to someone who just stops responding?

21

the_john•5d ago

Spent $200 on a collections agency and it backfired hard

Had a client ghost me on a $1,200 landscaping job last summer. After four months of polite emails I paid a local agency $200 to chase him. They sent one nasty letter and he filed a complaint with the BBB, which torpedoed my rating. Anyone else get burned by a collections service instead of helped?

9

charlie198•6d ago

Just ran the numbers on late fees and holy cow I've been losing money

I did the math on my invoices from last year in Phoenix and realized I let almost $4,800 slide by not charging late fees until 60 days overdue. Read a post on a small business forum where a guy breaks down that even a 1.5% monthly fee adds up way faster than you think. I had 14 clients pay between 45 and 90 days late in 2023 and I never tacked on a single penalty because I felt bad. Now I'm wondering if I should go back and bill them or just start fresh with a 30 day due date. Anyone else ever calculate what they lost by being nice about it?

20

emma_jones•9d ago

Had a chat with a bookkeeper that made me nervous about my payment terms

I was talking to this bookkeeper at a networking thing in Phoenix last Thursday, and she told me that a lot of small businesses she works with have clients who deliberately wait for the second or third reminder before paying, just to see if they can stretch it. She said one guy admitted he holds payments for 90 days if the invoice doesn't have a clear late fee listed. Has anyone else noticed if putting a specific late fee amount speeds up payments?

4

bell.jessica•24d ago

Hot take: sending a reminder email at 8am got me paid faster than any late fee ever did.

Spent 3 months chasing a $850 invoice from a guy in Austin until I finally emailed him at 8am on a Tuesday and he paid within 2 hours, has anyone else found weird timing tricks that work better than the standard approach?

15

kai839•24d ago

Why I stopped sending invoices the same day I finish work

Used to fire off invoices right after I wrapped up a job, thinking faster billing meant faster money. Last month, a client in Phoenix called me at 9 PM on a Thursday complaining my invoice landed before I even cleaned up their basement. They held payment for 3 weeks out of spite, and that $4,200 delay almost busted my material budget for the next project. Now I wait a full business day before sending anything, and people seem way less annoyed about paying on time. Has anyone else had a client get weird about fast invoices?

17

zarag17•25d ago

Has going super nice vs staying firm ever actually worked for you?

I had a client last summer in Phoenix who owed me $4,200 for 3 months of engine work on his classic truck. I tried the patient route first, polite emails and reminders, nothing happened. Then I switched to a stricter tone with a 5 day deadline before I'd file a mechanics lien, and he paid in 48 hours. But then I hear other shop owners saying being too aggressive just makes people dig in and never pay at all. Anyone else find one approach works way better than the other, or does it just depend on the person?

10

lilyt23•25d ago

Had a client ghost me for 6 months on a $900 invoice.

Took me that whole time to realize I should've just filed a small claims case after 30 days. Has anyone actually gone to small claims over a small invoice like that?

8

finley_smith•26d ago

Hit 100 late payments tracked in my spreadsheet yesterday

I started a simple log back in March just to see how often clients actually paid after 30 days. Yesterday I added number 100 and it kind of hit me how much time I've spent chasing money. Most were small amounts, like $200 to $500, but it adds up to over $12,000 total. Has anyone else tried tracking this stuff or am I just being obsessive?

12

anthony_jackson31•26d ago

Switched from net 30 to net 15 and it changed everything

Used to do net 30 terms for all my freelance graphic design clients because that's just what everyone did. After a client in Austin took 47 days to pay a $2,800 bill last November I decided to switch to net 15 for new contracts. Now I offer a 2% discount if they pay within 7 days too and my average payment time dropped to 11 days. Anyone else try shorter payment windows or do you think discounts are leaving money on the table?

17

ray562•27d ago

That one Wednesday where 4 clients paid on the same day out of nowhere

I had this weird Wednesday last month where I woke up to three payment notifications before 9 AM. One was a guy who usually runs 45 days late, and he paid a 6 month old invoice for $2,400. Then two more landed by lunch, including a $600 one I had written off in my head. By 4 PM a fourth one hit my account from a client in Austin who always pays net 60 on the dot. Felt like the universe glitched for a day honestly. Anybody ever have a random day where the cash just flows in like that?

5

shane170•27d ago

Finally got a 30 day net payer down to 15 days after 6 months

I kept sending polite reminders with a link to pay online, but the real trick was adding a 2% discount if they paid within 10 days. Has anyone else tried offering a tiny discount and had it backfire?

20

skyler_johnson32•28d ago

That first time a slow payer ghosted me then showed up with cash

Had a client 6 months back, owed me $2,800 for a commercial job I did in Phoenix. Called 5 times, left 3 voicemails, nothing. Finally drove to his shop and stood at his desk. He handed me cash on the spot with a fake smile. I hate that chasing in person works but it's the only thing that does for some people. Anybody else found that showing up in person gets results where emails and texts fail completely?

7

ben_fisher•29d ago

Remember when people actually mailed checks? I miss those days.

Last week I got an email from a guy who owed me $450 for a job I did back in October 2021. He said he "just found the invoice" under his truck seat lol. Three years ago I swear clients would send a check within two weeks or call you to pay over the phone. Now it's all excuses and ghosting until I send three reminders. I had a lady last month pay me in crumpled twenties because her card was "maxed out" apparently. Has anyone else noticed folks just got worse about paying since like 2020?

18

craig.parker•1mo ago

That one client who always emails 'check is in the mail' but it never shows up for 6 weeks

I finally started screen-shotting those emails and sending them back with the date circled as proof after a guy in Denver pulled that line three times in a row on a $1,200 job last fall, has anyone else run into the same pattern and figured out a way to call it out without sounding like a jerk?

-1

blairm77•1mo ago

Got ghosted by a client after 60 days of waiting on a $1,500 check

I finished a roof patch for a homeowner in Akron three months ago. They said the check was in the mail for two weeks before I realized they were lying. I finally drove to their house and waited on their porch until they handed me cash. Has anyone else had to show up in person to get paid?

3

the_jessica•1mo ago

Got a client to pay by showing up at their office unannounced

So I had this guy who owed me $1,200 for 3 months. Emails, calls, nothing worked. Last Tuesday I drove over to his office in downtown Austin. Walked in, said hi to the receptionist. Client came out looking all surprised. Wrote me a check right there. Crazy how that still works in 2024. Has anyone else done the in person thing or am I just old school?

27

dianawilson•1mo ago

Rant: Had to choose between paying myself or buying a collections agency service

I picked the collections agency for $300 on a $4500 invoice that was 90 days overdue, and the client finally paid up after the second letter went out, but has anyone else found that calling them yourself works better for smaller amounts?