Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals

c/chasing-invoices

15

owens.laura•1d ago

That time a client paid me in boiled peanuts and a handshake

I do small design jobs for folks around Savannah and last spring I finished a logo for a guy who runs a food truck. He kept saying the check was in the mail for like 3 weeks so I finally drove over to his spot on River Street to talk. He was frying up boiled peanuts and looked real busy so I just waited while he served a line of tourists. Finally he comes out with a Ziploc bag full of warm peanuts and a crumpled envelope with half the cash I was owed. Turns out he stuffed $40 in ones and fives in there and honestly the peanuts were so good I couldn't even be mad. I ate them on the drive home and called it a win but I still have to go back next week for the other $60. Has anyone else gotten paid in something random like food or favors instead of real money?

15

noraroberts•2d ago

The client who paid me in partial installments for 8 months

I had this one guy in Austin who would send me $50 every other week like clockwork for a $1200 fence job I finished in 2023. He'd always include a sticky note saying "here's another little chunk" which made it feel less like a payment and more like a weird pen pal situation. Has anyone else had a client who paid so slowly it almost became charming?

13

zarag17•4d ago

My buddy's "just call them" advice actually worked

My friend Mike kept telling me to stop emailing and just pick up the phone for late payers. Finally tried it on a $850 plumbing invoice that was 35 days past due, and the guy paid me over the phone in 3 minutes. Has anyone else had better luck calling instead of sending reminders?

15

robin896•5d ago

Always thought sending a thank you note with the invoice was cheesy until I tried it

After 6 months of chasing 30 overdue accounts I slipped a handwritten note into the envelope with one and that guy paid in 2 days flat, so who's the fool now - has anyone else tested something that felt corny but actually worked?

4

victorhernandez•6d ago

Found a trick that got a 90 day late client to pay in 2 weeks

This was after 3 months of me chasing him through email and texts with zero luck. I printed up a simple letter on my home printer, nothing fancy, just said the amount due and a deadline. The certified part cost me like $7 at the post office but it got his attention. Now I'm thinking of doing this for anyone who hits the 60 day mark. You guys have any other weird methods that actually work?

-1

thomas.river•7d ago

Saw a $1,200 plumbing invoice sit unpaid for 3 months before I finally drove to the guy's house and stood in his driveway

I was at a diner in Tulsa when I spotted the homeowner eating pancakes, so I walked up and asked if he forgot about the leak I fixed, and he pulled out his checkbook right there and paid me in full with a $50 late fee on top.

12

brian_hart•7d ago

Tried a 1% daily late fee on my $1200 invoice and got paid in 3 days

I had a regular customer in Phoenix who kept pushing payments past 60 days on a $1200 web design project. After months of polite reminders I added a 1% daily late fee to the next invoice and emailed them a clear breakdown. They paid in full within 3 business days... no questions asked. The trick was I spelled out the fee right on the invoice in bold red text. I worried it would scare them off but it actually sped things up. Has anyone else tried a daily penalty instead of a flat late fee?

15

samreed•8d ago

That 'net 60' client just ghosted me on $950 worth of web work

I did some site updates for a small real estate agency back in March and they were supposed to pay after 60 days. Now it's been 4 months, they won't answer emails, and I'm out almost a grand. Has anyone actually had luck with small claims court for stuff like this?

6

paige_bell81•10d ago

Bought a $200 invoice tracking app and it was useless

Wasted 3 months on this app called BillFlow Pro. Thought it would automate chasing payments. But it just sent ugly emails clients ignored. Still had to call everyone myself. Anyone else get burned on a tool that promised too much?

14

blairm77•12d ago

My accountant said send invoices on Fridays, total disaster

My accountant Janet told me to send all my invoices out on Friday afternoons so they'd be top of mind over the weekend. Tried it for two months and my clients just ignored them until Monday or Tuesday, then I'd have to send reminders. Ended up with payments slipping 10 to 15 days later than usual. Has anyone else gotten advice from a well meaning pro that backfired on them?

26

ben_fisher•15d ago

That coffee shop in Nashville where I finally stood my ground

I was at a little place called Frothy Monkey in Nashville last Tuesday waiting on a client to send over a $1,200 payment that was 45 days late. I had been doing the whole nice reminder thing for weeks and getting nowhere. Finally I just sent a text saying I'd have to pause work on their next project until the invoice cleared. They paid within 4 hours and even apologized. Has anyone else found that being firm at a random spot pushed you to actually set a hard boundary?

16

colegarcia•15d ago

Six months of polite reminders got me nothing, one hard deadline got me paid in 48 hours

I had this guy in Austin who owed me $3,200 for a patio pour I finished back in March. Every month I'd shoot him a nice text, like "hey just checking in on that invoice" and he'd say "next week for sure." That went on for six months until I finally sent him a message saying I'd be putting a lien on his house if I didn't see payment by Friday. He Venmo'd me the full amount the next morning. It made me realize being nice just tells people they can ignore you, and that one concrete deadline does more than a hundred friendly reminders. Has anyone else had a client suddenly pay after you threatened something legal?

4

lee.cora•16d ago

Switched to 15 day net terms after a $3,200 lesson

I always used net 30 because that's what everyone else did. Then a client in Dallas ghosted me for 47 days on a $3,200 project and I was stuck covering my own bills. A friend who runs a print shop told me she switched to net 15 and her late payments dropped by half, so I tried it. First month in, three clients paid early and I got a thank you note from one saying it helped their own bookkeeping. Has anyone else seen better results with shorter terms?

28

victorhernandez•16d ago

Chatted with a retired contractor at the lumber yard who said he never let a job go past 30 days unpaid and I felt like a chump for being nice.

He told me I was basically training customers to pay late by not putting a hard stop at 30 days, and now I'm wondering if my 60 day grace period is why half my invoices from last quarter are still sitting there, anyone else have a guy make you rethink your whole payment system?

20

thomasb41•17d ago

Caught myself adding 30 day net terms to a new graphic design contract last Tuesday

I was about to email a small bakery owner a contract with net 30 terms like I always do. Then I stopped because I remembered she told me she pays her flour supplier weekly. That clicked in my head. Why was I giving everyone a whole month when some people would happily pay in a week if I just asked? Has anyone else tried offering different payment windows to different clients and seen better results?

11

gray314•19d ago

Hit $10,000 in unpaid invoices before I finally got serious about chasing payments

I let things slide for months thinking clients would pay eventually. Last quarter I added up all the overdue amounts and it came to $10,345. That was a gut punch. I started sending reminders every 3 days instead of waiting a week and got $4,000 cleared in the first 10 days. Anyone else have a number that made them change how they handle late payments?

23

max_schmidt77•20d 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•20d 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•21d 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•21d 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•21d 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•23d 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•23d 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•24d 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•25d 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?