Vent: Client who promised a 100% guarantee on their own project timeline

I'm on the fence about whether to enforce strict late fees or just let it slide to keep the peace. Had a freelance gig with a Denver startup and they paid 45 days late on a $500 invoice, which was a pain. But when I pushed back they threatened to leave a bad review. Has anyone else dealt with this and found a good middle ground?

3 comments

3 Comments

max_schmidt772d ago

Something nobody has brought up yet is the tax side of this. If you're a freelancer and they pay you 45 days late in a different tax year than when you did the work, that can mess up your bookkeeping and you might end up paying taxes on money you haven't even seen yet. Had a buddy who did a big project in December, got paid in February, and had to guess on his estimated taxes. Ended up overpaying by a lot. For a $500 invoice, the review threat is just noise. Small claims court costs like 50 bucks to file and you wouldn't even need a lawyer. Most of these startups fold before they actually leave bad reviews anyway, so I'd just send a polite final notice letting them know you're willing to eat the late payment this once but any future work requires payment up front.

matthewking1d ago

And @brooke_murray nailed it, that bad review threat over a $500 invoice is such a douche move.

brooke_murray3d ago

That's a tough spot but I gotta say, threatening a bad review over asking to get paid on time is a red flag. Those clients usually end up being more trouble than the money is worth. Putting late fees in the contract from day one helps, but if they already pulled this stunt, enforcing them now will just make things worse. A good middle ground could be to set a clear payment schedule for any future work and require a deposit upfront. If they balk at that, you know exactly what you're dealing with and can decide if the stress is worth $500.