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How I Handle Slow Paying Freelance Employers After My Wife Got Laid Off
When I first went freelance as a plumber two years ago, I did what everyone does: send a nice email, wait a week, send another nice email, wait two weeks. Then I'd call and leave a voicemail. I wasted three months on a $2,300 job for a property manager in Denver who kept saying his check was 'in the mail.' After my wife got laid off in January, I couldn't afford to be that patient. Now I add a line to every contract that says late payments get a 5% fee tacked on every 14 days, and I stop all work until the balance clears. I also started asking for 50% up front on any job over a grand, which I never did before. Funny thing is, since I made that switch in March, I've only had one guy pay late, and he paid the fee without complaining. The nice emails and waiting? That cost me more in stress than the money ever did. Has anyone tried using a collections service for jobs under $3,000, or is small claims court the only real way to go?
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