My clients don’t pay me, now what?
The question: My client does not pay me? I have to go to bed?
ellie
It happens, that’s all I can say. And to continue working as a freelancer and from the comfort of your home, you will have to accept it. One of the biggest advantages of working from home is being able to organize your time and dictate your own schedule. The biggest problem we will have… is, unfortunately, the payment.
If the project is already confirmed and, even better, if there are signed documents and agreements between you and the client, you can safely pursue this client by sending bomb-sized leads via email. The excuse of ‘My boss is harassing me because of his pay’ cannot be used because…You are the boss! But you can say things like “I was wondering…” or “I’m not in a rush, but when can I expect payment?” or “My computer needs an upgrade and I plan to do it tomorrow. Can I get paid soon?”. And maybe, you can also say things like…”I heard a hurricane hit your state. How are you? I hope you’re okay.” Sometimes when you express concern for their well-being and health, they will start to feel guilty and pay you back.
Nagging customers won’t work very well in your favor because you still want their business, so don’t berate them. Maybe they are trying to work things out on your end or trying to get YOUR clients to pay them so they can pay you. It’s true. Some customers are middle people. And if this is the case, they may need to make sure YOUR customers pay them so they can pay you.
Whether your clients pay you or not… is none of your business. He has nothing to do with you. The work has been done and the work delivered on time. You too OUGHT you will get paid whether your customers walk away or not. Remember that…and if your client tells you the same…say, “I really understand and sympathize with you but…I can’t help you with that! Now when can I expect payment?”
Email them every other day. If they don’t respond, your senses should be tingling by now. The third time they ignore your email, say something firm but not mean. If they still don’t respond, send them another invoice. Some payment processors like paypal, stormpay, and ikobo allow you to send invoices to payers, so please do so. If it is already the fifth time you have sent the email, send them repeat invoices every day.
By then, they should get the message.
