Clients that are slow to pay, but too profitable to dump.

i hate slow payers too. I learn long time ago that you always should have 2-3 different affiliate programs company, it's like playing stock, you don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I don't know what services you are providing, so I can't really say exactly what you can do. But if he's paying you for example on a monthly basis to do tasks, you can put him on a monthly recurring billing plan on Paypal.

For me, I rarely take on any custom projects due to time constraints, and I let people know that when they contact me. I make sure they understand I only want to deal with serious people and require people to pay a % upfront, always. By doing this , you attract serious customers that will generally pay on time. And if they don't, you can always have a heart to heart with them.

It's best also not to provide the product upfront until you get paid, especially when you're dealing with high paying projects. For example, I know the project is worth 20k, I'll often require 3-5k up front. Yes you get less clients, may lose some, but you attract the serious ones that pay you on time , will buy from you over and over again, and you don't waste your own time.

Remember who you target to work with plays a big role in how they work with you. But sometimes they just need a heart to heart with you; and need reminders.

I use a simple system.

My invoice:

Payment is $1000
Payment for prompt within 7 days: $700 ($300 discount)

Very simple & people pay on time.

I had a client that I did quite a bit of work for a few years ago. Every month, I'd send a pretty hefty bill.

Although he knew up front what my hourly rate was and he had a running tally of my hours, he ALWAYS nitpicked the bill and was VERY slow paying.

Eventually I fired him. I told him that he obviously didn't see the value in the services I provided and that he should hire a part-time college kid.

Funny thing is that he sent me about 5 referrals after I fired him. Guess he was satisfied, after all.

1. Make sure all the important stuff is clear on your invoices (like tax numbers, etc.)

2. Give an exact description of what you did (i.e. instead of "for services rendered" (or whatever), put "writing 10 pages of copy for the XYZ project; re-writing autoresponder mails for ABC project".

3. If you get payment by mail, include a reply envelope with your address written by hand and a real stamp. It will work much better than any pre-printed franked envelopes will. (Possibly because it makes it clear that you're a real person rather than some semi-anonymous "business".)

4. Don't use vague terms like "net 30". Use specific dates. Like this: "Payment is due in my office on Tuesday 25-May 2010".

5. If you can still remain profitable by doing so, offer a small discount for early payment. (But remember that, once you do that, the client will likely expect such discounts indefinitely.)

6. I don't know if this applies where you are but Irish law allows you to charge interest on late payments. Personally, however, I wouldn't begin doing that right away, as it may ruin your relationship with the client. Use it as a last-resort to persuade them to pay up.

7. Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease: If payment isn't forthcoming within the required time frame, call them (or get someone to call them as your representative, if you don't want to do it yourself).

Hope this helps...

Tommy.

I give an early settlement discount and severe late payment fees.

They know exactly what they are doing to you Marty. Ask them straight up about the issue and demand a response to the question:

Is you business undergoing financial difficulty - on x months out of x months your payments have been late?

Accept payment up front.

I do.

All the best,
Michael