The Phrase That Pays

It worked again! For the second time in three months, I advised a colleague to use the following line at the end of a long-past-due invoice:

“Please pay within 15 days to avoid litigation.”

This time, my colleague and chum Kevin Prutzman applied it to a very late bill. Nearly instantly, he was paid! What is it about that phrase that works like magic? Let’s face it – who wants to be sued?

Apparently, not too many people would want that. I’ve had it work for me when the bill was nearly seven months past-due. My friend Gerda used it when her invoice was ignored for nearly eight months. So in my little circle, it works.

When to Use?
Clearly you don’t want to be slapping that line onto the bottom of every invoice. Threatening a client, new or established, into payment from the outset isn’t going to earn you much repeat business. But obviously there has to be a line you draw. Do yourself a favor – draw it now so that when faced with this situation, your action plan is clear to you.

I will wait three months for payment before I use the line. The first month late – okay, we all misplace things. The second month is more questionable. By the third, it’s pretty clear this bill’s being ignored.

Also, understand that there are people in the business world who will ignore even that little phrase. For them, you need to have an additional plan. It’s called small claims court, and I advise you to know how to utilize it. It costs somewhere around $30 to file a claim, but before you do, make sure you’re documenting the fact that you’ve attempted more than once to extract payment from the client. Have paper proof. Also, it’s wise to file your claim in the county in which that client does business. The judgments, I’m told, will adhere a bit better if there’s no jurisdictional line to cross.

That’s not guaranteeing payment, but if you secure a judgment against a nonpaying client, there’s a better chance that you will get some payment in the future. It’s also a lesson to that client and others that your services are not freebies.

Go forth and bill wisely. 🙂