Lori: I ordered myself a weather radio. Same one that was so hard to find my brother for Christmas. It was even on sale – $5 less than his cost. I had to get the same color (pretty metallic cranberry red) since the other colors weren't on sale. Free shipping too! (You know how I love free shipping.)

I created my own template. On the bottom, it reinforces the relevant contract terms, such as the 20% late fee, the cumulative nature of the late fee, and, if needed, the payment schedule.

Depending on the project, I either ask for 50% up front and 50% upon delivery of the finished project (which usually includes two rounds of revisions). Additional revisions or change of direction are billed at my regular hourly fee. That's both in the contract and on the bottom of the invoice. Larger projects are 1/3 up front, 1/3 at a PRE-AGREED, contracted midpoint, and the final 1/3 at the end.

Paula — I use Lori's formula. I'm not credit card company, so I don't compound daily interest. At the end of 30 days, it's X fee, wait another thirty days, the next 20% is tacked on to the original amount + original 20%, and so on.

Usually one late fee tacked on does the trick.

Thank you, Wendy, for helping Wade out. 🙂 I'll add this – for that final payment, put an end date to it. I had a client once who took a year to get the project done in his mind. Because I hadn't stipulated that payment came at say March or May, I had to wait a year for final payment.

For the bigger projects, there should be an upfront fee or deposit fee, which says that nothing gets done until you receive that payment. If I'm doing something like an eBook, there's usually a mid-way payment and a final payment along with the deposit. Plus, I retain the rights to it until the final payment is received and clears the bank. It's stated in the negotiation stage and laid out in the contract that they sign. Of course, it's up to you, but I learned from being burned.

And thanks for the link!

Wade, I use my own Word document. Just a simple file with my name, address and contact info (NEVER the SS#), and To, Deliverables, and Amount Due. I include a note at the bottom to pay upon receipt to avoid late fees. That changes if they are late to a litigation notice.

Paula, here's Lori's really simple-yet-accurate calculation for compounded interest (really simple – I'm not a math whiz, either) — say they owe $1,000. Your late fee is 20 percent, so they now owe you $1,200 (.20 X 1,000 on the calculator). If in 60 days they haven't paid yet again, you'll assess the late fee on top of that new total (.20 X $1,200). That's what they owe you to avoid litigation. 🙂

Wow! You guys have seen the weather this year, haven't you?

One thing I'd like to know, though, is how to figure out late fees that are compounded daily (or whatever). What percent and how do you calculate it? (Remember, I stink at math.)

BTW – Lori: Massive bow echo blew through before 7 AM, knocking out power to more than 660,000 people in N. Illinois. We had an 80-mph gust reported in my part of town. I was lucky. One small branch off a huge tree and my power, phone, and cable are still working!

Hey Lori, did you find a pic you could send me? Thanks!