When a potential client drags his feet on the contract and the deposit, I know there's going to be a problem further down the line, and I go ahead and give that slot to someone who's professional about contract and deposit instead.

Professionals dealing with professionals don't balk at either contracts or deposits. They want to get the work done, and get the details sorted.

The others aren't actual clients — they're grifters.

Jenn, I hear you. Most of us have been there. 🙂 It's that a-ha moment that comes just a little too late, isn't it?

Anyway, the client threatened to "hold his invoice" until the work was complete. He's on an ongoing contract where he invoices and gets paid by them every two weeks for hours put in. So they want to hold his contract (not pay on time) because they delayed the project by outsourcing another part of it without telling my hubs that up front or staying on top of the other guy.

I asked him how big of a late fee he'd be charging if they did hold the invoice. He turned bright red and looked like he wanted to kick himself. Then he got the spiel about how important they are. (Poor guy. I'm a nag like that.) You can be darned sure he'll never make that mistake again — or work with this client again.

Jake, I used to waffle on sending out invoices, but now I'm in the habit of sending them with the final revision. Then I open Outlook and make a note 20 days out to tap the client on the shoulder if the payment hasn't arrived.

Cathy, I relax that too for existing clients who have already paid and proven they're intention to continue doing so. One former client used to like to tell me "the check was just sent" and then ask me to do something else. I'd usually hold off a day or two before answering, then tell him yes but extend the deadline another week just to make sure that check was really on the way. He would always dangle the carrot, though, as if he were talking to some starving artist type. Weird.

Paula, I've had that dreaded letter, too. I'm going to talk to my accountant — I wonder since there's ample proof that the money was owed thanks to reams of court documents, would that be allowed as a deduction?

On two occasions I've written articles for publications that folded. Once you get the dreaded letter from an attorney outlining how the company's meager funds will be allocated to creditors – and see you're near the bottom of a very long list – you know you're out of luck. The worst part was discovering self-employed people who use the cash accounting method can't declare those unpaid invoices as lost income. Doesn't seem fair.

Like all of you, I'm sure, my contract changes are proportional to all the ways we've been burned. 😉

I spell out the number of rounds of revisions included in the fee (never more than two).

I put that no feedback within XX # of days assumes the copy is final.

I spell out that the work will not start until the deposit is received. I admit I tend to relax that for existing clients. I still require the deposit, but may get started on the research.

I've also started billing when the draft is sent. Accounting departments seem to have their own special kind of clock. 🙂

In the interest of honest disclosure, the area I struggle is sending invoices promptly. I loathe bookkeeping. 🙂

Lori, thanks for your contribution to my "things I love about freelancing" post this morning–happy Valentine's Day!

I've had book ghostwriting contracts blow up… but I've always gotten paid for the amount of work I've done… because I get it up front.

Learned to do this because of getting stiffed actually.