Comments on: Free Advice Friday: When Clients Hold Checks Hostage

By: Translation favorites (June 20-26)

Translation favorites (June 20-26) — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 21:05:37 +0000

[…] to build a portfolio from scratch (with little experience) Why introverts make great freelancers When Clients Hold Checks Hostage The Prepared […]

By: Weekly favorites (June 20-26)

Weekly favorites (June 20-26) — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 13:03:14 +0000

[…] to build a portfolio from scratch (with little experience) Why introverts make great freelancers When Clients Hold Checks Hostage The Prepared […]

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:34:21 +0000

I've not heard of Freshbooks, Susan. Thanks for the tip! It's been my beef with PayPal all along that they take more fee than I'd like.

By: Susan Johnston

Susan Johnston — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 18:41:28 +0000

Yup, I've had late checks. The best possible scenario is one in which the client pays by direct deposit: fast payment and no fees! I have a few clients who pay via PayPal but gross up payments to cover the fees if you choose PayPal (PayPal is easier for them too, so they hope you'll choose PayPal). For those that don't cover the fees but want to pay via PayPal, I use invoice using Freshbooks. They have an option for a flat fee of 50c per invoice instead of a percentage of the invoice. I have the free Freshbooks account that only allows a limited number of clients at a time, but I've managed to make that work and still get the 50c fee per PayPal payment.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:07:40 +0000

Paula, yeah, I hear ya. It's a tradeoff. The credits in that publication are valuable to you, and the long pay cycle is the tradeoff. That's one of the reasons I quickly moved out of magazine writing and into sales copy years ago – the editorial world was just too aggravating to me.

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 21:46:23 +0000

In a perfect world I might, Eileen. But the 45-days from invoice client is one of the top publications in my niche, so it would be next to impossible to replace them. And they know it. The good news is they do pay (eventually), and account for a significant chunk of my annual income.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:04:26 +0000

I'm having this dilemma now with a fairly new client. I invoice when the 1st draft is delivered and the terms are net 14 days. The client is a company that does several hundred million in revenues, so they're not deadbeats by any means -- I think they're just bureaucratic. I have to remind my contact several times before I get paid, which is usually at about the 5 to 6 week mark. Thus far, because I enjoy the work and they're meeting my price, I've just gone with the flow. But I am vigilant about keeping an eye on outstanding invoices. If the amount overdue becomes too great, I will have to stop work until they get caught up.

Paula, that "45 days from invoice" must frustrate the heck out of you. In my case, I'd be replacing them fast. It's always my hope that if enough writers push back on payment policies like these, clients may catch on that what they're doing is not okay.

Lori, wishing your daughter and her new husband all the best!

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 17:25:38 +0000

Knock on wood, I haven't have any checks held hostage yet, but I have held work hostage until all past invoices from that (now former) client were paid.

Right now I'm frustrated with the payment terms of one of my major clients. They were bought out a couple years ago and the new owners instituted a "more efficient" payment system. They also stopped doing direct deposits.

They used to pay within 2 weeks of publication. Now it's "30-45 days from invoice." The problem? They generate invoices, and wait until the end of the month the article ran. The work I turned in March 10 ran April 28 and I still haven't been paid. I KNOW they'll pay, but it's really disruptive to the old revenue stream when most clients pay withing 30 days of acceptance or publication. When that check finally arrives, almost all of it will go toward my property taxes. But like Lori said, it will probably come two (or more) days after my bill is due.

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:27:03 +0000

Haven't had checks held hostage in a long time... since I insist on clear contracts (as clear as I can make them) and at least half up front...

And I've increased my fees to take Paypal's fees into account... love the instant nature of it, particularly for overseas clients.

Good article, as usual.