[Closed] Late payment of invoices - what choices

Every contractor I've ever used has been paid quite late eg at least a couple of months. Fairly normal finance dept practice I understand I'm afraid. Presumably you're not working for an umbrella co?

charge extra and offer a discount to the usual amount 'for prompt payment'

ask them why payment is late, why are they not able to pay today and will late payment be a regular occurrence.

Do they think that it's reasonable to be almost a month late?

are they happy with your work?

are they happy to have a months interest added to future invoices?

etc

No umbrella and feeling the rain right at the moment.

30 days in lieu, 30 days to pay, 20 days late...

Want to pay my mortgage for me this month?

a lot of companies are stretching their credit terms at the moment.

My main client is a FTSE 100 company and even they are stretching to 30+15 days. When an invoice goes missing, like last week, I can often end up 90 days work in credit. No big deal, as I make sure I can absorb these things - it happens at least once a year.

Credit control is just one of those chores of being self-employed.

I just have a friendly chat with my contact & accounts payable at the client Co. to make sure I keep their minds focussed on my invoice 🙂

Here's a very useful website about late payments:

http://www.londonfreelance.org/feesguide/gelattxt.html

I ended up charging (and claiming) the interest and a pentalty charge without any arguments. They dragged their heels til I wacked the charges on, and after waiting so long initially and then suddenly paid quite quickly! The penalty plus interest did soften the blow the initial blow of the late payment too.

Would definitely recommend it, you can keep things nice and polite too as you're only claiming what you are entitled to by statute - you can't really argue with that!

Hope that helps!

I just have a friendly chat with my contact & accounts payable at the client Co. to make sure I keep their minds focussed on my invoice

Now listen here you horrible little oik, damn well pay up or I shall come round and give you a bloody nose!

😀

[url= http://www.factoringhelpline.co.uk/cash-flow-management/how_does_factoring_work.htm ]Factoring[/url]?

This may be an option, although you'll loose a percentage of the value of the invoice.

Very good friend of mine is experiencing the same problems. Some of his invoices are still outstanding from April and he is still doing work for the client 😥

Check your agreed payment terms on your contract t&c's then ask them when you can expect to be paid as you are xx days overdue, try to get a date in writing if overdue.
ask them if theres a problem with the invoice
ask them if theres anything you can do to speed up payment
basically eliminate all chance of excuses by being nice and helpfull

then it probably boils down to them just delaying payment until they get paid for your services.. ask them about this but be polite

if they have an issue with your services or invoices ask for exact details of the issue then offer to go see them to clarify any issues so you can rectify, this may speed things up.

Factoring is worth a look, but most factors i've looked at are looking for turnovers over £100,000.

WCA - for future reference, make sure that the terms of your consultancy (they are written down, right?), include:

* a specified, but not unreasonable, interest figure on all late payments

* the words "time is of the essence" applied to all sums payable by them to you

* a liquidated damages (note, not penalty - these are unenforceable) provision where you agree a set level of damages (which are reasonable forseeable as flowing from the late payment)

Happy to draft something for you for a small fee... 🙂

and make sure there purchase terms don't negate any of your terms....which they probably do.
I've got blue chip companies paying us on 92 day terms...lump it or don't get the work is there message.

If you worked for a company as an employee not as a contractor, and your pay was late, youd eithergo on strike or resign,so why when companies dont pay us self employed do we carry on working for them,well i dont,and i go to their office and ask for payment,and if they dodn pay, go back again and stand outside and tell everyone theyre haveing problems paying their debts,its worked for me.

When you cant pay the mortgage, and your house is repod, its to late.

what choices

Z1 or 66?

We rent out catering vhicles and we have trackers fitted with the ability to text a message to the tracker to immobilise the vehicle should the customer not pay the rent. Not had to use it yet fortunately but could be quite an amusing phone call from the customer if we do.

you could try and persuade them to pay a standard monthly amount by standing order, or ask them to set up a direct debit facility (which our outsourced bookkeeper company does), but otherwise just keep on routinely and politely telephoning to keep a good relationship with their accounts department to get them on your side.

We have 30 day terms and then charge a compound 5% PER DAY after that. We enforce this rigidly.
Last month our biggest customer foobarred our billing - this left me with a 236K hole to fill in 12 hours. We had just paid our GST and our latest provisional tax as well (which is where you have to guess your earnings and pay tax UPFRONT for the next 4 months - insane). Anyway, it was extrenely close but havign emptied all business and personal accounts and maxed out my revolving credit mortgage we made it. I was distinctly underwhelmed - people do not realise what small businesses have to deal with. We're not by any stretch of the imagination in financial trouble, quite the opposite but the combo of prov tax and no income and outgoings is all bad.
Anyway, customer coughed up for the fees we incurred and now pay within 7 days.
I'd speak to them openly about it. They want you to work and have to understand that they have to pay promptly. We have another ex customer who used to drag their heels all the time on payment but would demand top instant service. Last time it happened I said we would help them when they paid the 80 day invoice that was o/s. All hell broke loose and we cut them loose.

Have a word. Literally. Now, I work mostly with accountants, so the merest whiff of an unpaid invoice is enough to send most of them into a bit of a paddy, but it happens, and usually a pleasant chat on the phone is all it takes. Usually it's nothing, just forgot, or misplaced the invoice or whatever, but as others have said, working for yourself? Then be prepared to chase the money. I've had recourse to he "Boys" though, and I use these folk.

[url= http://www.directroute.uk.com/ ]Direct Route[/url]

Never not had my money when I've engaged them

Now heres on weapon we have used. When we were a little company we had an accounts woman, Maureen, who did it all. Now, being honest she didn't exist. She had an email address and all that but what it did was separate the consultants work from the billing which was enough. She got invited to Xmas functions and my customers were all in awe of her as she was super efficient 🙂 Now we actually have a real one, called Maureen !