Late payment of invoices can not only be frustrating and emotionally draining but can also lead to serious cash flow issues for your freelance business, and that’s before taking into account the time and effort spent on chasing up late payers.
Unfortunately, late payment of invoices does happen. While there are things you can do to mitigate late payment, such as having a good invoicing software system and processes in place, here are 6 steps to consider to get your overdue freelancer invoice paid.
1. Get in contact early
As soon as your invoice is overdue, don’t delay—contact the client so you can iron out any potential issues. It could be something as simple as the client forgetting to pay or mislaying the invoice—or, if it’s a large organization, it could be stuck in the system somewhere. If it’s a long-term client who has previously always paid you on time, it’s most likely a simple but resolvable error has occurred.
Taking action early often resolves most issues and is better than brooding over the late payment, which won’t help your productivity and might even have a negative impact on your mental well-being, especially if you are overly obsessing about it and fretting over all the potential scenarios as to why the invoice hasn’t been paid.
Take action and take it early!
2. Send a reminder
Send a short, friendly email reminder to your client to prompt them to make payment. With the Invoice Ninja Pro Plan, you can create custom email reminders based on the invoice date or invoice due date. You can set them up so they are sent automatically at the frequency and timing of your choice. You can set “First, Second, Third” or “Endless” reminders to ensure invoices are not overlooked and you get paid faster! A simple reminder will often go a long way to getting the invoice paid.
Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, tracking expenses and billable tasks.
Try it for free here.
3. Speak to someone
If, for whatever reason, you are not getting a response and you know the contact details of the person responsible for paying the invoice (for example, the accounts payable department in a larger organization), then call them on the phone and speak to them.
If it’s a mobile number and you can’t get through, you can send a text message and ask them to call you back that day.
Ask them to tell you exactly when you can expect to receive payment. If there is an issue, ask for the details and get them to follow up in writing. At this stage, depending on their response (and your payment terms and conditions), you could consider charging an additional late payment fee (assuming it’s not a genuine mistake)
4. Take note of any red flags (and review payment terms and conditions)
While you should consider potential client red flags before entering a client-freelancer relationship, some don’t reveal themselves until the project has commenced.
How were communications during the project? What payment terms and conditions did you agree upon, and were these in writing? Were other invoices throughout the project paid on time? What happened at the end of the project – were communications still good, or were you effectively ghosted?
The answers to these questions could provide you with an indicator as to how soon you will be paid or if you need to take further action. For example, it could be that everything was slow throughout the project, and while frustrating, you’ll get paid eventually.
However, if the client flat-out refuses to pay you, it’s likely time to get professional/legal guidance. But before you do that, it might be worth letting the client know you are going down this route – it might be the push they need.
5. Make it easy for clients to pay you
The more options a client has for paying you, the more convenient it is for them, and the more likely you’ll get paid on time. It could be that the method you offer for getting paid is inconvenient for the client, takes time, or they simply can’t use that payment method due to their jurisdiction or other internal issues.
Invoice Ninja offers multiple payment gateways. Integrating your Invoice Ninja account with a payment gateway allows clients to pay their invoices with 1-click!
The payment gateway processes the transaction in the background; your client never has to leave their Invoice Ninja client-side portal. Seamless!
See all our payment platforms here.
6. Don’t do any further work
Finally, if you are still working on a project (and, for example, getting paid by the milestone), consider ceasing work (and explaining to the client why) until the invoice issue is resolved and you have been paid.
Hiring another freelancer to complete the project would likely cost more in terms of time and effort, so paying you is the cost-effective option.
Of course, each scenario is unique, and if it’s a long-term client who has simply made a genuine mistake, as long as your invoice is paid promptly, there is no need to down tools.
~
Whatever route you take, keep communication channels open, remain civil and professional, and do all you can to resolve the situation early on.