Getting paid

[Sawyer]

But dont "wait". Call call and call. Talk to your contact at the office, have them transfer you to accounts payable, talk to everyone you can. Tell them you havent been paid and you need expect to be. I really dont think anyone will choose not to pay. You may be a low fish on plate so make sure everyone there knows your name and that you plan to call everyday until you have your account settled. If you make a lot of noise I think they will choose to pay. And make sure you talk to them and make it clear you wouldnt want this to happen again so what can you do to make sure you are always paid promptly... However you word it. Just make sure you are as active as you can be. More often than not when I wasnt paid on time it was a really dumb mix up with AP or billing or something lame. I think there were times if I had called sooner it would have been taken care of sooner.

[PIXELBOX_SRO]

Hi Bobby, we tend to put watermarks all over the image for the new clients. Those get removed once the payment is down. Anyway, aggression wont solve anything in these cases. The best approach is two polite email month apart, third email sent with a polite threat of a lawsuit.... This i recommend with new clients. As far as the othe ones, repetitive ones, its usually better to wait because they will pay 90% of the time.... It sucks i know but pls know that this type of shit happens everywhere!!!

[pskdude]

I agree, in my opinion sometimes just a simple email from a lawyer instead of you will begin to get attention at least in my exp. it has.

- from my exp. like the video says any of your work that is used and final payment has not been completed you can "sue the hell out of them" =P

[arobbert]

But dont "wait". Call call and call. Talk to your contact at the office, have them transfer you to accounts payable, talk to everyone you can. Tell them you havent been paid and you need expect to be. I really dont think anyone will choose not to pay. You may be a low fish on plate so make sure everyone there knows your name and that you plan to call everyday until you have your account settled. If you make a lot of noise I think they will choose to pay. And make sure you talk to them and make it clear you wouldnt want this to happen again so what can you do to make sure you are always paid promptly... However you word it. Just make sure you are as active as you can be. More often than not when I wasnt paid on time it was a really dumb mix up with AP or billing or something lame. I think there were times if I had called sooner it would have been taken care of sooner.

I agree. Waiting will only show you are not serious and put you lower on the priority list. You have already waited a month.

You must stick to your agreement what ever that was. When was final payment due?

If they have have exceeded the time specified in the agreement they must provide a very good explanation (this doesn't include not returning your emails). It is up to you to accept it or not. If they are later than specified in your agreement, they are delinquent. Try that with your creditors and see what happens. You are not a bank. If the arrangement included an extension of credit then that is a different matter.

My brother in law is a CFO at a small company in Denver. He told me that there are many companies that do this as standard practice. He found out the hard way. They use this as a way of making money by getting free credit. Small vendors are victimized and the big ones with power eventually get paid. They manage to stay in business by moving from one vendor to another. In business credit is a big deal and all legitimate suppliers charge interest when they offer it.

I've been screwed out of thousands of dollars and have learned the hard way. Don't let this happen to you!

[jujubee]

I had to take two clients to court and won both times. I've been screwed and have had to wait plenty of times. There's a few things I've learned from all of my experiences:

1) Contracts. Be explicit in your terms. Not only does it make you look more professional, but can save your butt as it has mine on several occasions. Word-of-mouth is also just as valid in the court of law in the US, but harder to prove.
2) Save your emails.
3) Request a percentage up-front on larger amounts, but final payment always on completion.
4) Watermarks. Be upfront and tell them that all your images are watermarked until payment is received. The only time I make an exception is if it's an absolute emergency for a client at a large firm (which I can probably trust to pay) or a repeat client. Almost every new client gets the watermark treatment.
5) Don't make changes for free unless they're really minor, and even then inform them of your change policy/charges. I had to do this twice this week alone. I explain to them that some of these changes might take a whole day, and my employees/contractors need to be compensated. Last but not least, it also takes away from other paying clients.
6) Take screenshots of your images being used. I had one guy refuse to pay me because of quality, but then my image appeared on his website the following days. I took a screengrab then used this in court against. It actually constitutes two separate issues:

a) Failure to pay - he had to pay what he owed (owes you for your work and legal fees.)
b) Copyright theft - used your image without permission (you might be able to assess separate damages for theft.)

If a client doesn't pay:

1) Usually try to get a hold of them via email.
2) If that doesn't work, you have to call. You might even need to block caller ID.
3) Ask for the person in charge of the project.
4) If that doesn't work, at larger companies ask for Accounts Payable. I had to do this on several occasions. The AP department may have a 30-day policy like most companies, but I inform them of our agreement.
5) Email Accounts Payable.
6) Send over a notice after 30 days. I have one that reads in BIG BOLD LETTERS: 30-DAY OVERDUE NOTICE.
7) If that fails to satisfy, I'd consider a few options:

a) Is this a client you want to do business with in the future?
b) Will this client give business in the future?
c) Are they simply running into problems and have a valid excuse? I had one repeat client that disappeared for a while. Come to find out, his town had a major flood and they lost their building. I would say that's a valid excuse, so I don't always jump to conclusion. Recently, I had a client who's grandmother died and he was gone for two weeks.

If I'm prepared to lose the client, then if necessary I will inform them of potential legal measures.
1) I would do that via email, and tell them that "I am prepared to go to court if I do not receive a prompt response." Briefly outline your terms again. Also follow that with information as to how going to court will affect their credit score, they will be reported to the Attorney General, BBB ranking, and may even result in a lien on their property or jail time. You can also go one step further and say that you're pursuing them for theft.
2) If they start fighting with you, give them an ultimatum.
3) If that doesn't work, go down to the court and file the paperwork.
4) Send them copies of the filed paperwork or mention what you have done. Give them one last chance to resolve these issues.
5) If that doesn't work, go to court and watch them not show up. The case in most states will default to you.

[glorybound]

I use Freshbooks and I noticed that it sent out an invoice, with a late fee, three days ago. Both jobs have a 1.5% remaining balance penalty built into it. We didn't have a contract, and I probably can't enforce the fee, but it might initiate payment. I also just sent a snail mail invoices via Freshbooks.

You guys have given me great insight into the business side of this, thanks!

[Sawyer]

But have you called? You need to call.

[glorybound]

not yet, but I will.

[EricCamper]

love that video....

[tricky]

Very good video.

[glorybound]

I am not sure why he had to use the four letter word, but it was a good video.

[dlparisi]

I am not sure why he had to use the four letter word, but it was a good video.

Because of this (Warning NSFO-Language obviously)....

[glorybound]

I see... I am from Chicago, I should have known. Does anybody know where I can find Pauly? I might have some work for him.

[tricky]

I am not sure why he had to use the four letter word, but it was a good video.

Marketing 'shock' tactics to get a hook/interest/laugh in what he's talking about. Pretty obvious I'd have thought given his career.

[glorybound]

I am not sure it was really effective, at least not for me. I think his message would have came across just as effectively had he omitted the vulgarity. But then again, he probably gets paid for his work