This is the sad side of freelancing, you will most likely one day, if you haven’t experienced it already, work with a client who simply refuses to pay your invoices.
There can be many reasons why, but it’s important you stay calm and ensure you’re helping the entire process through so you have your side in order, and then you start to pursue your payment. Be persistent, and follow the law in your country with follow-up fees for late payment.
You need to stop working immediately for that client and then spend some time pursuing your payment, even though it’s the last thing you want to do. But here is how you do it step by step.
Stop working For Your Client
It’s essential you stop working immediately for your client. Whatever you’re doing, drop it.
All the time you’ll spend with your client is to pursue the payment you’ve earned already.
It might be scary at first, but it’s essential for your client to understand they can’t run around corners with you. Just as you’re holding up your end with your work, your client needs to hold up their end by paying your invoices.
Of course, if it’s a client you have a long and healthy relationship with, then continue to work with them as you’re probably confident the payment will come.
Be Persistent in Pursuing Your Payment
It’s important you stay persistent, and you’re the only one to follow up, and all your client wants is for you to stop contacting them.
Even though you don’t get an answer, then keep following up. Start once a week, and then do it more and more often.
If you feel comfortable about it, then call your client as well. Either to get a status or ask them to pay your invoice as a follow-up.
If you’re using an invoicing tool, then that tool might be able to send out follow-ups automatically. Based on my experience, it works much better if you follow up.
Follow The Payment Law In Your Country
As soon as the payment date is due, and you still haven’t received payment, you can start sending out payment fees.
It’s essential you read the law in your country to follow this correctly.
I’m from Denmark, and here the law states I can send 3 payment fees. I can send as many reminders and follow-ups I want, but I can only add the payment fee 3 times, and in Denmark, it’s around $15. 10 days need to pass between each payment fee reminder.
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Contact A Collection Agency
And the last resort is that you send it off to a collection agency or hire a lawyer.
First, if you want to use a collection agency, it’s essential you read up on the regulations. Sometimes they require you to have a contract with your clients. Other times not.
Before sending your case to a collection agency, you need to send them a payment fee reminder telling them that if they don’t pay within 10 days, you will pass on the case to a collection agency.
Hire A Lawyer
Do only hire a lawyer if you’ve tried all previous steps without success and the invoice is of a specific size.
Hiring a lawyer is not cheap, so if you’re pursuing an invoice of a low amount, then it won’t be worth it to hire a lawyer.
However, if you feel it’s necessary because other factors play a role or the invoice just is big enough, then hiring a lawyer is the right last step you can do.
You can choose to hire a “normal” lawyer or a contingent-based lawyer who only gets paid if they win your case. So it’s a win-win in the end.
How To Avoid Freelance Clients Not Paying In The Future
Now we’ve been through the steps to take in order to get your payment for your invoice.
To avoid you having to go through all this again, it’s important you learn from it and take the necessary steps.
Always protect yourself with a freelance/client contract when working with clients. Don’t be afraid of contracts in this case; your client is used to signing multiple contracts yearly. Just get it done, as it’ll protect both you and your client. Read more about freelance contracts.
Another thing is setting up a payment plan. Depending on the job’s type, you need to set up different types of payment plans.
If it’s a large project, then set up milestones where you get paid every time a milestone is reached.
If you’re paid hourly, then send invoices every month.
If it’s a smaller project, then break it up in three. Get paid before, in the middle and after the project is done.
Read this article to get a complete overview of the different payment plans.
Lastly, remember to research your client. A little background research will save you so much time in the long run. See if you can find any history of the client is a bad payer or if some in your network have previously worked with them.
Sometimes registers in your invoicing platform tell whether it’s a good or lousy payer client.
And remember, don’t let one client pull you down. This happens to everyone. I’ve tried it a couple of times. You just need to learn from it and get through it.
FAQ
What happens if a client doesn’t pay on Upwork?
If you’re eligible for Upwork Hourly protection, Upwork will pay you for the hours you’ve tracked. But if it’s manual hours or you’ve worked after the project has been finished, you will not be paid.
How do you convince a client to send you money?
Be transparent and helpful all the way through. Set up a payment plan with milestones with payment upfront so your client gets used to paying your invoices.
Remember a contract as well, and then always send your invoices on time with follow-ups.
How do I follow up on payments from clients as a freelancer?
This is never comfortable to do, but be transparent and write in a friendly tone.
I usually write something like:
Hi {name},
I haven’t received payment from invoice {number}.
I just wanted to follow up and ensure everything is in order.
Let me know if I can help with anything.
Regards,
{name}
