Just out of curiosity विषय पोस्ट करनेवाला व्यक्ति: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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I’ve been reading some of my colleagues here on Proz complaining about long payment terms and, even worse, clients who do not pay at all, but in my case I have more and more clients (agencies and direct clients) who pay the day after receiving my invoice. Should I consider myself very lucky or are there more colleagues in the same situation?
| | | | | You should consider yourself very lucky | Mar 2, 2023 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I’ve been reading some of my colleagues here on Proz complaining about long payment terms and, even worse, clients who do not pay at all, but in my case I have more and more clients (agencies and direct clients) who pay the day after receiving my invoice. Should I consider myself very lucky or are there more colleagues in the same situation?
Although I had once a (good) client who paid me before I even translated one letter. I considered myself then very, very lucky.
| | | | Dan Lucas 
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
Local time: 13:08
सदस्य (2014)
जापानी से अंग्रेजी
| Similarly positive | Mar 2, 2023 |
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Should I consider myself very lucky or are there more colleagues in the same situation?
My clients are reliable payers. Only once did I have a long delay in payment, and that was with a small company that I think was just snowed under by administration. They paid in full, but I think we mutually decided not to work together in future.
My regular clients pay me exactly when they say they will, every time, typically at the end of the month after the month for which the invoice is submitted (but not all of them even require invoices).
So I don't think it's that unusual. I think a lot of freelancers don't do their due diligence or use common sense, and get taken for a ride.
Regards,
Dan
| | | | | Payment policy | Mar 2, 2023 |
All my clients pay on time (from 15 days up to 60 days from the date of the invoice, depending on the client).
If a potential client is not on ProZ’s Blue Board with 5 stars, I ask for prepayment of the project. No exceptions. Some actually do prepay (I just had a case in December last year).
Conclusion: if 15-60 day payment works fine (it does for me), I am not going to try to fix anything that’s not broken. For new clients, if 5 stars, I stick to their payments t... See more All my clients pay on time (from 15 days up to 60 days from the date of the invoice, depending on the client).
If a potential client is not on ProZ’s Blue Board with 5 stars, I ask for prepayment of the project. No exceptions. Some actually do prepay (I just had a case in December last year).
Conclusion: if 15-60 day payment works fine (it does for me), I am not going to try to fix anything that’s not broken. For new clients, if 5 stars, I stick to their payments terms (so long they are reasonable). If no 5 stars, prepayment for the first project and normal payments terms going forward.
Now, “5 stars on Blue Board” means the comments need to be substantial (not just one or two 5 start comments), and it’s ok is the overall score is, say, 4.8 (because two or three providers just indicated 4 instead of 5. However, it would be a red flag it someone indicated 1 or 2). ▲ Collapse
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Lieven Malaise
बेलजियम
Local time: 14:08
सदस्य (2020)
फ्रांसीसी से डच
+ ...
| Possibly lucky | Mar 2, 2023 |
Being paid one day after you've sent your invoice seems rather unusual, but good for you.
I'm being paid after 30, 45 or 60 days. For some of us this may seem (too) long, but if you know that you will be paid within the agreed term it actually doesn't matter if it happens after 30, 45 or 60 days.
When I started freelancing in the year 2005 my main client only paid after 90 days (they eventuallly also switched to 60 days). Perhaps that's the reason why it never bothered ... See more Being paid one day after you've sent your invoice seems rather unusual, but good for you.
I'm being paid after 30, 45 or 60 days. For some of us this may seem (too) long, but if you know that you will be paid within the agreed term it actually doesn't matter if it happens after 30, 45 or 60 days.
When I started freelancing in the year 2005 my main client only paid after 90 days (they eventuallly also switched to 60 days). Perhaps that's the reason why it never bothered me that (some of) my clients pay after 60 days. ▲ Collapse
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Some small ones pay straight away. Rest at 30 days.
| | | | | Every client is different | Mar 2, 2023 |
I used to have many more clients who were late payers or needed multiple nudges. Now it’s pretty good.
My sense is that for every client who pays late, there’s a different reason (some reasonable, some less so):
- An accounting cut-off: Invoices submitted before a certain date get processed in a batch. Everything after that date goes in the next batch and waits for the next cut-off.
- Overwhelmed/understaffed administration: Everyone is trying to cut costs all the ti... See more I used to have many more clients who were late payers or needed multiple nudges. Now it’s pretty good.
My sense is that for every client who pays late, there’s a different reason (some reasonable, some less so):
- An accounting cut-off: Invoices submitted before a certain date get processed in a batch. Everything after that date goes in the next batch and waits for the next cut-off.
- Overwhelmed/understaffed administration: Everyone is trying to cut costs all the time, so my contact person is generally juggling seventy different things and doing what should be five different jobs. Things fall through the cracks.
- Clients are not companies/professionals but private individuals: They may wait for times of the month when their bank account is high, or they don’t do wire transfers often, or they’re busy, or they’re disorganized and lose track of the invoice.
- International money transfers: Banks/Companies want to exploit exchange rates or companies don’t have regular processes for handling international payments.
The list goes on. I’ve heard from colleagues about agencies that use the unprofessional “but the client hasn’t paid yet” excuse, but thankfully no one has ever used it on me.
I can afford to be somewhat forgiving about payment deadlines because I have several regular clients with whom my payment methods are established and regular. That means that regardless of when the other clients pay, I can rely on a portion of my invoices being paid predictably (which is not the same as soon). That predictability (and getting the money eventually) is more important to me than next-day transfer. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No such trend in my patch | Mar 2, 2023 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
...I have more and more clients (agencies and direct clients) who pay the day after receiving my invoice...
All of the work I do comes from agencies. While I seldom get new clients, my largely unsuccessful discussions with prospective agencies in recent years show that they remain on terms like 30 days month end and longer.
Although extended payment terms are usually not an issue as long as they are complied with (and inflation remains "low"), it can become painful when a major 60+day client of yours goes belly up without warning while you work with it. You're likely to have 2 months of credit wiped out instead of one. I lived the experience first-hand in 2001 post 9/11, after hardly more than a year in the business.
Philippe
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I’ve been reading some of my colleagues here on Proz complaining about long payment terms and, even worse, clients who do not pay at all, but in my case I have more and more clients (agencies and direct clients) who pay the day after receiving my invoice. Should I consider myself very lucky or are there more colleagues in the same situation?
But long payments should not be accepted, when I am contacted by a new client I specify that I do not accept payments exceeding 30 days end of month.
Regarding immediate payments, it happens from time to time yes, but not usual
| | | | | Same experience | Mar 6, 2023 |
My normal customers who used to pay within 30 days now often pay within 10. I am afraid to ask why. New customers seem to accept 30 days too. It has been a while since I was told their payment period was 60 days.
| | | | Katrin Braams
जर्मनी
Local time: 14:08
सदस्य (2018)
अंग्रेजी से जर्मन
+ ...
Payment terms vary widely, but recently I have acquired some new clients who pay very fast, only days after I submit. The record was a client who paid me while I was still working on the job.
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This is awsome Katrin! Congrats!
Katrin Braams wrote:
Payment terms vary widely, but recently I have acquired some new clients who pay very fast, only days after I submit. The record was a client who paid me while I was still working on the job.
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Kay Denney
फ्रांस
Local time: 14:08
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
My direct clients mostly pay within a few days of receiving the bill, and agencies within two months.
With one client, I get confirmation that she received the translation because the bank notifies me of her payment. (She also gives me super long deadlines and very beautiful texts about her very beautiful artwork, all in all my favourite client).
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