Freelancefolder

46 Comments

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  JB Design and Photo

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?

  I accept Cash, Check, or anything that PayPal will process (paypal, cc, etc.)

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  Depends on the job, usually a PayPal invoice and receipt

  3. When do you require payment from the client?

  On smaller jobs I require payment on completion. For larger jobs it’s 50/50 (half up front and half on completion).

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  Haven’t actually had a need to charge late fees, although I might consider it if I had major problems with a non-paying client (with payment on completion they don’t get the final work until they pay anyways).

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  Make sure to have this stuff down in writing before ever actually doing work for a client (agreement or contract). I got burned once on a project because I didn’t specify all of the little details, and now I try to be as specific as possible, and get clients to agree in writing.

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  Jeff Mackey

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

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  Thanks for the opportunity to comment!

  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  I accept business and personal checks as payment for services (hosting,development, etc).

  I use Freshbooks for all invoicing, which handles invoices (obviously) as well as sending payment received notifications.

  For hosting, I invoice annually at the beginning of each client’s term month. For development work, I require 25% of estimate total before work begins, and then it totally varies by client as to how they pay/how much they pay during development, but the site is not live until total amount is paid.

  I don’t charge late fees, no matter how annoyed I get with clients that are 60+ days late with their hosting bill. I continue to debate this with myself as to the best course of action. For development work, if a pre-agreed upon scheduled payment is not received, work stops until it’s received.

  Business is business, and you can’t be shy about invoicing. That was a big mental hurdle for me to jump. We’re not here to design on spec!

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  Kathleen

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

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  Very interesting post! My primary client pays me monthly after I submit an invoice. Payment is via PayPal. I never have to worry about them. Another sends a check when I send an invoice weekly. She is very reliable, too. The third drives me up a wall. I submit an invoice at the end of the month and never know when I will see the check. I don’t charge a late fee. I figure they aren’t likely to pay it anyhow. I guess I need to be more assertive.

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  Amanda Evans

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

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  What a great post and you’re right it’s not a subject that is spoken of that much. Most freelancer’s including myself have their own system. I accept payment via paypal for private clients and if working via Elance or any other bidding websites I use their escrow system. On completion of any project I always send an invoice for payment. Payment is required within 7 days from the date of the invoice. I do not charge late fees or interest on my invoices and I am glad to say this is not something that I have had much need for although it is out there. I recently posted an article that deals with late paying and non-paying clients and what you should do if anyone would like to read it. http://www.helium.com/items/1238146-freelance-writers-handling-slow-and-no-pay-clients hopefully this can help anyone that this happens to.

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  Marcus Neto

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  Cash, Check, and Credit Card through paypal or paypal

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I send and invoice and a receipt. I require 50% up front as I have been burned before so I send a receipt for that when the contracts are signed and the check has been received. We then invoice them for the work at the end of the project.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  50% up front and 50% at the finish. If they are dragging their feet in giving us the information that we need then I may invoice for part of the remainder as a way of motivating them.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  I normally do not have to. Normally if I get a feeling that they are going to be late I threaten to turn off the site and email…. that normally perks them up.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  Hire an accountant to take care of your books and then use a program like Billings or Freshbooks to do invoicing. It shows that you are professional when you send a client a pdf invoice that looks good instead of just an email that they owe you some money. The accountant is like insurance money so that you know exactly what you are making and where the money is going. It will also help you as you need to make purchases or grow through hiring of additional people. Are you charging enough? An accountant will be able to tell you week by week where you are.

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  Brooke

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm

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  I mostly get paid with a check, but I will take paypal also.
  I usually send an invoice.
  Most of the time I require 1/3 up front, 1/3 after the design of a site is approved, and the final 1/3 at project completion.
  Ive never needed to charge late fees. Actually, I dont know what i would do if a client didnt pay. Ive been lucky with paying clients, but also careful. If someone seems sketchy, I wont take projects from them OR I require payment up front.
  My one piece of advice would be, make sure youre confident about your rates, but not cocky. Take good care of your clients, always go above and beyond, and they will know youre worth every penny and happily pay.

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  Matt Coddington

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

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  Good discussion going here :) I went ahead and wrote up my response on my blog: http://www.netbusinessblog.com/freelancing-how-i-handle-client-payments/

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  Samar

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

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  1. Since I live in UAE, paypal is the best option for me. It is the only method I accept payments with unless a client is in the same country.

  2. Both. My two primary clients have different methods. For one, I send an invoice after submitting the work. The other has an automated system that sends me a payment at the end of the month.

  3. So far I’ve let the client set the terms. I’m fine with weekly, monthly or on a per project basis. Though I think the reason I’m okay with all forms of payment is because I have jobs that send money my way per project or week wise. It would be difficult for me to accept all jobs that pay at the end of the month.

  4. I don’t charge late fee. It’s something I haven’t thought about.

  5. As long as the client is prompt in paying at the time they said they will, I don’t believe in being finicky about it. I also believe in giving clients who’ve been otherwise prompt in payments some leeway. Just as editors give us extentions when we can’t meet a deadline, I feel we should be flexible about late payments from trusted clients.

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  Chris

  December 15th, 2008 at 12:59 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept? PayPal, Cash, Money Order, or Personal/Business Check as a last resort
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both? Invoice through Acuinvoice
  3. When do you require payment from the client? typically 50% up front, and 50% on “Go Live” date, unless otherwise negotiated
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much? I have never had to, but Acuinvoice has late fees built in and I just stick with the default 1%/month
  5. Any other thoughts or advice? I am always willing to negotiate payment terms with a client, but always require some sort of a deposit, and ALWAYS use a contract.

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  Alexander Langer, Webseiter

  December 15th, 2008 at 1:01 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?

  Here in Germany bank transfer is what most are used to. I could also use bank collection and Paypal but never had to.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  Invoice only.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?

  It depends. For hosting I charge in advance (monthly, for 3 / 6 / 12 months) but hosting is not my main business. For complete websites with CMS I charge 30/30/40 (30% up front, 30% after the screen design and the rest when it’s done). Development work is done 50% upfront and 50% when it’s finished. Simple stuff is due after I finished my work, but some clients rather pay up front.

  Invoices are due within 10 days. Usually I receive payment two or three days after I mailed my invoice.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  Haven’t done so by know. I recently had a client that at first got a very low price tag from me and then bugged with an extra here and there. I received up to seven mails a day, even on the weekend in the late hours. After I told him that additional work would be charged by the hour he finally got quiet. It took him more than a month to pay two invoices of around $120 total – ridiculous and not worth any further effort.

  Another customer of mine has to pay monthly. He’s always late but constantly. ;-) Been knowhing him personally for years and fully trust him.

  A third client currently drives me nuts. After 4 weeks I mailed him, that my invoice is overdue. Heard nothing. A week later I phoned him. He wanted some stuff separated into two invoices. I did just so and now, a week later, still no money. I’m gonna wait till January. If nothing happens I will send him a fax to pay within 5 days or get his site off of my server. After that I’ll cut his new cool community website from the internet.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  Be patient but know your worth. Figure out for yourself if all the mailing and phoning and thinking is worth it for a few bucks. Better get rid of that client and invest that time in better ones who know your worth and respect your work.

  Yep, paying bills in time is about respect and it’s hard for anyone to stay focused and motivated if a customer does not respect what you do for him. So respect those who respect you and leave the rest outside.

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  Kenny Frank

  December 15th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

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  Great questions! We’ve been in business for about seven years and have answered these questions like this:

  1. We accept cash only. We have a client or two that like to pay with PayPal so, for those who do, we charge a 5% handling fee.

  2. Typically, we send invoices via email and, occasionally, by regular mail. We only provide receipts when requested.

  3. For new clients and/or non-maintenance work, we require 75% payment up front and 25% upon publication of the project.

  4. We, typically, do not charge late fees. We have resorted to collection agencies a few times, however.

  5. On a select few projects and only by “gut feel” we’ve begun to require 100% payment up front (after getting burned a time or two over the years).

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  Mitchel Sellers

  December 15th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

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  What payment methods do you accept?

  I accept PayPal (Credit card or direct) as well as checks via mail. Clients wishing to pay for large projects by mail are provided a FexEx account number for overnighting payments.

  Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  I send invoices as PDF documents from QuickBooks for all transactions, no receipts.

  When do you require payment from the client?

  For hosting it is all pre-payment, for development activity it is 50% down payment, 50% NET 15 after delivery of completed solution. HOWEVER, all completed solutions are time limited to 30 days to prevent their use if payment is not received. A final version is distributed with source code after payment received.

  Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  No late fees, they just can’t use the systems that were built for them if they don’t pay.

  Any other thoughts or advice?

  Create a plan for billing and STICK TO IT. Changing the plan for multiple businesses and customers becomes to hard to effectivly manage and eventually you can get overwhelmed just trying to remember what is what.

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  Blog Expert

  December 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm

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  I accept everything to paypal for my web design. It is the simplest method for me and almost all my clients have been able to use it to pay me.

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  Kristina

  December 15th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

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  Like most others I take take Paypal or Google checkout payments. I’ve also accepted a check, but I required a 30% deposit before beginning the project to be sure it was a real account. After that I tend to email an invoice or send a paypal invoice depending on the client’s preferences.

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  Adrian | Rubiqube

  December 15th, 2008 at 2:03 pm

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  1. Wire transfer, PayPal with trust worthy clients (had I bad experience that I’ll write about on my blog)
  2. Invoice
  3. Usually 50%, but sometimes based on milestones me and the client agree on
  4. No
  5. Always charge upfront

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  Pamela Hilliard Owens

  December 15th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

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  Before I even stated my business six months ago, I studied sites and posts like these. Right now, I use Freshbooks…so professional, so easy. I like how the client can click on to see their estimate/invoice.

  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  I prefer Paypal as I have international clients as well as local. Some clients (local) send me a check (so three years ago!).
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I send an estimate, an invoice, and a receipt. All are just a click away.
  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  Usually 50/50 except for very small jobs; larger jobs are 333/33/33.
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  The late fee policy is written on the invoice; haven’t had to use it.
  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  Even for the smallest clients I have, everything I send to them is professionally done. Plus, it helps me to keep my records straight at the same time. Especially helpful for a very small one-person business like mine. I did a $42.50 job from a referral that led to a $1500 job from the same person. Used exactly the same professional forms for both.

  Thanks for the post!

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  Dave

  December 15th, 2008 at 2:35 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?

  So far, it’s pretty much just been checks, since that’s the most common payment method in the US. I’d prefer bank transfers, but not enough to want to incur the extra fees that US banks tend to impose for them. No clients have, as yet, requested any other payment methods, they all just assume they should mail me checks.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  Invoice only, by email.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?

  I generally bill at an hourly rate and avoid fixed-price projects unless the client insists on doing it that way, so percentages up front don’t really work out that well. Depending on the number of hours I expect to spend on a project per week and the client’s history, I invoice net 14 either weekly or monthly. (I prefer monthly, but weekly helps to limit the invoice amounts when needed.)

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  I’ve considered it many, many times, but consistently decide that it’s not worth the extra hassle of accounting for late fees due. However, I do not perform any further work for clients with invoices 30 or more days past due.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  However you’re going to bill, keep it simple, keep it consistent, and have your accounting software set up to automatically handle any inconsistencies which you might need to institute (e.g., weekly vs. monthly billing for different clients). You want to be able to focus on your work rather than on remembering who’s being billed according to which set of rules.

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  Leila Wylie

  December 15th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

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  I use Freshbooks, which I LOVE!!

  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  PayPal, Visa/Mastercard and checks.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I send both.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  I require a 25% deposit for website packages with the remainder due within 7 days after the launch. For small projects for past clients, payment is due upon completion.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  Yes, I charge a $50 late invoice processing fee and 2% per month.

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  Anne Wayman

  December 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

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  I’ll always take cash ;) And yes, I’ve got one client who several times a year slips me a hundred dollar bill. And yes, I report it too.

  Most of my clients pay me by check.

  I invoice unless the contract calls for something else… and then I usually invoice. I write my invoice in word even tho’ I use Quicken to keep track of income and outflow.

  I can accept credit cards through http://www.2checkout.com – high discount rate but no monthly fee so it works for me.

  Paypal is another good option.

  I’ve received wire transfers but they are a pain… I won’t turn down any method to get paid.

  Since I ghostwrite I often take a hefty chunk up front – 25-50% and my contracts state clearly that I stop writing if the payments stop… visa-versa as well

  The nature of my work doesn’t lend well to late fees – stopping the writing seems to work for me.

  I’ve write about payments and such at my blog – usually in the Business category

  Anne Wayman, now blogging at http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com

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  Rik

  December 15th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

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  Even though I’m still fresh to the freelancing aspect (and still, only part time at it) I thought I might shed my thoughts as to what I’m currently doing. However, there have been some answers here that I will need to consider as some of my methods aren’t working out as good as I’d like.

  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  Currently, most just pay in check with only a few clients giving cash. I will also accept PayPal but I rarely advertise it and will only use it if the situation arises that check or cash isn’t attainable.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I will send an invoice via email automatically. If requested, I would mail one as well (although, most of my clients are able to print the invoice out themselves), it’s send as a PDF.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  For each invoice, I put a due date of 30 days. Because the invoice is sent via email, they receive the invoice and have 30 days from that day (as the date it’s sent is typed on the invoice). This is all put down on the invoice itself.

  I will often do a 50/50 for most large projects. Deposit of 50% of total amount before project commences and upon completion, the remainder (both with an invoice being sent off). Smaller projects are usually a one time upfront fee of whatever the total is.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  I do not right now charge late fees. However, I’m currently in a situation where a client is not paying me and has two over due invoices. The unfortunate part is it’s someone I know and even though aren’t that close to him, it’s still a friend of the family. It’s tough. I just give constant reminders.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  My thoughts are the same as what has already been said.

  Make sure you have everything written down before you start a job. It’s a pain when someone doesn’t understand things that you’ve written down, so also make sure it’s in CLEAR CONCISE English (or your language) that even the simplest person reading it will understand.

  My thought, almost have them explain back to you that they understand it and what it is both sides are responsible for.

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  Joann Sondy

  December 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

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  Since I “grew up” in a large agency environment, I’ve experimented with of a their methods. In the beginning I was invoicing on a monthly basis and after awhile this was detrimental to my cash flow.

  1 & 2. Most of my clients are those same agencies. Now, I send out invoices on a weekly basis for projects that are complete. My company accepts Corporate Check. I do have a PayPal account but rarely use it. Dropped credit card payments due to excessive bank processing fees.

  3. I do not charge late fees; however I’m noticing many more small businesses doing this. so I may look at this on an account-by-account basis.

  4. I insist upon deposit when large expenses are associated with a particular project, like printing. Otherwise, I roll the expenses into the billing.

  Joann

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  Annie Anderson

  December 15th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

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  For the most part, I accept PayPal but I will also accept checks or money orders if that’s what the client prefers.

  When someone pays via check or money order, work doesn’t start until their payment fully clears the bank.

  All fees are due up front, upon signing of the agreement which outlines the scope of the project, the timeline and any other necessary details, and also acts as an invoice. If they pay with PayPal, they also get an invoice there as well as a receipt for their payments. Otherwise, I don’t usually send receipts.

  I do charge late fees on the few occasions where I’ve accepted a payment plan although I rarely have to collect them. Most clients pay on time.

  Be firm, be professional and be sure of yourself. If you exude an air of quiet confidence and are friendly, most clients are great to work with in return.

  ~ Annie

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  Shaun Krisher Photography

  December 15th, 2008 at 6:42 pm

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  Generally, I get paid up front for portraits, weddings and headshots. I don’t accept personal checks, but I do take cash and credit card (via paypal or my online storefront) Commercial stuff gets invoiced through freshbooks.

  new clients pay 50% up front and 50% upon finally delivery, but I sometimes change that for 25/75 once I’ve established the client’s credibility.

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  Maurice Cherry

  December 15th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  I use Freshbooks for invoicing purposes, so clients usually pay either with a check or a credit card or through PayPal.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  Just an invoice.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  33%-50% up front depending on the length and complexity of the project, an additional 33% at a mid-milestone point (if 33% is charged first), and 33%-50% at the end after the client is satisfied.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  Luckily, most of my clients pay on time. Ones that haven’t usually are charged a 10%-15% fee and have their files suspended until full payment is delivered.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  The Internet is a WEALTH of information with regards to pricing clients; just make sure you do so according to your skill level and the value of information you are available to provide. Don’t inflate your prices just for the hell of it. Clients usually see right through that.

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  Chad Crowell

  December 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm

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  What payment methods do you accept?
  Checks, credit cards (V, MC, AMEX, Disc), and Paypal. And I guess cash, but that’s never happened.

  Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  We send both.

  When do you require payment from the client?
  Typically, we invoice for 50% up front, then 25% at design signoff, then 25% + overages at launch. This ensures the client is 75% invested in the project before we write a single line of code, which is the most time intensive part for us.

  Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  Never have had to, but it is in our contract.

  Any other thoughts or advice?
  The best thing you can do is tell the truth, be up front, be confidant, and communicate well with the client. Don’t be ashamed of your fees, you work way too hard :)

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  walter wimberly

  December 15th, 2008 at 9:17 pm

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  Most of my payments come in the form of checks. It is normal in the US for businesses to still write checks, although I will also take pay pal (which allows credit cards).

  I usually send an invoice, and depending upon the size of the project, may require an upfront fee of 33%. The remaining is based upon reaching given milestones. If a client needs a receipt, I can generate it for them, but usually an invoice is enough.

  I generally am lucky, and don’t have many late clients, although I’ve had a couple, and had to assess a standard late fee of 10% for every 30 days late. Unfortunately, in several cases, they were late because they went out of business.

  Extra advice: Always work with a contract. If it has been said once, it should be said a 1000 times. I failed to heed my own advice working on a site for a friend of a friend and now am having issues because initial costs are higher than expected due to scope creep, and it wasn’t formally laid out how that should have been handled.

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  Amber Weinberg

  December 15th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

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  For me it depends on the type of client. Regular clients and new clients have to pay 50% up front and full invoice within 14 days of finished product. Since I mostly do development work, most of my clients this year has been design studios. I generally invoice them every two weeks or once a month depending on what they prefer. I have one client that pays with every project, one that pays every two weeks, and one, inconvientantly I admit, that pays every 60 days due to their policy.

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  Jerad Hill

  December 15th, 2008 at 10:15 pm

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  I invoice and accept payments using the Freshbooks system. I love Freshbooks. They recently launched an iPhone app that allows you to time your projects and create invoices from them.

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  Jacob Cass

  December 15th, 2008 at 10:19 pm

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  What payment methods do you accept?
  PayPal for international clients & bank deposit for national (Australia).

  Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  PayPal request. Recently have been trialling Freshbooks but found it is more time consuming for my needs. It would be great for more smaller clients.

  When do you require payment from the client?
  50% upfront, 50% on completion or on larger projects 25% intervals.

  Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  No. I do not send them the final files until final payment has been received so this usually makes clients pay quickly.

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  Justin Long

  December 16th, 2008 at 3:42 am

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  I accept Cash, Business Checks, Credit Cards, & PayPal. It really depends on the client on which method they pay with though. I have a couple clients that pay for a monthly service and they are automatically billed via their credit card. They will get an email invoice 14 days before the payment will take effect, that give them time to change their payment type if they want or need to.

  With most local clients I like to do a face to face delivery and most will give me a check for the rest of the bill. What that also depends on the size of the project for example a 10 month project will have 6 – 8 payment milestones where I will collect. I usually collect 25% upfront from new customers and then repeat customers I only require 10% upfront.

  When it comes to getting my clients to pay me they will get an invoice sent to their email and they will also get an actual paper invoice via Freshbooks. Then they will be able to pay me.

  I do have a late fee and I have talked a little bit on the forums of how I handle late fees.

  Then only advice that I can give to someone that is new to freelancing is to collect payments in smaller portions and to stay on top of billing your clients and sending invoices. Most of the time if you don’t remind a client they will forget that they owe you money

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  Sean

  December 16th, 2008 at 4:04 am

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  I’m still new to freelancing but here goes.

  1. cash, bank transfer, paypal (Credit card via paypal)
  2. haven’t yet, but I’ve got Bamboo invoice set up to do so.
  3. I go on a 30/30/40 plan.
  4. haven’t thought about it yet, but probably will.
  5. please, I want advice.

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  James Chartrand - Men with Pens

  December 16th, 2008 at 8:19 am

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?

  PayPal for anyone outside Canada. U.S. cheques take 60 days to clear. PayPal accepts credit cards, too, so we’re cool. Inside Canada, we accept Interac as well.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  Uh… neither? PayPal does all that for you.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?

  50% deposit or retainer, balance due on delivery.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  No.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  Typically, people forget about outstanding payments – fast. We send weekly reminders to clients who forget to stay in their memory.

  We also NEVER get upset. Ever. Even when we’re livid. The best emails that produce the best responses are always upbeat. (Ever write a “thank you for the lesson you taught me! Now I know how it feels to be ripped off, and I value the experience for what I learned…)

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  Melek

  December 16th, 2008 at 11:35 am

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  I prefer checks, but if the client insists on paying with a credit card, then I’ll accept it via Pay Pal, but pass the fees on to the client.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  Simply an invoice via email.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  On hourly/recurring projects, Net 15 after the invoice date. On larger projects, I require 1/2 up front and 1/2 before files are delivered to the client.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  I don’t charge late fees for two reasons: 1 – If the client can’t pay the original amount, chances are they aren’t going to pay the late fee either. 2 – I’d rather eventually get he payment, than make the client angry when adding on fees.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  • ALWAYS get a signed contract that outlines fees, payment schedule and payment options.
  • DON’T turn over files until you get paid.
  • When asking for a late payment, don’t get ugly with the client. It only makes you look like the bad guy, and word can spread quickly to other potential clients.
  • Don’t wait too late to ask a client for a late payment. It looks just as bad for you to wait 3 or 4 months to ask for a payment as it does for the client to be paying that late.
  • If you are emailing an invoice to a client for payment, within the email state the amount of the invoice and the DUE DATE. This will help put it in their mind when it is due, instead of them having to open the invoice to see the due date.

• 

  Addicott Web

  December 16th, 2008 at 12:07 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  1. I only accept checks – I’m too small to pay the fees to accept payment by credit card, and don’t want to deal with the fees of Paypal.

  2. Yes, I send both. I use Freshbooks and love the functionality that it provides.

  3. It depends on the project. For my regular site maintenance clients, I only invoice them on a monthly basis. But for other clients that I’m doing specific web design work for, I ask them for half payment up front and then the balance due upon completion of the website.

  4. No, I don’t charge late fees. I let the client know up front when payments are expected so that I can avoid a client being late on a payment. But, I do take into consideration that some clients are organizations and it sometimes takes more than a few days to cut a check and have it sent to me.

  5. Use Freshbooks – I love it!

• 

  Karen Swim

  December 16th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

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  To anyone staring a business this year, congratulations! I accept checks, and all major credit cards. I use QuickBooks for invoicing, and payment. I have a merchant service account but also use PayPal for some jobs and I have PayPal buy now buttons on my site. My retainer clients pay up front, as do resume clients. Other clients pay at conclusion of the project. I always do an agreement which requires sign off on pricing and scope of work at the start of a project unless it’s a job that requires total upfront payment.

• 

  James Chartrand - Men with Pens

  December 16th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

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  On a related point, QuickBooks now offers a fully online version for U.S. freelancers. IAC-EZ is another online accounting application. Both rock.

• 

  Melissa Donovan, Copywriter

  December 16th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?

  PayPal preferred, checks accepted (but must be received, deposited, and cleared for project to begin)

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?

  I start with a quote and only send the invoice if there’s a balance due at the end of the project.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?

  50% deposit. For projects under $100, payment in full must be made in advance. Balance due two weeks after project is completed.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?

  Yes, but I’ve never had to ;)

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  Establish your payment policies early, put them in writing, and make them available to all clients. Keep it simple and consistent. ALWAYS require a deposit, even a small one. Change your policies if they’re not working for you.

  Most importantly, do good work. Earn it.

• 

  George - LogoDesign.org

  December 17th, 2008 at 11:45 am

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  I require all payment up front for anything up to $2000, anything after that is $2000 down, with the rest due upon receipt of the initial designs. I accept payment via PayPal, credit card, or cashiers check / money order.

  I think that if a client is not willing to pay anything down they’re probably not someone I want to be doing business with.

• 

  ’Mas

  December 17th, 2008 at 5:43 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  We accept cash, check (vast majority), and PayPal.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  We send invoices and monthly statements for our maintenance clients.

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  Most of our clients receive Net 30 terms. For development work, we typically ask for 50% up front and 50% at completion.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  We currently charge a $5.00 late fee for any account that’s past due. If an account goes 90 days past due, their site is disabled.

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  Most freelancers or mom ‘n pop businesses can’t afford to have a lot of accounts receivable and we’ve been known to remind lazy clients that we’re not a bank. [smile]

• 

  Rayanne Langdon

  December 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

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  Wow, I’m so overwhelmed with all of the folks giving us props! FreshBooks loves you all : )

  Rayanne Langdon — Marketing Coordinator, FreshBooks.com

• 

  Tony Oravet

  December 18th, 2008 at 9:22 am

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  5. Any other thoughts or advice?

  1. We accept cash, check, or anything Paypal will take.

  2. This depends on the needs of our clients. We always send an invoice, through Blinksale (www.Blinksale.com), and then the customer has the ability to look at all open and closed invoices with a link provided to them in the email that has the invoice attached.

  3. Usually we note on the invoice that payment is due upon receipt of the invoice for design work. We require a 50% down front payment for the work and then 50% final payment when our work is done. We have had to very careful with this, because as we all know, sometimes we get our work done, and then the client takes a while to get back with content, etc. For other services such as hosting and domain name renewals, we charge in advance (6 or 12 months) and those are typically due within 15 days of the receipt of the invoice.

  4. We do charge late fees, normally 1% per month, but so far we have only had to do this once in our 5 years of business.

  5. Always make sure you are on the same page with your client from a billing point of view. It is always good to provide a very detailed and to the point estimate of the services you are about to perform for them. This way, if another feature is requested that is outside of this original estimate, you can address that with the proper rate and not surprise the client with any extra billing you may have to do.

• 

  Mike Smith

  December 21st, 2008 at 4:34 pm

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  What payment methods do you accept?
  Paypal – Credit Card (through paypal)

  Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I ask if the client would like an invoice – if not, I don’t send anything except my paypal address they can send the payment to.

  When do you require payment from the client?
  50% to begin – 50% when finished

  Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  No – my clients always pay once project is complete. I don’t have a net15-30-60

  Any other thoughts or advice?
  Whatever you’re most comfortable with, do it – and never back down from your payment beliefs. If a potential client gives you grief for it, odds are they’re not the type of client you want anyways.

• 

  Joel Reyes

  December 23rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm

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  1) What payment methods do you accept?
  Paypal, Money Orders, Certified Business/Personal Checks (Last Resort)

  2) Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  I usually send an invoice, however, there are times that many of my clients already know exactly what they owe me and just transfer it to me. (Rare occasion though)

  3) When do you require payment from the client?
  Usually after the project has been aproved and published, however, there are those exceptions where I’ve felt the need to require a certain percentage upfront.

  4) Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  Nope. I’m confident in my clients ability to send me payments on time, as about 90% of them always have. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea for those “lazy to pay” clients.

  5) Any other thoughts or advice?
  Keep your head up and never give up. Life’s too short to remain seemingless forever.

• 

  Amy

  December 27th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

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  1. What payment methods do you accept?
  We accept credit card, cash, check, and paypal.

  2. Do you send an invoice, a receipt, or both?
  We send two invoices (see next question)

  3. When do you require payment from the client?
  Yes, we send a 30% deposit invoice that needs to be paid before work is to commence. We usually do a mockup and such prior and they pay the deposit, and we wait a few hours and send them a proof.

  4. Do you charge late fees, and if so, how much?
  No. We’ve considered this a few times, but I realized that generally a client who doesn’t pay on time probably isn’t going to pay at all. We do say that we will charge a late fee though, just haven’t had to use it yet. *knocks on wood*

  5. Any other thoughts or advice?
  A deposit is critical. If a client isn’t willing to pay a deposit, you don’t want to work with them. Secondly, make sure your work is worth the money being paid =)

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