| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: When do you send reminders if the payment date is overdue? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Simon Cole 
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:06
Member (2008)
French to English
| A week but ... | Nov 8, 2010 |
French agencies generally don't pay earlier than 60 days ("we have to be paid by our clients first"). I've had some who didn't pay at all! UK, USA and Germany generally better.
Customers paying by cheque in France tended to post the letter on a Thursday so it didn't arrive until the following Monday or Tuesday, then I sent it to my bank, where it still took a few days to show on my account and to clear their account, giving them further credit. They should take this into account a... See more French agencies generally don't pay earlier than 60 days ("we have to be paid by our clients first"). I've had some who didn't pay at all! UK, USA and Germany generally better.
Customers paying by cheque in France tended to post the letter on a Thursday so it didn't arrive until the following Monday or Tuesday, then I sent it to my bank, where it still took a few days to show on my account and to clear their account, giving them further credit. They should take this into account and post early!
I have just paid a $ cheque drawn on a US bank into my UK business account - my bank says allow up to 6 weeks for the funds to be available!
I agree with everyone about the comparison with delivery deadlines. On one occasion I delivered work to a very overdue agency in a ZIP file with a password. They were able to sort things out fairly quickly - password? "YouHaveToPayMe".
Best wishes to all ▲ Collapse
| | | | Amandine Added
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:06
Member (2010)
English to French
+ ...
| a friendly reminder | Nov 8, 2010 |
Most of time, when sending my invoice i always put a word to my client about their accounting habits (or a recall about it) so I know when to start worrying if there is a delay. Then within the first week of lateness I send a friendly remind just to recall we have an invoice pending. Most of time they apologise and send payment within the week. Anyhow, when dealing for the first time with a client I make as many checks I can to ensure I am going to be paid and in case of serious doubt I do not t... See more Most of time, when sending my invoice i always put a word to my client about their accounting habits (or a recall about it) so I know when to start worrying if there is a delay. Then within the first week of lateness I send a friendly remind just to recall we have an invoice pending. Most of time they apologise and send payment within the week. Anyhow, when dealing for the first time with a client I make as many checks I can to ensure I am going to be paid and in case of serious doubt I do not take the job as I can't afford to spend a couple of days on an unpaid project. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The next day of the deadline | Nov 8, 2010 |
In my experience, clients who pay on time are professional and the projects and payments flow with no problem at all. Most of the clients who take their time to pay always try to make you feel as a selfish, intransigent materialist when you ask for your money. I have accepted that, I'm in this for the money, I love my work, but it's my way of living, so I won't give away my work, because it's very valuable (if it weren't, nobody else would be making money on it).
| | | | Rebecca Garber
Local time: 01:06
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
| Only a few clients | Nov 8, 2010 |
And I no longer work with them.
I have to say that I find this the most disagreeable aspect of freelancing. I hate nagging people. OTOH, delivery deadlines are apparently carved in stone, so the double standard is annoying. I did have one agency that alleviated this by switching to an automated system. They are now one of my favorite agencies because the PMs are great, professional, and helpful, and the accounting dept is apparently quite competent.
The only agency ... See more And I no longer work with them.
I have to say that I find this the most disagreeable aspect of freelancing. I hate nagging people. OTOH, delivery deadlines are apparently carved in stone, so the double standard is annoying. I did have one agency that alleviated this by switching to an automated system. They are now one of my favorite agencies because the PMs are great, professional, and helpful, and the accounting dept is apparently quite competent.
The only agency who paid late was given 3 chances. I specifically warned them on the last project that if the payment was late again, that I would never work with them again. It was. I won't.
Which annoys me in itself. You'd think they would want to do well, and that they'd take a written warning seriously.
I have never had a direct client pay late. They usually pay within days. Personally, I think it's because they are usually unused to dealing with translators. Not that I'm complaining about that, I simply think that familiarity brings contempt... or at least delayed payments... ▲ Collapse
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Joan Berglund
United States
Local time: 01:06
Member (2008)
French to English
My official policy is 15 days, and mostly I stick to it. I have a couple of good regular customers who pay by check through the mail, so it seems a little excessive to send a second notice as early as 7 days - mail actually can be slow, it isn't always an excuse. If an amount is significant, more than I couple hundred dollars, I send the second notice right on time. Usually, I don't even have to remember to check my invoices, I remember larger sums. Smaller sums I can sometimes forget to co... See more My official policy is 15 days, and mostly I stick to it. I have a couple of good regular customers who pay by check through the mail, so it seems a little excessive to send a second notice as early as 7 days - mail actually can be slow, it isn't always an excuse. If an amount is significant, more than I couple hundred dollars, I send the second notice right on time. Usually, I don't even have to remember to check my invoices, I remember larger sums. Smaller sums I can sometimes forget to collect for some time. If the client pays by wire transfer, it can take a long time for me to confirm that a small amount has not been paid in order to send a reminder. After the more-or-less random fee deductions, it can be hard to figure out the exact amount to look for in my account. For the most part, it doesn't come up that often since I mostly work for the same companies, but I actually worked for two new companies last month that were particularly prompt, I should probably find a minute to give them some positive feedback. ▲ Collapse
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