I'm hoping to start doing some bookkeeping from home soon however it worries me a little when clients don't pay and you are depending on that money to get you through.
How do others overcome this and ensure that invoices are getting paid regularly? I've found that alot of clients get offended if you ask to put them on standing order and they prefer to just pay when they get an invoice however this doesn't happen sometimes.
90% of my clients are on standing order...
In fact I insist if i do regular work for them then thats how I want paid. Just say to them it helps you budget so you dont get any surprise bills any given month.
Also have it written into your engagment letter that terms are net 30 days and if they go over that then you can start to charge interest at the going rate (what ever that is). Then if after a week after the due date they still haven't paid resend the invoice with **Interest Charged** (in RED!!) and add the interest on to it. If they settle before the end of the month fine, dont charge em any, but if they go over 60 days, then rinse and repeat the above.... If after 180 days you still haven't been paid get a debt management ageny involved.
Of course every new invoice issued should be preceaded and followed up by a letter so the client is clear you mean business! If they are persistantly not paying try to have the chat about standing orders again, if they wont have any of drop them as a client... :/
