How to get paid

The thing that gets me hotter under the collar than anything else is people not being paid for work they've already done.

It's a common problem, especially for freelancers and consultants.

That's why there's legislation designed to protect small businesses. Read all about it on the Pay On Time legislation website.

You'll see that the law states you must be paid within 30 days unless you have actively agreed that it will be longer.  (And only an idiot would agree to that.)

My advice to anyone is chase a payment on the 31st day after you slung in the invoice. Use your politest voice and gently ask the accounts payable people to check your payment is going through the system. After all, they may never have received your invoice.

Give them another week - presuming they say the payment is on its way. Then call again - restraining your urge to shout down the phone. As soon as you're aggressive you'll just be put at the bottom of the pile.

I usually let them know I'll call them every day to check it's 'going through the system'. That usually unglues the payment straight away.

I'm always amazed how few accounts people know what the law is. So I usually put the following paragraph at the bottom of my invoices. You'll find it on the pay on time site:

Please note: David Thomas Media Ltd understands and will exercise its statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms. For more information on late payment legislation please see:
www.payontime.co.uk

Good luck and don't let them get away with it.

Comments

[Martin]

Nice post, David. My first invoice took three months to come through. Should have remembered to add your warning copy.