Poll: Do you charge fees for late payment? Persoa que publicou o fío: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you charge fees for late payment?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:20
Spanish to English
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Others can do what they like. They don't need my approval, nor I theirs.
| | | | | Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt | Jul 8, 2019 |
Do you charge interest or penalty fees for late payments?
- https://www.proz.com/polls/18452
[Edited at 2019-07-08 08:35 GMT]
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It hasn't happened yet. If/when it does, I won't charge extra - too much hassle.
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All my old-standing clients pay as agreed and they form my client base. If a new client doesn’t, I will nag them until they pay and will not work for them again. I must say also that I never accept huge jobs from first-time clients, unless they are well-known organizations. I’ve just looked at my records and the last reminder I’ve sent was in 2016. In over 30 years, I faced 5 serious non-payment issues (in 2 instances I had to hire a lawyer, the others were small amounts).
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It doesn't happen often, but in practically all cases a reminder is followed up with a meek apology and money in the bank straight away. The less hassle the better!
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... as they would be too hard to actually get paid, and they would make bookkeeping more complex. First of all, I check all clients on beforehand - really effective because only a small minority of them pay too late - and second of all I have an efficient procedure to handle late payments. Up to now, all clients have paid me eventually, even without a debt collection agency or legal steps.
| | | | | For deliquent clients | Jul 8, 2019 |
I had two agencies taking forever to pay and they were large sums. I started charging late fees. One agency dumped me (they sent me lots of work before I started charging fees) and I dumped the other one.
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Late payments used to happen, and I never charged interest. I only used to grumble.
But I don't want to be a cashflow safety net to needy or careless clients. Over the years I have managed to replace late payers who systematically needed reminders with clients who pay when agreed (30 days end of month).
I hardly remind anybody nowadays and it suits me well.
Philippe
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There has only been one client, over in Paris, who didn't pay me on time, probably because she was busy with other things. So I think that it just happened to slip her mind.
I decided to remind her on my birthday that she was past due, and she paid me almost the instant I contacted her. Nice birthday present, since it was a large project!
[Edited at 2019-07-08 17:19 GMT]
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X) 
United States
Local time: 18:20
Spanish to English
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They're not set up to do that, so it only creates animosity.
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Mair A-W (PhD)
Germany
Local time: 03:20
Membro (2016)
German to English
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I send a polite reminder first but if that doesn't get a response, or receives evasions/lies, then yes, the next step includes a small late charge. I have done this twice so far, received payment from both clients eventually, and not worked with either of them again.
(Perhaps there are different expectations in different countries. This is the same procedure used by most German businesses I've interacted with. An initial reminder, "we understand things get lost/forgotten sometimes, ... See more I send a polite reminder first but if that doesn't get a response, or receives evasions/lies, then yes, the next step includes a small late charge. I have done this twice so far, received payment from both clients eventually, and not worked with either of them again.
(Perhaps there are different expectations in different countries. This is the same procedure used by most German businesses I've interacted with. An initial reminder, "we understand things get lost/forgotten sometimes, but please pay now or we'll charge", a small charge, and then escalation). ▲ Collapse
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