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I finally gave up on net 30 for new clients after 3 late payers in a row
For years I billed everyone net 30 because that's what my old boss did and I figured it looked professional. Then between January and March this year I had three new clients sit on invoices for 45, 52, and 61 days, and the 61 day one was a $3,400 job I needed to make rent with. A buddy who runs a print shop told me he bills half up front now, and I thought it would scare people off. I tried it in April on a $1,200 gig and the guy paid the deposit in 20 minutes without a single question, so now deposits are just how I do it. What's your cutoff, do you ask for 50% or scale it based on the job size?
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martinez.paul2h ago
Scale it: 50% under $2k, 30% on bigger jobs still covers materials.
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finley_roberts272h ago
Hmm, I have to disagree on that split. @martinez.paul a straight 30% on the bigger jobs sounds safe on paper, but those are usually the ones with more moving parts, more trips, and more chances for something to eat into the margin. The small jobs under $2k are quick and predictable, so 50% there feels generous while the bigger work might be undercovered. I would flip it and protect the larger jobs more, since that is where a bad day actually hurts.
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