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I used to give people 90 days to pay. Now it's 14 days, period.
For years I let invoices slide for MONTHS, thinking I was being nice. Then I had a client in Seattle rack up a $4,200 bill and ghost me for 11 weeks. That was the last straw. I changed my terms last January. Now my contract says payment is due 14 days from the invoice date, and I send a reminder on day 15. If it hits 30 days, work stops and there's a late fee. It feels harsh, but my cash flow is actually stable now. Has anyone else switched to super short payment windows and had clients push back hard?
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simonlee7mo ago
Yeah, a buddy of mine runs a small print shop and had the same wake up call. He let a regular customer run a tab for months, talking about "next big check coming in." The bill got to about three grand before the guy just stopped returning calls. My friend switched to net-15 terms and lost that customer immediately, but he said the peace of mind was worth it. He did get some grumbling from a couple other long time clients, but they mostly fell in line after he explained his bank wouldn't let his invoices slide.
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jenny_young727mo ago
Ugh, the "next big check" line... classic. Reminds me of a guy who used to promise he'd pay my cousin back "after the holidays" for like three different holidays in a row.
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kimr915mo ago
The next big check is always in the mail.
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hugowright7mo ago
Oh man, that's the worst. It's crazy how that line gets used over and over. @simonlee's story about the print shop is a perfect example of why you can't trust it. Three grand is a massive hit for a small business to just eat.
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