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Just had a chat with my accountant that flipped my whole view on late fees.
She said 'Stop treating them as a punishment and start treating them as a non-negotiable part of your pricing,' which finally made me add a 2% monthly fee to my contracts after letting it slide for years.
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the_robin2mo ago
A 2% monthly fee is basically 24% a year, that's wild. You just let that slide for years without charging it? I'd be losing my mind over that lost money, especially with how things cost now. How did you even keep the business going while basically giving out free loans? That mental trick must be really strong because I could never ignore that much cash.
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sean482mo ago
Man, @cora_west5's boss had a point. My barber charges extra for weekend cuts and nobody bats an eye.
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cora_west52mo ago
Honestly that's a solid way to look at it. Tbh my old boss used to call them "on-time payment discounts" instead of late fees, which kinda does the same mental trick. Makes it feel less like you're scolding a client and more like they're just missing out on the standard deal. Ngl, it took me a while to actually enforce it too, always felt awkward. But framing it that way does help you stick to your guns.
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kim_davis4d ago
Right, but "on-time payment discounts" is the same game just reversed. I actually think the whole "it's just part of pricing" thing is a cop out for being too scared to just say "pay on time or pay extra." It feels like we're all just coming up with fancy names to avoid being the bad guy.
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