Found a weird way to get clients to pay faster, but it feels a bit sneaky. | Freelance Finances - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Found a weird way to get clients to pay faster, but it feels a bit sneaky.
I kept having invoices sit unpaid for 60+ days, which was killing my cash flow. On a whim, I started putting a fake 'early payment discount' line on my invoices, like '5% discount if paid within 10 days', but I never actually offered that discount in our deal. The next three clients paid within the week, saving me the 'discount' they thought they were getting. On one hand, it worked great and got me $2,300 in payments I was waiting on. On the other, it feels like a trick and I worry it could backfire if someone calls me on it. Has anyone else tried something like this, or is there a better way to speed things up without the mind games?
Totally get the worry about it backfiring, that kind of stress isn't worth a few extra dollars. It's really rough when cash flow is tight and you feel like you have to trick people just to get paid on time. There has to be a way to get clients to pay faster without feeling like you're pulling a fast one.
Ever notice how people only move when there's a real deadline? That "final notice" trick works because it creates actual urgency. Tbh, we all ignore stuff until the last possible second.