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?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jessica23d ago

Reminds me of a client who paid instantly after I accidentally sent an invoice marked "final notice" lol.

hannah_craig23d agoMost Upvoted

Was that the first time you tried the final notice thing, or did you know it would work?

jennybailey23d ago

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.