Found a stat that made me rethink chasing late payments

I was reading through a freelancers union survey from last year and saw that 68% of unpaid invoices under $500 are never collected after 90 days. I always thought pushing hard on small amounts was worth the hassle, but that number from the Freelancers Union 2023 report surprised me. Maybe I should just write off the small ones and focus on the big clients who pay on time. Has anyone else stopped chasing the small stuff and seen a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_drew9h ago

Ha damn that's actually a rough stat, 68% is brutal lol. Makes me wonder though, does that include people who sent a single reminder and gave up vs people who actually went through the whole annoying process of calling and emailing multiple times? I mean sure most small clients are shady but some might just be forgetful and a little extra nudging could bump that number up. Did the survey break down how many follow up attempts people made or were they just lumping everyone together?

the_ben9h ago

Oh for sure @the_drew, that's the thing with these surveys, they never dig into the actual effort. I knew a guy once who sent one email and then acted like he got ghosted, meanwhile I've got clients that take three weeks and three phone calls before they remember they owe me money. It's just how some people are, you gotta hound 'em a bit.

patricia_hill602h ago

Yeah that's exactly it @the_ben, most people don't understand the difference between sending one text and actually chasing down payment for weeks. I've had clients who swear they never got my invoice when I literally handed it to them in person. It's frustrating because those surveys just lump everyone into the same pile without asking how many times you really tried. Some folks just need that extra push and a few more reminders before they finally open their wallets. But then you got the ones who ghost you on purpose and that's a whole different problem.