TIL my stupid payment terms were costing me thousands at a coffee shop in Austin

I overheard a freelancer at Strange Brew talking about how she offers a 3% discount for paying within 5 days, and I ran the numbers on my own invoices - turns out I lost over $4,200 last year just waiting 60 days for people to pay.

3 comments

3 Comments

black.oliver1d agoMost Upvoted

Ha, nothing like finding out you've been running a charity for your clients instead of a business. Did you at least get a thank you card?

charlie1981d ago

Man, that's brutal... so @black.oliver, be honest: did you actually sit down and run the numbers before you caught on, or did something else tip you off? I'm curious if you had a specific client or invoice that finally made it click, or if it was more of a slow burn realization over time.

milesbarnes1d ago

Yeah, but @black.oliver, I kind of see it the opposite way. If you set your rates right from the start and someone actually pays you on time, you're not running a charity, you're just doing the work you agreed to. The real problem is when people undercharge out of fear or guilt, then blame the client later. I've had clients who paid me top dollar and never once complained about the price because I showed them the value first. That's not charity, that's called knowing what you're worth and not apologizing for it.