Invoice early, invoice often

Every little helps: cash, in hand

Image © Mike Holderness

BEING PAID LATE is the bane of many a freelance's existence. It all goes with editors' sincere belief that we exist in a state of stasis, perhaps sleeping under an enchanted leaf, until the exact moment when they need us to leap into action. One member tells us how they dealt with this.

I HAD A CLIENT for which I did lots of small pieces of work. It got taken over by a larger corporation and, following that takeover, went from paying reasonably promptly to paying every invoice very late.

My usual habit was to wait until I'd done a few pieces, then submit one invoice covering several. After the third round of very late payments, I changed my tactics.

I had done about 10 pieces, and I issued 10 separate invoices, each with a note reminding them that I will claim extra if paid late. They didn't pay on time. So I issued all 10 invoices again, each one including £40 compensation and a month's worth of interest.

The original work was paid at a rate of £50 per piece, so the new invoices effectively nearly doubled the fee payable. The client paid, including all the compensation and interest, and never paid late again (almost to my dismay).

I should say that several times since I've issued invoices including compensation and interest when a payment has been late, and I've been paid quite quickly thereafter - but only the original fee. I've not always bothered to chase up those "missing" compensation and interest payments, even when I believe I am fully entitled to them, because ultimately I view this legislation to be primarily a means of deterring people from paying late. And in practical terms, the time spent chasing £40 plus £3.44 interest is time I'd more usefully spend doing or pitching for work from clients who don't pay late.

© The Auditors

• UK law says that 30 days after your client knows what it owes you, the debt is overdue – unless you agree a different period. You are then entitled to compensation for the cost of chasing the debt, which starts at £40 and is more for larger debts. And you are entitled to interest – currently at an annual rate of 13.25 per cent. See the full details, and a handy interest calculator: www.londonfreeelance.org/interest.html