I hire freelancers regularly.
In an average month, I'll use:
🎧 An audio engineer
📝 A virtual assistant
🗣️ An accent coach
💰 An accountant
👀 A proof reader
📽️ A video editor
And 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 one of them I will pay within 24 hours of having received an invoice.
Why?
Because I value their expertise.
And I want to build relationships with them.
But ALSO - it's because I've budgeted with a clear knowledge of their terms of payment.
Four times in July, I've encountered late payment of my own invoices because of the same issue:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝙈𝙔 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁...
𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗲.
And while I get that scenarios like this can happen, especially with bigger projects - I 𝘖𝘕𝘓𝘠 found out about this when my invoices ran late and I had to chase for an explanation.
Time and energy I could be using 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 😠
So... I'm updating my payment terms.
If a client's payment is dependent on THEM getting paid, I will need this clarified 𝙄𝙉 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀.
And if a client doesn't have the means to cover my session fee as a minimum, then it's a non-starter.
This isn't another post about how best to chase late payments - I've done that.
It's just asking for transparent, CONSIDERATE communication with freelance talent and some level of respect for their terms of service.
Does your payment ever get caught up in a client's cashflow?
By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor