[LRUG] [FINANCE] Startup/finance question around invoices

[David Salgado]

I agree with Sam. On the few occasions this happened to me while I was
contracting, it's remarkable how quickly intractable process and paperwork
blockages disappeared when I politely but firmly made it clear that I
wasn't coming in after a particular deadline until my invoice backlog had
been paid.

I would pick a date and keep reminding them as the deadline approaches.
It's hard to resist the temptation to keep cutting them slack though,
especially when you know the person who will be suffering if you don't come
in isn't the person causing the payment delay, but it's the only way that
worked, for me.

David


On 8 August 2014 11:03, Sam Phippen <samphippen at googlemail.com> wrote:

> Hi Sleepyfox,
>
> At my company (Fun and Plausible Solutions), we have a clause in our
> contract which says work stops if a client is 4 weeks late (interest starts
> after 2). That way the resolution is easy, obvious and automatic. We always
> let them know this will happen when we’re signing and so the expectation is
> there. I think you’re probably within your rights to withdraw the person
> from their team if they continue to be late, but obviously having it in
> your contract is always better than not. I hope that helps :)
>
> Thanks
> —
> Sam Phippen
>
> On 8 Aug 2014, at 10:59, Sleepyfox <sleepyfox at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Apologies if this is off-topic, but I know a lot of people on the list run
> their own startups or consultancies and so may be interested in the
> discussion.
>
> # Challenge
> I have a client that for the third time running is late with paying their
> invoice. They have one of our team members working for them out with one of
> *their* clients (DWP), but despite our client being a multi-national
> consultancy employing 1600 people our best attempts to try and gently
> escalate the issue within their organisation have met with responses
> ranging from "stop rocking the boat", "why are you wasting my time", "go
> through proper channels" and "this is business as usual".
>
> I'm wondering if anyone here has any helpful advice on how to persuade
> clients to be more prompt with paying up. We're very clear with our T&Cs
> (payment due within 14 days of receipt, interest due afterwards at X% rate
> etc. etc.) and we're very prompt with issuing invoices and very responsive
> to any queries from clients' finance departments or accountants.
>
> I'm at a loss for what I can be doing better/differently - any clues?
>
> Thanks, and apologies again if this is [too] off-topic,
>
> Fox
> --
> "What does the @sleepyfox say?"
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