| A few thoughts from my own experiences: A) They have been good with payment in the past, so there's still a chance they will settle up once their cash situation is sorted out. The key thing here is to keep your needs on their mind. Meaning: calling them 1-2 times a week, checking up on the status of payment, sending emails checking in on the status of payment. Escalate as needed, letting them know you are willing to pursue any avenue to get paid. B) Do you have any leverage? There's a reason why any developer or development company worth it's salt demands an up-front deposit and deliverables on final payment - to ensure that they get paid. C) If they're running low on money they are going to look for something that's going to give. They will have to make hard decisions, and if you appear to be the path of least resistance, they will take you. Refer back to point A. If you can stay on the forefront of their minds and make it clear you're not going away they will be more likely to prioritize paying you instead of paying vendor X. D) Lawyer up? Probably. If they continue to be non-responsive to payment inquiries consult with a lawyer and see if he'll write up a demand letter. Again, they're not prioritizing paying you and a simple demand letter may be enough to get their attention and put you at the top of the stack. A lawyer can also help you escalate as needed including who to sue, when to sue, and where to file a lawsuit. At $25k this should be well beyond any small claims court. E) If they're broke or going out of business you're going to have to be a hard ass to see any of this money. And you have to determine if the trade-offs are worth it. Assume it will cost you at least $5k in time, lawyer fees, debt collector fees to get to payment. Do you want to risk the time and money? You might spend the $5k and still end up with nothing. So think of any amount you'd be willing to settle for, including any lawyer fees. |