[CodeWriter23]

This is how I’ve handled it in the past. I remind them about being late, if they pay immediately, I let it go. If they don’t, they get put on a retainer agreement for all future work.

Only one time I had to go nuclear and send a dunning letter with the “If I don’t receive payment within 45 days, I will have no choice but to pursue legal remedies”. The check arrived on day 43.

[goblin89]

Being in the ongoing process of figuring out a billing arrangement that works for my tiny consulting business, I’m curious about the retainer agreement you mentioned. Does this mean you start billing a late customer lowered rate normally used for longer term work? I thought in the same direction before, seems to make a lot of sense.

[brianwawok]

No retainer: I do X hours work, I bill you for Y

Retainer: Pay us Z up front. I do X hours work. Y is deducted out of retainer Z, which then must be replenished before more work. Basically a pay up front method.

[goblin89]

Ah I see. I thought it was “pay X per month/week, work or no work, and some hours are included in X”. Then the longer the client delays, the bigger bill accumulates as a penalty for not paying on time. I guess it’s more of a “lost post-payment trust on future projects” kind of thing here.