[tptacek]

I am sorry that you are getting lumped in with a caricature of all the objections to this "pick better clients" message that exists mostly in my head. That's not fair.

But my points stand:

* It does not matter what you think is "OK" or "Not OK". Taking a month to pay an invoice is standard practice. Even if you negotiate Net-15 payment, it's standard practice: nobody pays on time. Complaining about a receivable when it has taken single-digit days to pay out is unprofessional.

* By working without a written contract, and in particular without any agreement as to how invoices will be paid, the freelancer has taken some of the responsibility for the payment drama.

* Choosing better clients, or (if it makes you feel better to say it this way) different kinds of projects to work on for clients, will produce better results for freelancers. If only because high-value projects almost never execute this carelessly.

* $780 is a trivial amount of money. Even for this person. By their own admission, we're talking about 12 billable hours. If you're a day and a half from bankruptcy, you're not ready to be working for yourself. Real clients will drag 9 months on invoices whether you think that's OK or "ethical". You can complain to them about it, or to the public, but you'll get paid on the same schedule either way, and you'll poison your reputation in the process.