Handling a client who’s always late with payments yet provides decent work feels tricky. They’ve been late by over 30 days a few times but they apologize and pay eventually.
I’m caught between wanting to enforce deadlines and not wanting to jeopardize our relationship since the projects are consistent and pay well when they do pay.
Stop all new work until they pay what they owe. I don’t care if they’re good clients - 30+ days late kills your cash flow.
Tell them you’re pausing new projects until they clear their invoices. Watch how fast they find money when the work stops.
If they’re actually worth keeping, they’ll get it and fix their payment issues.
Switching from net 30 to net 15 saved my ass. Clients who used to pay on day 60 now pay around day 45. Still late, but I’m getting paid two weeks faster.
I also started putting payment terms in bigger text right on the invoice. You’d be shocked how many clients suddenly “never noticed” the due date before.
This video has some solid cash flow strategies for contractors:
Keep the good client but tighten up your terms moving forward.
Had a similar issue with a good client who always paid late. They were great to work with, but it got annoying waiting 45-60 days.
I decided to change up the terms instead of having an awkward talk. Now, I ask for 50% upfront before starting any work. I just said it’s a new cash flow policy. They didn’t mind and it fixed half my problem.
For the remaining payment, I added a 2% late fee after 30 days in the contract. Most clients ignore that until it affects them. This client now pays closer to 30 days instead of 60.
Keep it about business rules, not personal feelings. It really helps with cash flow.
Late payments happen. Maybe add a small late fee or ask for some money upfront.
I’d just talk to them straight up. No need to make it confrontational.
Say something like “Hey, I love working with you and want to keep this going. I’m trying to get better at managing my cash flow though. Can we figure out how to get payments closer to the due date?”
Most clients don’t realize late payments hurt freelancers. They might have their own internal delays causing it.
After you talk, write down what you agreed on:
If nothing changes after giving them a shot to fix it, you’ll know they don’t respect your business. But definitely start with the conversation.