I’ve been keeping an eye on my payment trends over the last year. It’s clear: projects where I set specific timelines right from the start see clients paying much quicker.
When everyone is on the same page about deadlines and payment schedules, it cuts down on the usual “when is this ready?” inquiries and excuses for late payments.
Same here. Vague timelines make clients slack off on everything, especially payments.
Here’s what works:
Clients respect the process more when they see exactly what happens when. Plus you’ve got something concrete to point to when they get pushy about rushing or start delaying payments.
Client communication is everything. After we agree on the job, I send a timeline doc showing each phase, deliverables, and payment dates. I reference it in every conversation.
Once clients see you’re organized, they treat you like a pro instead of someone they can jerk around.
People pay faster when they know what’s coming. Pretty obvious when you think about it.
Timelines are good but not everyone follows them.
Learned this the hard way after chasing payments for months on a messy project.
Now I put payment dates right on calendar invites when scheduling project meetings. Sounds simple but it works. Client sees “Final payment due March 15” next to “Project delivery March 10” and it clicks.
I also mention the next payment date in every update email. Like “Logo concepts attached. Reminder that milestone payment #2 is due Friday.” Keeps it front of mind without being pushy.
Payments went from averaging 35 days to about 12 days once I started doing this consistently.