Been freelancing for years but this month hit different. Got seven invoices sitting unpaid right now, ranging from 30 to 90 days overdue.
Usually I can stay on top of collections but when multiple clients go radio silent at the same time, it feels overwhelming. Starting to wonder if there’s a better system for handling mass follow-ups.
I batch these situations when they happen. Pick one day and hammer through all the calls back to back. Makes it less mentally draining than spacing them out.
For the 90 day one, that needs immediate attention. Sometimes at that point I offer a payment plan just to get something moving.
Also learned to send a final notice email before calling. Something like “calling tomorrow to discuss payment” gives them one last chance to respond without the awkward phone conversation. About half the time someone will reach out after getting that email.
Stop work for all seven clients until they pay up. Let them know no new deliverables will happen until they catch up. I made this mistake in the past by working while chasing payments.
Send a final demand letter to each client with a 10 day deadline. Once overdue by 60 days, consider collections. Small invoices under $500 may not be worth chasing too long.
When this clears up, start asking for 50% upfront on all jobs. It helps prevent this situation in the future.
Group the overdue invoices by the amounts due and address the largest ones first. Phone calls are usually more effective than emails when managing multiple late payers. It’s also helpful to identify clients who consistently pay late. Knowing their patterns can guide your next steps.
Seven at once sounds rough. Maybe call instead of email when they pile up like that.
This happened to me last year and I ended up creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything. Made it way less stressful.
I set up columns for:
Then I work through them systematically instead of just randomly picking who to chase. The visual overview helps you see which ones actually need urgent attention versus the ones where you can wait a few more days.
One thing that worked well was sending a bulk update to my partner about cash flow. Sometimes just talking through the situation out loud helps you prioritize which clients are worth the energy and which ones might be heading toward collections.
Also started requiring deposits after that mess. Learned my lesson about letting too many projects run on pure trust.