If you have been in business for anytime, the chances are you will have heard at least one, if not all the following excuses for late payment. Should you just believe what your customer says or take some early action before the situation gets out of hand?
“I can’t pay you until my customer has paid me”
We get it, sometimes in business you will be handed a white label project and then the person who gave it to you can’t get hold of the money from their client. The problem is if you have done the work than you need to be paid for it. You can’t wait indefinitely to get paid for your time and it is the responsibility of the person dealing with the non-paying client who will have to settle the debt even if their client ends up not paying.
“The cheque is on its way”
A bit old school now that most people settle their invoices electronically but this remains a common excuse. If the Cheque fails to arrive on time, tell the customer it will be destroyed and give them your payment details for a bank transfer.
“You didn’t send us an invoice”
With invoices often sent by email, sometimes things can get lost. If this happens repeatedly or you have reason to suspect that your client is using it as an excuse, make sure the invoice is delivered by mail and preferably signed for so you can prove that it arrived.