How To Ensure You Get Paid On Time, Every Time As A Freelance Writer

By Dan Smith

As regular readers of Get Paid To Write Online will be aware, I published a post a few weeks back where I offered to answer questions that any freelance writer had in regards to freelance writing and business development.

A question that was raised by a reader of that post, entitled ‘It’s Time To Give Something Back To The Freelance Writing Community’, Barbara Ling commented:

When it comes to billing and receiving payment for my work as a freelance writer, I haven’t come into any particular problems with non-paying clients (or at least I haven’t up until this point — I’ve no doubt just jinxed myself) and have yet to work with a client who hasn’t paid on time and in full.

To be honest, I haven’t had anyone even query a bill or invoice. Ever.

There’s a good chance that I might just be one of the lucky ones, but I honestly believe that the reason why I haven’t had any trouble with payments to date is that I have somewhat of a strict procedure that I follow with every client.

Whilst adhering to most of the points below won’t guarantee that you never have trouble with a client regarding payment (the last point, however, does provide a sure fire way to ensure that you get paid every time), I can honestly say that it works for me and it should act as a good guideline for anyone looking to ensure that they get payment from every single client.

Only work with people you trust

You might think that this would drastically limit how much work you take on, but this point is actually a lot less strict than you may think and simply relates to being able to suss out the good clients from the bad.

For example, if someone comes to me out of the blue, doesn’t really introduce themselves and asks for 100 articles a month on broad topics and wants to pay me $200 for each of them, my initial reaction is going to be pretty bad.

Sure, some people aren’t chatty and want to get straight to the point, but would you approach someone and ask to make a large purchase without asking for any background information?

I’m not saying I wouldn’t work with a client in this situation, I’d just be a lot more cautious and do my research — check out their company or e-mail address in Google, ask my writing colleagues to see if anyone’s heard of them and split the order up into smaller batches, asking for payment after each.

Ensure that both parties fully understand your fees

I’m one of those writers who have their fees advertised on their website. Some people disagree with this, others do exactly the same and just as many offer a broad price range for their fees.

One of the reasons why I advertise my prices is that people who get in touch with me through my website should already have an idea of how much the work they’re contacting me about should cost them. Yes, I do offer discounts and I’m always open to a bit of light-hearted haggling, but for the most part, my fees are there so people are clear on how much a piece of work is going to cost them.

This is only the first part of ensuring that both parties are clear on the fees, however and the second is that before I actually start the work, I make sure that I have, in writing (e-mail or paper based), the total cost of the project, broken down if necessary (i.e., showing the price per word) and with some type of agreement or acknowledgement from the client.

Don’t be too uptight over the whole process

If you don’t get paid within a day or two of the work being completed, is it a major problem? Yes, we all have to put money on the table, but if you’re living where you’re desperate for the next freelance writing payment to come through, it’s not the billing process that you need to be looking at first.

I have a general rule that as long as a client keeps in touch with me and lets me know what’s going on, I’m happy. If I send out an invoice and they don’t pay within a few days, a simple e-mail usually suffices. I give clients 14 days to pay an invoice, but if I haven’t heard anything in a week, I’ll get in touch — more often than not, they’ve just forgot to pay and they’re more embarrassed than anything else.

Be as flexible as possible

Relating to most parts of the writing process and not just to the billing, I’ve found that the more flexible you can be as a freelance writer, the more a client respects you, becomes more friendly with you and therefore is more inclined to pay on time.

For example, one aspect I pride myself on is that I try to accommodate each client’s budget where possible. This isn’t always an option, especially if the budget is particularly small, but I will try and see what I can produce for the money that they have available.

I also ensure that I give a discount for regular or bulk work. A single piece might cost $100, for example, but if the client wants five of these pieces each week, the price needs to reflect the commitment from the client (plus, if you can tie a client into a lengthy deal, it means you can plan your finances for the coming months, to some degree at least).

In terms of actual payment, I try to make it as easy as possible for the client to pay in full.

I offer a range of different payments options — clients can even pay in cash if they live nearby — and understand that unexpected expenditures crop up, so I’m willing, if need be, to take a few weekly or monthly payments rather than one lump sum.

The simple point you have to remember is that the easier it is for a client to work with you, the happier they’ll be.

And as a final thought…

There are plenty of freelancers who ask for anything from 25% right through to 100% of the payment for the work upfront before they even think about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as it were).

I don’t do it personally — there’s no reason in particular why, I just haven’t had the need to — but if you’re really worried about receiving payment for your work, consider asking for payment upfront, as it’s a guaranteed way to make sure you get paid on time, every time.

Image: John Ridley (sxc.hu)