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Damien Cosset
Damien Cosset

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Freelancers: Any trouble getting paid ?

I am a French freelancer. I work for a foreign company. I send my invoices and they pay me. It works on trust. One of the paiement was late. A few days, no big deal. I got paid and everything is back to normal, but it made me think. If at one point, they stop paying me, or just keep delaying payments, what is my strategy? What will I do if this happens? Well, no idea ...

I am not very familiar with the freelancer's rights when it comes to that. And I suppose they vary from country to country.

How do you deal with clients who pay you late? Or worst, not at all?

Do you have any measures that makes it easier to get what your clients owe you if they are late? Or things you do to make it harder for clients to mess around with you?

I am aware it is a vast subject. But if you've had any experience with these issues, please share.

Top comments (4)

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michael profile image
Michael Lee πŸ•

I think communication is key. It sucks to be out of the loop, especially if it's about doing work and not being promptly compensated or worse, at all.

As @ben mentioned, be firm. Follow up with them, but be firm in that you need to be paid for your work.

You could include in your contract some basic safety nets. Such as, ask for a 50% deposit up front before any work is started. That way you know the client is serious about the work they want to engage with you.

Also have a time period in which work has to be paid for once deliverables are submitted. Such as, invoice must be paid within 3-5 days. If not, interest is tacked on.

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

I had trouble with this when I was a freelancer. My general advice would be to be firm about this before it's a problem. @jess you've done more freelancing than me, any thoughts?

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jess profile image
Jess Lee

My advice would be to have a contract that lays out payment details and service expectations. This is actually now a requirement in New York state but I'm not sure what freelance rights are once you go international. There's also the option of requiring a deposit before you start work, but then you still run into the same potential issue..

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dorianamouroux profile image
Dorian Amouroux

French freelancer working for a dutch company : we have a contract that states the payment details, price and terms, in addition to the monthly invoices.