To think it's rude to commission work unless you have the money ready to pay for it

[LeaveMyCatOutOfThis]

Me and DH own a business and I'm so sick of people commissioning work and then taking forever to pay up after it's finished. Some will take weeks to pay and clearly be waiting for the money to come in, pay day etc...

AIBU to think this is incredibly rude and you should not commission work unless you have the money there and ready to pay as soon as it's finished (providing you're happy with the finished product of course)?

We have a customer at the moment, work was completed three weeks ago and he still hasn't paid. All work is quoted and agreed prior to commencement so it's not as if the cost is a surprise.

When asked if there's a problem, he replied to say not at all he's really happy with it but can he have a breakdown of the price for his records which we provided two weeks ago.

The majority of customers pay on schedule but it's a scarily large minority that do this and are clearly waiting for the money to come in before paying. It's our livelihood at the end of the day, you shouldn't expect someone else to wait until your pay day.

Do you make them sign an agreement that includes payment terms? Eg payment within 30 days?

Could you start asking for a deposit?

I would say it’s the same in any business. It’s just life. A friend has an invoice scheme whereby if you don’t pay in the set 28 days then it goes up.
But tbh, I would say a lot of industries, even small, give 28 days

I would ask for a 50% deposit up front if I were you! That way you know who is serious

For companies it's within 30 days and they very very rarely go over this but for the general public it's 5 days.

We usually take deposits in the amount of materials so we aren't left out of pocket for buying those but it's the labour time where they always take the piss.

Also what are your payment terms? If you don’t have a contract then it’s sort of on you really. A lot of people are juggling and pay what they can when they can.

This is the nature of self employment and needs to be built into your business model. People will hold off payment as long as possible because they'd rather the money be in their pocket than yours.

The work we do for large companies is fine. They always pay they just take a bit longer because they have set pay schedules etc... Which I understand.

But to me, the general public should not be commissioning work if they don't have the money to pay for it in the time stipulated at the outset (which they've agreed beforehand).

I do get its 'just life'. It doesn't stop it being bloody twatty though.

I don’t know what it is you do but I’d be taking payment before releasing the goods.

What are your payment terms. I know people who don't tend to pay until the the end of the invoice period who own a business to "maximise their cashflow" or some such nonsense

What kind of product is it, and why the disparity between business and personal customers?

What is your procedure if they go beyond that time?

Sorry cross posted. Then I would say to them after 5 days then say they get charged admin fees

It's poor behaviour. As an individual I would never order anything until I had the money in hand.

It's fabrication work so a mix of business and personal customers.

The quote is given at the outset (and payment taken to cover material costs) which states payment to be received within 5 working days of completion. They sign this and return it to us.

A lot of people are juggling and pay what they can when they can

But surely then they shouldn't be commissioning work if they know they won't be able to juggle it within the agreed time frame?

Are you eligible to charge late payment fee & interest? I'm SE and slap on the fee and interest as soon as it gets past 30 days – it's all stated upfront on the invoice so no one's surprised. And I chase daily from then on, upping the interest each day.

So they sign but what are the penalties for going against the contact they've entered into? I can guarantee charging late fees will buck people into paying sooner. My DH does web work and charges fees if payment is late.

We don't currently have a late payment fee noted on the invoices (which is stupid I know) but we've spoken about this and are going to start putting them on all new invoices/quotes from next week.

A lot of people are juggling and pay what they can when they can
Do don’t commission the work until you have the money then.
If someone has provided you a service and you are happy with it then pay them straightaway instead of messing them about.

I would make personal customers pay before you give them finished work provided given chance to inspect but I would not actually release it without payment

It is cheeky. Ask for payment upfront.

Deposit is the way forward.

TeacupDrama unfortunately it's difficult to do something like this as it's usually work to their property. So a fixture rather than something that's released to them.

50% deposit and then a discount if they pay te he balance within 7 days of completion.

Put your prices up to cover the early settlement discount.

I used to always have this when I was freelance. Now it's full payment if it's easily estimated up front (otherwise large deposit) and never go over agreed time the commission will take. So many people take the piss. I just say come back when you can pay (obviously... in a proffesional way)

How about 50 per cent deposit, when item (which I assume is ornamental metal work ??) is ready they pay on collection or before shipping.
Do you offer incentive to pay in time??
You need to set out your rules of business, if you want payment sooner, take payment up front.