To ask for the money?!?

[hasanyoneseenbarb]

I run a small cleaning company and have the same late payers week upon week...

It's a small business and I like to pay employees weekly which is proving difficult with certain customers constantly paying whenever they fancy as apposed to on the day.

AIBU to think if you are having to be reminded on a weekly basis you should either start paying cash or having a standing order?

I absolutely hate asking for money but as this is about the 7th week in a row it's starting to feel deliberate

Advertise their slot and fill it with someone else

What does your contract say about when payment is due?

Late fee charges?

Can you change your terms to payment must be made a week in advance, failure to do so will result in their booking being cancelled

Maybe prefix the change with something along the lines of Due to continued late payment...

I would send out an ‘updated company policy’ which stayed from X date next payment for services must be made within X days for services, in the first instance of late payment a warning will be issued, if any further payment are late, late fees may be added and if it becomes a regular occurrence payment will be required before the services are provided or they will not be provided.

Add this policy to all future client contracts.

You shouldn’t have to wait to be paid to be able to pay your staff. You should have adequate cash flow to be able to run your business without the worry of people paying

You're effectively providing a service for free by not paying paid and/or chasing up the late payments; Do you think any other business, small or large would operate like that?

Ask for your money, they have had a service, they need to pay for it and stop supplying said service until all monies have been paid in full.

That should have said "By not being paid..", not "By not paying paid..."

Terms and conditions might be the best way to go I think....

Fabbychix I think most people starting a business without start up loans don't have a massive amount of cashflow, that's what why they are called "small businesses"

*why

I pay my cleaner in advance by standing order and if I didn't pay she wouldn't turn up!

YANBU. It's disrespectful of them and not holding their side of the agreement. It'd be hard to manage this situation even on your own, let alone when you have employees to pay.

I would give them an ultimatum- say you need them to pay on the agreed day by either cash or standing order, otherwise you can't keep them on.

You shouldn't feel bad about being paid for a service provided. You're a business, not a charity.

I work in a service industry and we ask for payment up front for first visit and then put people on a 30 day account. We put late payers back onto payment upfront. It's the only sensible thing to do.

The out of school club my DC go to deals with this in the first instance by just having a pile of letters about non/late payment and handing one to everyone when they pick up whether it applies to them or not. The owner might say "I know you always pay on time but I'm giving one to everyone" - that way it avoids people feeling singled out and saves her feeling confrontational.

I wouldn't go into a supermarket and say I will pay later.

this is about the 7th week in a row it's starting to feel deliberate

It probably is, OP, so the only sensible thing is to ask them once more for immediate payment and then replace them

You're running a business not a credit service, and trust me that nothing else - not T&Cs, repeated requests or anything else - will work

And actually it's even worse than that, since so much work like this is gained through word of mouth. How do you fancy being known as the one who's "most understanding" about getting paid?

Change your terms and conditions.

Ask for payment 48 hours in advance of their appointment. If they don't pay, give their "slot" to someone else. They're taking the piss - and you're letting them.

7th week in a row is definitely deliberate.
My cleaning company takes card details and if cash isn’t left for the cleaner, the card is charged instead. I actually find it quite convenient as I don’t have to think about payment and it’s taken automatically, nor do I have to remember to adjust a standing order if I’m not having cleaning that week for whatever reason. Maybe you could do something like that?

Stop being a wet blanket and remember this......

THEY NEED YOU MORE THAN YOU NEED THEM.

You can pick up another client tomorrow. They won’t want to find another cleaner.

So put your big girl pants on and say you need the money now.

Then when you have been paid you send an email to everyone saying what your new terms and conditions are. One strike and they lose you.

Do it now.

Say you give a 10% discount applied to the NEXT bill, if they pay their current invoice within 7 days. Increase your prices accordingly, so it's really not a discount, but a fine if they don't.

Payment in advance or on the day: £x per hour

Payment the following day or up to a week late: £x+1 per hour

Payment later than a week: £x+1 per hour and a £10 surcharge.

Standing order or payment in advance..

Taking credit card payment is a pretty good idea actually. You can reserve the sum but only finalise the payment when work is done. It will cost you but you are shifting the credit risk to someone else.

Taking credit card payment is a pretty good idea actually

In theory, yes - but I doubt it'll be much help with determined late- or non-payers. Almost certainly "their OH will have taken their card to work with them", they'll be "in the process of changing banks" or whatever

You should never feel bad about asking for payment for a service you have provided. They owe you that money and it is your right to request it. I run a small business providing a service, and I ask people to pay in advance. It's the only way to guarantee you won't end up working free of charge. No pay, no play.