Advice please: They aren't paying me - what's my next move?

[TheStepfordChav]

I've done quite a bit of freelance work for a large company over the past year. At first it took them 4-6 weeks to pay my invoices. Then in Oct/Nov they got very busy & I did more work for them. On 5th Dec the guy who took me on asked me to send in any outstanding unpaid invoices, because some weren't getting through to their payroll dept. So I emailed them in that day, in the confident hope that the money would be in my account for Christmas, but it's still not there. One invoice is from September, OK I forgot to send a reminder, but even so, it's taking the mick, don't you think?

So, what do I do? Send red reminders, add on 10% interest - what? I find the fact that they don't seem to want to pay embarrassing, and I appreciate the work. Advice pls!

You can't suddenly send invoices with the additional 10% unless this was agreed at the very beginning with you presenting them with your Terms and Conditions of Business. You can however ring them and email them to discuss the agreed terms and keep on at them.

It is embarrassing / awkward but you have done the work (I bet you delivered on time?) and it needs to be paid for. You will be chasing Accounts Payable and not the people who instructed you so don't be embarrassed. What a pain. Get terms agreed before you do anymore work.

When I used to chase clients for payment I used to tell them that I had wages to pay, phone bills, my advertising so could they please pay. They did.

Have you rang their accounts department? I am a consultant and some companies take forever to pay, I find the best approach is to befriend someone in accounts and ring them every other day or so until it gets paid. Oh and send a statement showing 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 days etc so they start to get the hint that you want paying pronto.

Thanks to you both. Chicpea, it's a pretty informal arrangement, no terms & conditions on either side. And you bet I've delivered! I've accepted every deadline & worked evenings & weekends to meet them. So, send a statement showing everything outstanding and how old it is?

Also, you mention Accounts - are they in charge of wages then?

No but they will be in charge of paying invoices - its all the same to them as to whether its someone's wage or goods etc

oh and yes send statement, and copies of all your invoices with it. Also if badgering accounts doesn't get you anywhere I would try again with the person who commissioned the work from you. You could also try turning up at the accounts dept to 'wait for your cheque'! Absolute last resort - solicitors letter.

You need to invoice regularly and send statements every month. Don't be shy to send copy invoices either.

Make sure that you have offered them the chance to pay you by BACS (if appropriate) since a lot of companies aren't geared up or prepared to pay by cheque now (it costs them a lot of money to process cheques compared to BACS). I worked in accounts many years ago and even then my co. had a policy of phasing out cheque runs. Try to find out when they do payment runs so you can ring a few days before hand to get your invoices in the pile. It's often a matter of building a relationship with someone in accounts to get your payments on time. It might be worth getting some T & C's agreed now for future reference.

If you do go down the solicitor's route, be sure to follow through any 'threats' or they won't take you seriously next time.

OK, thanks for explaining that pinkteddy [new at this lark emoticon] I won't be able to turn up anyway, they're based abroad. The only contacts I have are in Germany & Holland, & we are in contact by email to keep the costs down, which makes it a bit harder than dealing with a UK company. SO, what do you think is a reasonable timescale for them to pay in? I thought 30 days, AIBU?

They do pay by BACS. Good idea about the payment runs newname, I'll try that. Thanks to all of you - you've been very helpful & have pointed out stuff I'd never have thought of.

TBH I think they will probably pay you if you chase them, a lot of our customers need regular chasing before they even consider paying. They probably only make payments once a month and if you miss it you would automatically wait another month. Also I'd send invoices directly to the accounts department (not by email) so they definitely receive them. Oh yes and put your account details on the invoice as newname says so they can pay by bacs.

Have you not put payment terms on your invoices? You need to put eg payment strictly 30 days net?

Yes, but I'm not that forthright! It says "Payment within 30 days please"

Everyone else I've worked for has always paid up straight away.

I don't think I can send them straight to the Accounts because the person commissioning the work has to agree them - I charge by the hour & never know exactly how much it will be until I've finished the job. But I could send him a copy.

Anchovies - I didn't realise about the 'once a month' thing. I'll ask about that.

That makes it awkward doesn't it, I hate chasing invoices with the people who I have directly worked for! Worth checking accounts have actually received the invoices then, maybe the guy isn't passing them on after approving them (or it is taking him ages?)

Until you said they were based in Germany I had a strong suspicion that it might be a certain company I have done work for, who were always terrible payers. But, as others have said, it's the accounts department you need to both befriend and pursue (nicely) - they will be able to tell you which of your invoices they have, which might be still with the chap-who-signs-them and when the next payment date will be.

However, if every time you contact accounts you get 'we'll ring you back/he/she's out at the moment'. then it might be time to up the pressure...

Some companies only pay on statements/reminders and not invoices. You just need to be very vocal.

Those who shout the loudest get paid quickest, IME.

How did they pay the invoices that they did pay? An international company will probably find it easier to pay by bank transfer and for that they'll need the iban code for your account (your bank will tell you this).

I think you need to talk to your contact guy and get from him a named individual within the accounts dept that you can deal with. I understand your man needs to sign off the invoices, but he should have done this months ago and unpaid invoices should now be within the remit of the accounts dept. It's a horrible feeling not to get paid, so you just have to keep on at them. Hope it gets sorted.

It could be that my man has been 'too busy' recently to pass them on. He is swamped, and has made other mistakes (thought he'd sent things & hadn't). Yes, I'll ask for someone I can deal with in accounts. Good idea!