Freelance workers of the world, it's tough out there

[Andy Hamilton]

Been working freelance for the last few months and I must say it is tough out there. Seem to spend much of my time sending ideas off to editors or chasing up payments. So what is it like in other lines of work or indeed in the same line of work?

[invisiblepiper]

Pretty tough - I am an artist but no-one is buying paintings - so I've been running classes too.
Back up is the fact I can tutor english too - but that dries up over summer. Looking to do B&B I think.
Lot more folk slow to pay - but the worst offenders are corporate companies - the FE Colleges and local councils who can take months to pay freelance workers.
I sympathise Andy!

[Green Aura]

We seem to have a bit of an anomaly up here - because the Euro is so low we seem to be getting a lot more tourists round the village.

This weekend has been packed - I, of course, have not been open due to the ongoing renovations so missed it. But all my neighbours seem to have done really well

I think, though, that it's getting increasingly difficult elsewhere. Of course everyone is ignoring government guidance to spend our way out of this situation - us particularly I'm guessing.

[Thomzo]

I have been self-employed in the past so I know how tough it is. You seem to spend as much time on admin as you do on doing your real work. I also have the advantage that I have run the departments in companies that pay invoices and the departments that chase for payments from customers so I have a few tips for getting paid. If you are struggling and need a few hints let me know.

I used to give talks on how to get paid, not the legal stuff but the real-world nitty gritty stuff. I'll see if I can find my notes and put a posting together.

Cheers
Zoe

[Annpan]

According to the BBC Scotland isn't in recession Maybe everyone should move up here

I used to work in entertainment management and we always spent longer looking for work and chasing up payments than actually doing shows.

[invisiblepiper]

I used to give talks on how to get paid, not the legal stuff but the real-world nitty gritty stuff. I'll see if I can find my notes and put a posting together.

Hi Thomzo - that would be really useful - I am chasing small payments usually - eg: £50 - at present its an FE College ignoring the invoices.
Suggestions?

[sleepyowl]

Very slow indeed but then again holistic therapy is oversubscribed as is tarot reading, I'm glad I have a part time job as well

[Millymollymandy]

Lot more folk slow to pay - but the worst offenders are corporate companies

I agree but at least the corporates do actually pay because they have the dosh! My husband's clients are 90% corporate and one day one of the companies decided to change to paying after 3 months instead of the 30 days that was the norm before and you can't do anything about it.

However the worst offenders are the individuals who cry that they can't pay you because they haven't yet been paid for such and such a job - which has bugger all to do with the job you've done for them.... Or the ones that just don't pay at all!

[invisiblepiper]

Ouch mmm - that is rough - three months seems average for councils and colleges though.

[Thomzo]

one day one of the companies decided to change to paying after 3 months instead of the 30 days that was the norm before and you can't do anything about it.

Mandy, in my experience this means that the company has money problems. Stop working for them or make sure they never owe you more than you can stand to lose. I have seen this lots of times before and the companies have always gone under fairly quickly afterwards. Be very careful with this one.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I smell a bad smell here.
Zoe

[Thomzo]

OK - here we go. The original presentation was far too long to post up but here are the bullet points. Bear in mind that I have only ever working in England. They system will be different elsewhere.

How to get your invoices paid – an insider’s guide

1. Agree payment terms with each customer up front.
2. Do a credit check on every customer, if they are dodgy, don’t sell to them. Credit references can cost as little as £2 and could save you a fortune.
3. Get to know the name of the person in your client’s purchase ledger department (also called ‘bought ledger’ or ‘accounts payable’) who will be responsible for your invoice.
4. Get an order number; often this will speed up the payment.
5. Find out who will be authorising the invoice. It may not be the same person who you deal with.
6. Ask if there are any extra pieces of information that will help to speed up payment. Some companies need a project number or the name of the authoriser on the invoice.
7. Make sure the invoice is easy to read (you’d be surprised how many people send invoices out when the ink is too faded to read it). Print it portrait with your name or logo in the top right hand corner on good quality paper. Most invoices get stuffed in a file. If the purchase ledger assistant can find it easily, she is more likely to pay it quickly. Most companies also still send the invoices to two or more people for signature. Flimsy paper won’t stand up to the rough handling they get.
8. Make sure you put the currency on the invoice if you deal with foreign companies. If you invoice your American customer in sterling you don’t want to be paid in dollars.
9. A week BEFORE the due date, call your contact in purchase ledger to check they have received the invoice, that there are no problems with it and when you will be getting payment. If she can’t answer all those questions don’t be afraid to call her every day until you do. Purchase ledger departments pay the suppliers that shout the loudest.
10. Don’t be afraid to go up the authorisation chain. If the purchase ledger assistant tells you that the invoice hasn’t been authorised, call the person who needs to do this.
11. If a customer doesn’t pay up, don’t be afraid to stop supplying them. Until you actually get the money, a sale is just a free gift.
12. If you sell a product, ask your solicitor to draft a ‘retention of title’ clause for your contracts. This will allow you to get your goods back if they haven’t been paid for.
13. If the invoice still isn’t paid, despite several phone calls, issue a letter threatening legal action. Give a specific date by which payment must be made.
14. If you still haven’t been paid by the deadline, ask your solicitor to issue a letter before action. Solicitors will often do this for a very small fee (I used to pay £15 per letter).
15. You can now use the internet to issue claims through the courts. I have never done this but here is the link https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp
16. Finally be polite but firm. Purchase ledger assistants take a lot of abuse from credit controllers so being nice will make you stand out from all the others.

Good luck
Zoe

[Millymollymandy]

one day one of the companies decided to change to paying after 3 months instead of the 30 days that was the norm before and you can't do anything about it.

Mandy, in my experience this means that the company has money problems. Stop working for them or make sure they never owe you more than you can stand to lose. I have seen this lots of times before and the companies have always gone under fairly quickly afterwards. Be very careful with this one.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I smell a bad smell here.
Zoe

That's interesting Zoe but I don't think that'll be the case here - it happened over a year ago and they are a humungous telecomms co, French merged with an American co now. It was probably due to that merge that they changed their rules on paying suppliers.

Funnily enough the American company they merged with were the b*stards who fired my husband from his contract in the Netherlands - but we had the last laugh because Dutch employment law doesn't work like that so after consulting a lawyer we eventually got a nice 'little' payout from them which paid off the negative equity in a house my OH owned in England enabling him to sell it and for us to buy furniture when we moved into an unfurnished house in France! Anyway so far it seems that the credit crunch hasn't touched them as his clients still have their massive budgets and the work is still coming in ...... for now! Also one of his other clients is a european based online g@mbling company who seem to be doing very well as well - guess during times of crisis people turn to drink, fags and g@mbling!

That's not to say we are rolling in money - after the old French gov take their huge share....and it makes me laugh what little we live on these days compared to when OH was a corporate employee - but he is sooooo much happier and I was never cut out to be a 'lady who lunches' anyway!

[Thomzo]

[quote="Millymollymandy"]
That's interesting Zoe but I don't think that'll be the case here - it happened over a year ago and they are a humungous telecomms co, French merged with an American co now. It was probably due to that merge that they changed their rules on paying suppliers.[\quote]

Phew, that's a relief. I was worried about you there but it sounds like you have things under control.

A general hint for anybody else running their own business though, if a client suddenly starts changing their payment habits then be suspicious. In Mandy's case, there was a good reason: the merger with the US company, but this isn't always the case.

Good luck guys
Zoe

[Stonehead]

OK - here we go. The original presentation was far too long to post up but here are the bullet points...

And when all else fails, take the Stonehead approach. Inform the debtor that you will superglue yourself to the main door of their premises—naked and with the media present. It even works with the Inland Revenue. Yes, really. I had a cheque hand delivered to me within 24 hours of making the threat after months and months of wrangling.

Of course, you have to be prepared to go through with the threat and you have to be ugly enough to make the prospect so unbelievably gruesome that they'd sooner pay up...

[Green Aura]

Nobody's ugly enough for the Revenue, Stonehead