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Paying your invoices is too expensive for us...
Thread poster: Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 17:45
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
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SITE LOCALIZER
Apr 29, 2005

I like the client very much and we sailed along fine, but...;

You should be receiving your payment for the past work shortly. I show that we currently owe you USD xxx.xx, and we normally accumulate USD xxx.xx so it becomes cost-effective to process a payment to you. I sent a reminder to our Accounts Payable person to see if we can move that forward for you. Since a wire transfer costs us USD 35.00 to process, sending small payments is not something we can afford to do.

... See more
I like the client very much and we sailed along fine, but...;

You should be receiving your payment for the past work shortly. I show that we currently owe you USD xxx.xx, and we normally accumulate USD xxx.xx so it becomes cost-effective to process a payment to you. I sent a reminder to our Accounts Payable person to see if we can move that forward for you. Since a wire transfer costs us USD 35.00 to process, sending small payments is not something we can afford to do.

-------------

I should have answered:"OK, buddy, I'll accumulate your 20-words orders until they sum up to XXX.XX dollars." But, I was not that fast, I just commented that he/she could just as well use paypal...

It's sort of hilarious - the last "order" was 19 (nineteen) words long. Any take on this situation is welcome.

TiA

smo ▲ Collapse
 
Lucinda Hollenberg
Lucinda Hollenberg  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:45
Dutch to English
+ ...
Well, that is what I do, accumulate them. Apr 29, 2005

I have two clients who send small translations to do all the time. They are from 3 words to 3000 words - I have had the whole gamut.

They insist on also paying for even the smallest one, so I keep a running invoice and bill once a month, or even once every other month. I wait until the amount is between 100-200 USD at a convenient month's end. I then send a list of the job nrs, no of words, etc. and then the total amount per job. One then immediately pays with PayPal; the other ... See more
I have two clients who send small translations to do all the time. They are from 3 words to 3000 words - I have had the whole gamut.

They insist on also paying for even the smallest one, so I keep a running invoice and bill once a month, or even once every other month. I wait until the amount is between 100-200 USD at a convenient month's end. I then send a list of the job nrs, no of words, etc. and then the total amount per job. One then immediately pays with PayPal; the other has a paying cycle.

Even though they both pay with PayPal, it is easier for us to do it this way.

I now have had this arrangement for over 4 years with the one client and two years with the other.

I guess, it is whatever you and the client(s) feel comfortable with.

Good luck!
Lucinda ▲ Collapse
 
Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 17:45
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
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bill them monthly - it's so evident... Apr 29, 2005

Lucinda Hollenberg wrote:

I have two clients who send small translations to do all the time. They are from 3 words to 3000 words - I have had the whole gamut.!
Lucinda


thanks for inciting my brain to do its work: I promptly suggested a monthly summary billing. Plus, I reminded the client, they have so far used PayPal, so why start feeding the big ugly international finance animal.

Thanks, Lucinda!

smo
 
Bianca Adriaensen
Bianca Adriaensen  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:45
English to Dutch
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Quarterly invoices Apr 30, 2005

I have some great customers who agree on accumulative invoices in case their bank transfer expenses are higher than mine. You can check with your local bank for all international bank fees and, if you trust your client enough, create one accumulative invoice in Excel, with everyting you want to display in the cells... The fun part of Excel: no need to accumulate manually, nor use higher algebra for calculating...
Some clients want their bills after reaching XXX USD, some want them per peri... See more
I have some great customers who agree on accumulative invoices in case their bank transfer expenses are higher than mine. You can check with your local bank for all international bank fees and, if you trust your client enough, create one accumulative invoice in Excel, with everyting you want to display in the cells... The fun part of Excel: no need to accumulate manually, nor use higher algebra for calculating...
Some clients want their bills after reaching XXX USD, some want them per period. I even have customers paying me per quarter.
The total they owe me depends on the number and/or size of their projects, yet invoicing per 3 months keeps them from bothering me with bank costs on their side of the line. Moreover: after sending/receiving the invoice they usually pay within 5 days...

I think that negotiating up front about all sorts of payment issues does the trick...

Good luck with your clients! ▲ Collapse
 
Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 17:45
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
SITE LOCALIZER
The beauty of Excel.... May 2, 2005

Bianca Adriaensen wrote:
I think that negotiating up front about all sorts of payment issues does the trick...


EXactly. I just did that with two of them and they just loved me for that. And there's that lady that sends me an Excel file to fill in instead of doing my word invoicing cosmetics / histrionics. She deserves my kudos for that.

We are (or at least I am) always so fast when it comes bitching on prices. With some inventiveness, however, both sides are better off and at least in my case the product is better too.

So if I could trust the other side with counting for me as well;)....

regards

smo
 


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