| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: When do you usually begin to send reminders for overdue payment? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When do you usually begin to send reminders for overdue payment?".
This poll was originally submitted by Helena Grahn. View the poll results »
| | | | | If you are late delivering... | Nov 21, 2012 |
when do you start receiving e-mails and phone calls?
If you are not late, you have completed your job, therefore it is now time for the company to start doing theirs.
| | | | inkweaver 
Germany
Local time: 22:31
French to German
+ ...
Paula Hernández wrote:
when do you start receiving e-mails and phone calls?
If you are not late, you have completed your job, therefore it is now time for the company to start doing theirs.
Although I usually wait about one week until I start sending reminders. Luckily, most of my clients don't need them at all.
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 22:31
Member (2006)
German to English
inkweaver wrote:
Although I usually wait about one week until I start sending reminders. Luckily, most of my clients don't need them at all.
With new customers, pretty much soon after the agreed terms, but I lucky enough, it does not happen much at all
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Because sometimes money comes from other country and usually arrives two or three days later... But in otherwise the customer has to understand that I will send him one message per week or more if necessary, I will not give up... But it depends, some customers have a good reason sometimes and you have to be diplomatic and patient. It does not happen much if you select very well yours customers of course...
[Modifié le 2012-11-21 10:13 GMT]
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 05:31
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Like Michael, this hardly happens to me at all these days -- simply because I do not work for late payers.
There should have been a "< 4 days" option as well, because, speaking from bitter past experience, late payers are going to try to string it out as long as possible, anyway. So you might as well establish this fact soon instead of waiting ages to find out it's going to be a long, time-consuming hassle  to collect ... See more Like Michael, this hardly happens to me at all these days -- simply because I do not work for late payers.
There should have been a "< 4 days" option as well, because, speaking from bitter past experience, late payers are going to try to string it out as long as possible, anyway. So you might as well establish this fact soon instead of waiting ages to find out it's going to be a long, time-consuming hassle to collect what they owe you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It depends on the credit terms | Nov 21, 2012 |
If for one reason or another, I did not agree on credit terms with a customer, I usually state on the invoice that payment should be made upon receipt. I however usually leave them alone for a month before reminding them, since I usually allow 30 days payment terms.
For the customer with whom I have a 30 day payment arrangement I remind them about 14 days after due date. The 60 days customers are reminded after one week.
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new clients: 1 day
regular client: 15 days (never occurred)
Basically I have kept only those clients who pay on time.
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| One/two weeks | Nov 21, 2012 |
New clients: 1/2 weeks
Repeat clients: it depends as it happened only once or twice...
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 22:31
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Based on the applicable laws, the amount is, in reality, actually due on the day the service is being delivered. Therefore, and even though a normal period of payment of 14 to 30 days is in practice, anything beyond, and also including, the day of the service rendered, is actually a free loan to the client.
Except for special circumstances the same rule applying to the turnaround time / date and time of delivery of the completed document, applies to the due date of payment. As it i... See more Based on the applicable laws, the amount is, in reality, actually due on the day the service is being delivered. Therefore, and even though a normal period of payment of 14 to 30 days is in practice, anything beyond, and also including, the day of the service rendered, is actually a free loan to the client.
Except for special circumstances the same rule applying to the turnaround time / date and time of delivery of the completed document, applies to the due date of payment. As it is the duty and responsibility of the translator to deliver on time, it is also the duty and responsibility of the client to pay in a timely manner.
This might sound quite rigid to some, but we are all servicve providers, business women and men, who also need to fulfill their financial responsibilities... on time. Imagine the situation in which you would have to inform your Internet provider that you cannot pay on time because... people don't pay you on time. This might seem to be a little far-fetched, but it is the global practice in any shop or business. So why should it be any different for translators / interpreters?
However, as a courtesy, the first reminder is free of any fees / charges.
Theser are my 2 cents. ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Wright
Austria
Local time: 22:31
German to English
+ ...
I'm quite happy to wait til I get my money - I know my clients will pay (cos I know my clients) and they are just sometimes late, even very late. It's only if it seems somethign has got overlooked somewhere (lost in post etc) that I'll ask whether the invoice was received. I only once had a problem with a bad debtor (a PR agency) and the threat of suing his client for breach of copyright was sufficient to get the money paid.
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Glitches happen, but after that, I send a reminder every week until I get paid.
But in ten years, this has only happened rarely.
If I know it was a glitch (because I have a long and timely paid relationship with the client), then I 'forget' it.
It has happened for two or three clients I would hate to lose!! Apologies and payment arrived within a day when I sent a reminder.
If it is a new client, I add a remark highlighted in bright colours in my client list.... See more Glitches happen, but after that, I send a reminder every week until I get paid.
But in ten years, this has only happened rarely.
If I know it was a glitch (because I have a long and timely paid relationship with the client), then I 'forget' it.
It has happened for two or three clients I would hate to lose!! Apologies and payment arrived within a day when I sent a reminder.
If it is a new client, I add a remark highlighted in bright colours in my client list.
Glitches are so rare that they should not happen with a first job...
I also puncture that nice row of 5-ratings on the BB that led me to work for the client in the first place.
[Edited at 2012-11-21 14:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 16:31
Spanish to English
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| All clients: One business day | Nov 21, 2012 |
For me, this question applies strictly to agencies as, in the case of direct clients, I require payment prior to delivery of my work.
As Paula so rightly points out, agency tolerance for any lateness in delivery of a project is typically (and rightly) very limited indeed, so I expect that they will completely understand when I take payment deadlines every bit as seriously.
Yes, "glitches happen." All the more reason to identify the glitch--and have it rectified--as soon... See more For me, this question applies strictly to agencies as, in the case of direct clients, I require payment prior to delivery of my work.
As Paula so rightly points out, agency tolerance for any lateness in delivery of a project is typically (and rightly) very limited indeed, so I expect that they will completely understand when I take payment deadlines every bit as seriously.
Yes, "glitches happen." All the more reason to identify the glitch--and have it rectified--as soon as possible, rather than wait 10 days or more before drawing it to the agency's attention.
If an agency knows it is going to be late with payment, I would expect some sort of prior notice of this (just as, on those very rare occasions when I've been late with delivery of a project, I've given the client a heads-up of the delay ahead of time). If clients don't do this (and they typically do not) this is already a sign of disrespect, and thus bad news.
I would add that, for me, "payment in 30 days" means that I receive the check or see the payment in my bank/PayPal account on or before the 30th day. It does not mean that "the money is on its way" on the 30th day and, still less, that, "we will start thinking about possibly sending it to you" on the 30th day.
If this poll is representative of freelancer attitudes toward late payment (i.e., with large percentages of translators content to wait a week or two, and sometimes longer, before even sending a reminder), then it is no wonder that agencies sometimes do not take payment deadlines seriously.
[Edited at 2012-11-21 14:30 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 16:31
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Flabbergasted | Nov 21, 2012 |
I don’t mean to sow the seeds of discord, but I can’t help reiterating my surprise as to the results of this poll which, as of the moment, show that some 38% of respondents typically wait 15 or more days following payment deadline before sending an initial reminder to delinquent clients.
Let’s consider what this means:
The standard payment deadline is typically not less than 30 days, and is sometimes 45, 60, or even 90 days.
Just sticking with an assumptio... See more I don’t mean to sow the seeds of discord, but I can’t help reiterating my surprise as to the results of this poll which, as of the moment, show that some 38% of respondents typically wait 15 or more days following payment deadline before sending an initial reminder to delinquent clients.
Let’s consider what this means:
The standard payment deadline is typically not less than 30 days, and is sometimes 45, 60, or even 90 days.
Just sticking with an assumption of a 30-day deadline, if a translator waits 20 days before sending an initial reminder, it can be fairly assumed that he or she will not typically receive payment for at least another week following such notification. What this means is that nearly 40% of respondents to this poll are content to wait a month or longer, following the expiration of a 30-day deadline, before receiving payment.
This in turn implies that these selfsame translators find it acceptable to be paid more than two months following completion of their work. In the case of a 60-day deadline, this translates into three months following delivery (and a whopping four months in the case of a 90-day deadline).
Does this mean that things are really so great for many freelance translators that waiting 60 days or more before getting paid poses no cash-flow problems for them? Or is it that a great many freelancers simply feel so cowed and beaten down that they feel obliged to embrace what many would see as an unsustainable business practice? ▲ Collapse
| | | | David_M (X)
Local time: 22:31
Thai to German
+ ...
| I'm very lucky, because ... | Nov 21, 2012 |
... none of my clients ever paid me late.
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