If the thought of an uncomfortable meeting with your client makes your stomach hurt, you're probably already shuddering at the title of this post. Invoice disputes usually mean that the client owes you money and is simply unwilling to pay what you're asking. Is it possible to figure out a solution to this situation with an in-person meeting?
No one goes into a relationship, business or otherwise, planning how to end it. Firing a client is an unfortunate necessity when things go terribly wrong. The first thing to determine is your last straw. This client may be:
Now that you know you've had enough, do you know what to do next?
While it's easy to be overwhelmed during the year with business to-do's, your clients are the reason you have a business to begin with! You don't have to wait until the holidays to show them that they are appreciated. Gratitude can be practiced all year long and will help build a strong foundation for any challenges that may arise. Gratitude reminds your clients that they are appreciated.
Your goal is to run a successful business and that means creating strong relationships with your clients. During the sales process, your business is going all out to impress and that positive impression may last for a few months. After a while, you and your clients may hit a period of leveling out and, even more serious, discontent. Just as with any relationship, it can be challenging to maintain happy, long term clients.
When a client owes you money, any interaction can be strained or even awkward. You want to maintain a good quality business relationship but you also have to talk about money... and that can be an uncomfortable conversation. While there are no guarantees that your clients will always pay on time, there are some things that you can do to get them to pay faster.
One of my closest friends is "hanging out her shingle" as an independent after spending her entire career working for large corporations. We've always texted fairly regularly but our conversations lately are less about our kids and more about self-employment taxes and setting up accounting software. To leave the relative comfort and paycheck predictability of the employee life is no joke and has me revisiting my own brave step into the world of entrepreneurship.
In business relationships, money is part of the equation. The thing to remember is that both parties are looking for value and trust. Your client may ask for discounts. You may want to be paid up front. Your client may need to settle old debts with you. These conversations don't have to be uncomfortable if you know where to start.
On this blog, we stress the importance of signed agreements, payment terms and getting everything in writing. This can seem like yet another step in the B2B relationship process but if you want to get paid, it's completely necessary to have proof that both parties knew what was expected of them.
As a great example, a poster on Reddit asks, "Am I the a$$hole for invoicing a client when they changed their mind?"
In this particular case, the client requested work on a website and then changed their mind during project. When the website developers invoiced the client for what had been done, she refused to pay because she didn't have a completed project... yet she had asked them to stop work because she found a cheaper alternative.
Reader asks:
"I started my business as a freelancer and have now grown into a full creative agency. My largest clients frequently pay their bills at Net 90 days, even though I ask for Net 30 or 45. Should my agency ask for payments upfront?"
Our answer: It depends.
Read more to learn why.
When you're running a business, especially a business that works with other businesses, you know the hard fought battle that it takes to build a long-standing relationship. You have to earn the trust of your client so they know that your products or services are available to help their business be better. That relationship can turn sour if you've committed to your agreement and they're not paying you for it. Instead of taking it personally, it may be time to litigate.
