10 Simple Ways to Get Paid Faster

Getting paid after completing a job can be both the best and worst part of being self employed – the first big cheque you get in will be incredibly motivating, but the time you spend chasing clients for later payments will be very frustrating, and having a client go bust or refuse to pay at all could ruin our cash flow.

I’ve put together some tips so that hopefully this will never happen to you.

Got some tips of your own? let me know in the comments section!

1. Agree payment terms up front

It’s very easy to get carried away at the start of a project with a new client, and be eager to impress and show off your creative talent that you agree to start work before letting them know your payments terms. Always make sure you agree in writing your payment terms before agreeing to start work. This could either be as part of your standard terms and conditions or via something as simple as an email exchange.

Personally I ask for 50% payment up front as a deposition and 50% before the final work is handed over on all projects under £2000. For larger projects this can be broken down further to payments of 25%/25%/50% or even four payments of 25%. You may be worried about asking for such a large payment up front, but if a client isn’t willing to pay up front it’s a good sign that they may be having cash flow problems themselves.

If you’re planning on using terms of anything less than 30 days on your invoices it is best to be clear about these up front too. Using task based milestones also helps as the client will associate the payment with the work being completed rather than as spreading the payment over the duration of the project. It will also incentivise you to get the work done on time!

Finally, if you’re in the UK and VAT registered – make sure you make sure you are clear on your quotes weather your prices are inclusive or exclusive of VAT.

2. Make sure your invoice contains all required information.

It’s important that your invoice have all your company information on them as well as payment details, and the clients information. Ensure that you are using the correct client company name and address, and that your figures and dates are accurate. It’s embarrassing to have to re-issue and invoice if you get something wrong, and if the client spots a mistake they may use it as a reason to delay payment.

As a rule, you should be including the following information on all your invoices:

  • Your full company name (and logo).
  • The invoice date
  • The invoice number (This should be unique to each invoice, and preferable sequential).
  • Your registered address.
  • Your company number (if applicable).
  • Your postal address.
  • Your client’s company name or name.
  • Your client’s address.
  • A job reference or purchase order number (if the client have provided one)
  • An itemised list of the services you have provided (see point 5).
  • The invoice due date (see point 3).
  • Your payment details (see point 4).
  • A detachable payment advice slip.

And if you’re in the UK and VAT registered you also need to include:

  • Your VAT registration number
  • An breakdown of the VAT which has been added to each item on your invoice, and the rate at which this has been charged.
  • The total amount of VAT charged

3. Make the due date more prominent.

Make sure that the Due date on your invoice is clearly visible, and more prominent than the rest of the text on the invoice. This will ensure your client knows when to pay and makes it harder for them to make excuses about forgetting or not knowing the invoice was due.

If they’re organised they will be entering this information into their accounting systems, which may mean they are less likely to pay early, but will ensure that you get payment before the invoice goes overdue.

4. Include your payments details – all of them.

Be as flexible as you can with payment methods, and include all your details. My preference is for payment via bank transfer as this is fast, and easily auditable, however some clients (usually larger businesses, charities and government departments) prefer to pay by cheque. So make sure that you include your bank details, a postal address and the name or company which cheques should be made paypable to.

You might want to also consider accepting PayPal if you are selling services or products to smaller companies, individuals or trading internationally. If you are doing repeat business or selling subscription or one-off services via a website it may also be worth setting up an internet merchant account and payment gateway to enable you to accept payments by credit card – however keep in mind that it will typically cost you around 3-5% of the transaction value plus a monthly fee to receive payment this way if you are processing low volumes.

5. Itemise your invoices.

Giving vague descriptions of the services you have provided will make it easy for the client to query the invoice and delay payment, whereas providing a detailed breakdown of the work carried out will remind the client and anyone within their organisation exactly what is being invoiced for. It’s also a requirement if you are charging VAT.

6. Email a copy to your client.

Posting invoices will take time, and will allow the client to make excuses about not receiving the invoice or misplacing it. Make sure that you email a copy of the invoice to the client as soon as the invoice is produced.

Sending a copy of the invoice by both email and post is the ideal solution, as the client will hopefully have already read and verified your invoice when they receive your email, and the copy in the post will act as a reminder to pay. It also makes it much harder for them to try and wriggle out of paying.

After you have complete a few jobs for a client you get an idea of how long they take to pay and if they need reminding. For those clients who pay quickly or consistently a few days before the invoice goes overdue I usually won’t bother posting a copy, as there is a time and cost associated with this.

7. Thank your client.

One piece of information to include on your invoices which I didn’t mention earlier is a simply thank you. This should be along the lines of ‘Thank you for you custom, if you have any questions please contact (You) on (Your phone number). This way if there are any queries relating to the work carried out or payment details the person processing the invoice can quickly contact you – it may not always be your contact within the organisation who deals with the accounting.

8. Send reminders.

Always send reminds when an invoice goes overdue, or even leading up to the due date. Make sure the reminders are written in a friendly tone and remain professional. Rather than asking for the client to pay the invoice, try asking for an anticipated payment date or ask if there is anything you can do to help such as set up a payment plan to help with their cash flow.

I would recommend sending a reminder three days before the due date if no payment has been received, the day after the due date and then once per week after that. Follow up and reminders for overdue invoices with a polite phone call to check that the client is happy with the services provided and has received the invoice.

9. Stay calm.

Clients who consistently pay late can be infuriating, however getting angry or making threats rarely helps. It may get them to settle their invoice, but will guarantee you lose out on any future work from them. Becoming personal with lines such as ‘I need payment so I can ‘feed my family’/’pay the rent’/’pay my tax bill’ are also a big mistake.

10. Thank your client again.

Always let the client know once you have received payment and thank them again for their business. I also use this an opportunity to ask if they have any other work they would like quoting, or suggest additional work which could be carried out to extend or compliment the original project.

This list is by no means comprehensive – if you think I’ve missed anything or disagree let me know in the comments!

Published by

Chris Wheeler

Chris Wheeler is the owner of Hayden Digital - a UK web development agency. Prior to establishing Hayden Digital he spent several years sucessfully freelancing in the web development industry, gaining a wealth of knowledge about self-employment and creating a sustainable freelance income.

11 thoughts on “10 Simple Ways to Get Paid Faster”

  1. Good advice all round from Chris I’d say!

    I do believe that the writing is finally on the wall for cheques as a method of payment in the UK – A government committee has recently been convened with the sole purpose of discussing the phasing out of these increasingly anachronistic pieces of paper.

    Personally, I can’t wait for electronic payments to be the norm across the board. Bring it on!

  2. Great Article! We’d definately recommend FreeAgentCentral to help with freelancer accountancy matters. It makes everyones life easier (not just the accountants!), by allowing easy management of the things you describe above.

    I know you mention Xero in a different article, we haven’t used that particular service. Be interesting to know what people thought of it.

    1. I can highly recommend Xero – I’ve not tried FreeAgentCentral but will give it a go. I’m considering doing a roundup of the popular online and offline accounting applications suitable for freelancers – any other recommendations? FreshBooks, Sage, and Quickbooks come to mind as well as the two we’ve mentioned.

      1. Hey Chris, how did you get on with FAC? Did you try it? Think there are pro’s and cons to all services. We love the online aspect due to being able to look at live data in realtime, then offering advice there and then.

        I’ll have to take a look at Xero.

        1. Hi Chris, I’ve been snowed under this week so haven’t got round to testing it – I have however drafted an article for GoingFreelance on accounting packages for freelancers. Unfortunately it’s little more than a few bullet points at the moment!

  3. Hello,
    I’ve read some of your comments and they are actually very useful.
    I have started working on a project as a freelance consultant. I have never done an invoice defore. I’m not running a company so I’d like some advice concerning how to create a legal invoice for the services I will provide.
    Is it OK if I do not include a VAT number once I do not run my own company? How can I be legal in terms of taxation?
    Looking forward for your comments.
    Cheers,
    Rod

    1. Hi Rod,

      If you are consulting and charging for your time – you must register your self as Self Employed with HMRC within 3 months of starting work, and submit an annual Tax Return to declare your income. Only include a VAT number and charge VAT on your services if you are VAT registered. You don’t have to be a Limited company to register for VAT, and you don’t have to register for VAT until your turnover reaches a certain point (around £70,000 per year), but you can register voluntarily before then. There is a lot of advice and accurate figures relating to registering as self employed and for VAT on the HMRC website, or you can call them and speak to someone if you are unsure. Good luck with your new venture.

  4. Pingback: Freelancer’s Invoice 自由工作者的發票 – Irene Lu

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