Alinnell -- I hear you. DH is self-employed and has the same issue when he bills clients, all of which are financial services firms. You'd think that financial services firms would pay promptly, but they don't. (Or, maybe they don't pay promptly because they're trying to eke out another month's interest on DH's money...)
I went to the store at 7 am yesterday to get the non-perishable T-day fixings, thinking that no one else would be there and I'd be able to get in and out quickly. Turns out, half my town had the same idea: so not only was the grocery store packed, it was packed with people I knew and I spent a lot of time chit-chatting. Kinda fun, but not what I had in mind for my Saturday morning!
That's the good thing about being self-employed the way I am. My clients pay by the week. If they forget I leave a hand-written note at their house. I've never had anyone not pay me after the note, with one exception. And when she finally did pay me 4 months after the dog had been euthanized there was a $200 Christmas bonus that the dog "had left you in his will".
I hear all sorts of horror stories about non-payment from the other walkers but I've had no issues with my own clients.
It is just standard operating procedure for something to delay payment to contractors. At least twice a year I have to remind one client or another (and these are regular companies, not individuals) that a payment is past due. There is usually some kind of excuse, but honestly... Things should be computerized now, so why would a piece of paper get lost on someone's desk?
Dagmar, it sounds like you have good clients and that they value you. Bravo!
I email about 90% of my invoices to contractors. I have one contractor who I contacted for lack of payment and was told they mistakenly deleted it. Since this was funded by a bank, we had to wait an additional 30 days for the payment. In fact, it is still due--we'll probably get it this week, but it was due in September (they paid the October bill on time). Thankfully we're so busy at the moment we're not cash strapped. In the past, I've had to resort to robbing Peter to pay Paul. Also, I now have a vendor who takes American Express. It is SO nice! I pay with American Express, get the bill 30 days later and schedule the payment for the day before it is due. It keeps the money in the bank that much longer AND I get the added bonus of POINTS to spend!
Some places charge you extra for late payment (like credit card companies). Say that payment is due in 30 days, and 1% late payment fee will be charged every 30 days thereafter. Then, charge it. You can also send out an automatic email reminder 7 days before the due date.
Howlin', in the publishing industry they just laugh if one tries to charge a late payment fee. And they wouldn't pay it. Also, the companies that have a formal contract don't allow it, generally.
One company I worked for had a clause in the contract that said if I didn't get paid in 30 days, they were in violation of the contract and I could declare it void. So they went 60 days, and I did declare the contract void. There was a big scramble to fix things and the contract got reinstated. But it was a lot of hassle for the folks I was working with directly.
I'd do it again in the same situation, but I've noticed that their newer contracts no longer contain that clause!
