Freelancers generally don’t get much respect in this still traditional, 9-to-5 world. This can cause a lot of problems for freelancer, such as burnout.
However, it almost always means one thing: your invoices get paid late.
Although it seems like a permanent situation, it doesn’t have to be. There are other things you can do to help you get paid faster, starting today.
Today we’ll look at the 5 best ways to get your freelance invoices paid much faster.
Fix your policies
First of all, you need to take care of the basic documents before you do anything else.
That doesn’t mean you need to create complex legal, 5,000-word documents. All you need to do is create the necessary policies so that you can avoid any confusion later on.
Your policies should always include:
- if you’ll take payment for your services beforehand
- how long you’ll give the client to pay
- whether you’ll charge any late fees
- how your customer can pay you
- whether the services will be fully delivered before or after payment
By clarifying these points beforehand, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.
Quote the job specifically
In addition to your policies, you should prepare another document beforehand. However, instead of being general for all jobs, this should be specific to the job you are hoping to work on.
You should create a quote before you agree to the job. This will help your client see how long the job will take and how much it will cost.
This will help you to avoid any unforeseen demands that your client may jump on you later (which happens from time to time).
If you have a very specific quote before you take on the job, you and your client agree on the specifics of the job. There can be nothing outside of the quote for that agreed price. If the client wants more work from you, beyond what’s agreed in the quote, they’ll have to pay more.
Although it may seem slightly pedantic, it will help you to avoid any confusion or possible legal battles later on.
Send invoices promptly
The last, most important thing to do is to send out your invoices as soon as you can. This is one problem with many freelancers. They are just so focused on finishing their work that they spend all their energy on it. The end-result is amazing, but their energy is spent.
When that happens, they naturally procrastinate (“take a break”). However, this break can sometimes last too long, and they end up sending the invoice much later than they should’ve.
What happens then is that they get paid much later than they should’ve gotten paid, and it’s all their fault.
Send your invoices out immediately when you finish the job. That way all the details are fresh in your memory and you won’t have to take too long.
This will mean that your client (or client’s accounting department) will get the invoice on time and pay you on time. It’s all connected.
These three invoicing tips are some of the best that we’ve come across here. It’s important to put them into practice and stick with them as much as you can.
Once you do, you’ll see just how easy it can be to get your invoices paid much faster.
