We’ve all had tough clients – the one who’s always looking for a discount; the one who changes their mind at the last minute; the one who wants to go over the minutiae of every little detail. Twice. And then wants you to throw in a flying pony at no extra cost. *Sigh*… It’s not the end of the world.
But every now and again, a client comes along that seriously threatens your margins – and your sanity. Here are five of the stickiest situations you might find yourself in as a freelancer, and how to get out of them.
1. The payment is ‘fashionably’ late
You met your deadlines, but the client isn’t meeting theirs, despite the fact you made your payment terms clear in your contract. This isn’t just late payment – this is ridiculously late payment.
Thankfully, the law is on your side. If your client doesn’t pay on time, you can start charging interest from the day after the due date. Hopefully the extra cash will shock them into paying, but if not, you can claim back ‘reasonable costs’. Like the fee for a debt recovery firm, if it comes to that.
2. All work and no pay
Late payment is one thing, but a client flat-out refusing to cough up when you’ve delivered the work to them is another. As well as making steam come out of your ears, this will affect your finances, cash flow and maybe even your credit rating.
You’re going to need to hit your client where it hurts – their pockets. There are three options:
- Use a debt recovery agency (and charge the client the fee – see above)
- Start legal proceedings. If you don’t want to shell out for a solicitor, go DIY – you can submit your claim online here in 30 minutes
- Wait and see – and probably wave your money goodbye (we’re not sure we recommend this one, but it’s certainly an option)
3. Putting the brakes on
Your client can pause a project whenever they want, but that makes it difficult for you to plan – both financially and in terms of taking on other work.
Instead of waiting around for the green light, insert a delay clause into your contract with the penalty for unreasonable waits made clear. This way, either the thought of being charged for dilly dallying will motivate them, or you’ll be in the money. Win-win.
4. The cancelled gig
Your client has had their funding slashed or, more irritatingly, they’ve simply changed their mind about the project. If they cancel midway through, you don’t get paid, right? Wrong.
Adding a cancellation clause to your contract protects you if this happens, securing payment for all your work up until the project is canned. It’s a nice bit of insurance against any project going belly-up.
5. The never-ending brief
More revisions means more time, and as Benjamin Franklin said, ‘time is money’. You want to please your client, but if they’re changing the spec every five minutes, you’re going to run into problems.
Specify in your contract the number of rounds of revisions your client is entitled to and stick to it. Of course, you’ll need to accept any mistakes or misunderstandings on your part and change those for free. But if it’s getting silly, be honest: ‘We’ve reached the maximum number of amends, so the cost of these changes will be £XX.’ Easy.
Difficult clients can mess with your finances, but My Accountant Friend can help you to forecast and keep things under control. For more information, click on: online accountancy tools. We’re happy to chat through any freelance financial issues you may have in mind.
Any stick situations you’ve been in that you’d like advice on? Drop us a line and we’ll see if we can advise in the comments below.
