<p>Am I the only professional service provider having a hard time getting paid as year end approaches? What is hurtful is the attitude of the clients who aren’t paying. In the past, when clients have been slow pays, they’ve at least said they’re sorry. Now it’s an attitude of “we think we’ve paid you more than enough already” and “you’re ruining my day.” Doesn’t matter that the bill is for work I did when I was on vacation, or late at night or over the weekend.</p>
<p>I should know better than to check my blackberry over a holiday weekend. I had offered a client a 40% discount if he paid by 12/15. He finally replied (in a very miffed tone)-insulated that he was being asked for the money (work was done in Feb.) - he proposed a discount of over 50%. Ruined my day.</p>
<p>Never Beg. Offering a 40% discount puts the scent of blood in the water. No wonder he counter offered at 50%. I would have too.</p>
<p>Send him a bill, faxed, for the full amount, with 7% interest from 30 days after the original due date with a draft of a lien certificate attached. </p>
<p>All business people need to develop some cohones is they are to remain in business during a downturn. </p>
<p>We don’t charge interest. Firm won’t let us. We don’t sue or lien clients for fees. Firm won’t let us. His is a retail project that I suspect will never get built (or maybe it will in a couple of years.) I wasn’t begging…I was offering him a way to settle his account instead of paying full fare for a deal that disappointed him. So many clients seem to think these deals are contingencies when they aren’t at all</p>
I don’t usually correct spelling, since I’m so bad at it, but the word is cojones. Pronounced your way, though :)</p>
<p>I see no reason to let him pay less. Our company isn’t professional, but it has been more difficult to collect this year, so I’ve stepped up collection efforts. Basically, we can charge all the late payment fees we want, there is really nothing we can do if they refuse to pay but take them to small claims court. Which costs money and if they don’t want to pay, still hard to get the money. Not worth it for small bills and they know it. We can threaten anything we want, but the people who have “cojones” don’t care.</p>
<p>I would not be insulted that he tried to negotiate. I might have done the same. Just let him know that the 40% offer is good until whatever date and then it goes back to full cost. However, the way many folks and businesses are so hardpressed in our area Missy, your bill may get the back burner if there are no consequences to not paying it. People have to pay the bills with the worst consequences first. Everyone else will get theirs when the money comes in, if it does. And yes, things are very bad here in NY. I am getting besieged for payment right after service and people are not getting paid everywhere, so things are getting a bit nasty.</p>
<p>You are so right that there are no consequences for not paying. Sometimes I’m amazed that anyone ever pays us. Law firms have to be really careful about client intake because that great new client who is “unhappy” with their old firm is likely to be a client who is stiffing their old firm. </p>
<p>I know people are strapped, but I’m just hurt by their attitudes. Instead of saying “sorry but I’m really strapped, can I pay $x a month?” this year it’s all “you charged too much” attitude.</p>
<p>We had one client call for more service although they hadn’t paid their bill from May. When I asked if they were aware that they had an outstanding invoice their reply was that they didn’t appreciate my attitude and that we should be happy people are still using our service in this economy.</p>
<p>We do have a couple that tell us they are strapped and make payments. We will continue to service them.</p>
<p>Since not paying the rent will result in eviction, not paying the utilities means turning off of service, not paying the credit lines means no more credit, not paying the vendors means no more products, who do you think is going to be last in line if a company or person is strapped and can’t pay all of his bills?</p>
<p>Yes! We’re in a different business entirely, but I’m wondering how we are going to make it to December 31st if some clients don’t cough it up – and quickly!</p>
<p>I remember that at my law firm, the firm would transfer the bill to someone else and that person would sue. That way the law firm’s name would not come up in the case name.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If the client can’t pay unless the deal goes through, then for all practical purposes, it becomes a contingency. </p>
<p>Lawyers, et al, will be going back to the pre-paid retainer method if this continues.</p>
<p>There was an article in the New York Times (edit, on second thought it may have been in a magazine I was reading… but anyway there was an article )about this exact issue about a month ago or so regarding architects and interior designers. There is a significant trend towards clients not paying the bill in full and, when questioned about it, simply saying “we think you’ve been paid enough for the services you rendered.” </p>
<p>Unfortunately things can turn quite messy if one tries to use the legal system to get a client to pay in full (if the client knows what they’re doing they can just bury you in paperwork to the point that it makes no sense to try and collect payment). Furthermore, a reputation for suing clients over bills is unlikely to solicit future business (even if it’s the client that’s in the wrong). </p>
<p>For these industries where bills are sent after the fact billing on a per-hour basis, the only real way to get around this increasing trend of clients deciding that the amount charged ends up being too much is to settle on a pre-agreed up-front payment amount for a particular set of services… although even then there’s no guarantee that the client will pay up in full.</p>
<p>Agree, rocketman08, that some people consider the presentation of a bill as the beginning of a negotiation. Once the services have been provided, you really don’t have leverage without the threat of some big stick–whether it is the threat of legal action or bad publicity.</p>
<p>*There is a significant trend towards clients not paying the bill in full and, when questioned about it, simply saying “we think you’ve been paid enough for the services you rendered.” *</p>
<p>Wow-my clients must have read the same article!</p>
<p>If you don’t follow through and make them pay, then those clients will assume that you agree with them. Which means that you’ll start charging everyone more so that you’ll have a chance to recoup those losses from those who will pay your bills. Your full-paying clients will end up subsidizing your non-full paying clients.</p>
<p>I am a civil engineer that does work primarily for private developers in Arizona. You can just imagine how my business has shrunk with the current state of the real estate market here (both residential and commercial). For the first time in 22 years (since starting the company in 1986), it looks like I am going to have to write off an account – actually, two of them. </p>
<p>One is a nice guy who is very apologetic and keep promising to pay me as soon as he can, but it’s been a year now. He’s involved in a lawsuit with the property owner (long story, and it has nothing to do with my work) and there’s no end in sight. If he had the money, I do believe he would pay, since I had no problems collecting before last year. My only consolation is that it’s a relatively small amount he owes me (under $3,000). </p>
<p>The other client is a large real estate development company with several high-profile projects (30-story condo towers, apartment projects, etc.) that I suspect may be preparing to file for bankruptcy soon. No one at that company – project manager, principal, accounting dept. staff – will return my phone calls or respond to my letters. I am being completely stonewalled and I am just totally frustrated. </p>
<p>Like most professionals, I bill on a time-and-materials basis. I am now requiring 50% retainers before I will start any new projects (except for my very best long-time clients), but that still leaves me open to non-payment of the other 50%.</p>
<p>Toadstool is right – when you offered the discount it was essentially seen as an admission that you had “overcharged” and didn’t need the money. You really have to stand firm, bill regularly… and push unpaid bills to an outside collection agency if possible. </p>
<p>In California, lawyers are required to send clients a notice of fee arbitration rights before they sue, so that’s what I used to do – it was a way of letting the clients know I meant business. (I’m about to sue you, so here’s your notice) – sometimes the clients did choose to go to arbitration – when they did, I ended up with an order from arbitration that was generally taken more seriously. (An arbitrator might make a adjustments… but probably not as much as 40%!)</p>
<p>You aren’t alone, though - this is a chronic problem for lawyers and one reason why most demand large retainers up front. It is also one reason I gave up practicing law – too much of a hassle – I prefer working in a pay-as-you-go basis and nowadays if I’m not getting paid… I quit working. Since I am no longer practicing law, I don’t have the kind of responsibilities that leave me on the hook for any sort of liability to the client if and when I do stop work on a project. </p>
<p>But the bottom line is that you either have to be able to stand firm with clients to collect professional fees, or else you have to make some sort of arrangement with someone else who is able to do that for you, if you personally find the money-collection thing difficult or distasteful. For several years I had a law partner who was the “collector” whereas I was the “rainmaker” – I honestly made more money that way even though I was generating the bigger fee clients and having to share revenues with my partner – obviously her skill at collecting promised money was even more valuable than my skill at eliciting the promises.</p>
<p>As I mentioned before, the client’s project won’t be built…at least not in the near future. The discount was my way of “sharing the disappointment” with him…my attempt at standing with him in adversity was obviously not taken in the spirit in which it was intended…in his mind I think standing with him is working for free.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the poster that said you created the blood in the water by offering a discount. I’ve never heard of any attorney doing that and I’d wonder if they value their services.</p>
<p>To answer your question, I think most businesses are having a hard time getting paid right now. I’d suggest a retainer for future work which is what attornies we know always do.</p>
)about this exact issue about a month ago or so regarding architects and interior designers. There is a significant trend towards clients not paying the bill in full and, when questioned about it, simply saying “we think you’ve been paid enough for the services you rendered.” </p>